Science Projects | Science Buddies Blog (Page 25)

Picturing Big Data: The Science of Infographics

May 19, 2015 9:00 AM

With more data flowing in than most of us can ever hope to sift through, infographics have emerged as a viewer-friendly way to convey data-driven information. In a new human behavior science project, students explore the process of turning big data into visual representations and investigate how easy it can be to create a picture of data that may lead viewers to draw the wrong conclusions. Above: The graph above contains a small sampling of a blood glucose data set… Read more

Ex-stream Science: Exploring Local Watershed Health

May 14, 2015 1:06 PM

Heading outdoors lets kids experience real-world applications of their classroom learning. By Kim Mullin On a sunny, breezy, and unusually cold spring morning, a parade of 120 sixth graders, their teachers, and chaperones snaked its way from their middle school, through the neighborhood, to a local stream. Clipboards, test tubes, nets, camp tables, and a variety of other equipment tagged along. The students had spent the previous weeks learning… Read more

Going the Distance with Starlight Science

May 11, 2015 12:04 PM

This sixth grade student is blazing a path in astroscience with a string of successful science projects that are out of this world and yet amazingly down to Earth. With this year's project, she took a comparative look at the change in intensity of a star's light in relation to its distance. She spent a lot of time gathering light meter readings and ended up with a winning combination of math and physics! While every student can and should do and enjoy hands-on science, some students… Read more

Bend or Break? Candy Science

May 7, 2015 10:00 AM

What happens when you bend your favorite candy in half? Does it break? Does it bend? Does it snap back into shape? In this week's materials science-themed family science activity, students put candy to a "bend it" test to explore how some materials are more flexible than others. While it may be obvious that some candy bars will break (or snap in half) when bent while other more "gummy" candies bend, changing the temperature of the candies gives this experiment an extra… Read more

New Raspberry Pi Projects Kit

April 29, 2015 1:15 PM

The activities paired with the new Raspberry Pi Projects Kit from the Science Buddies Store enable kids to work on creative projects that blend computer programming, electronics circuit building, and art to produce exciting interactive creations. Does your artwork light up when the room dims at the end of the day? Transforming traditional art with electronics and programming opens up all kinds of room for students to experiment and innovation! For a… Read more

Building a Solar-powered Bristlebot

April 17, 2015 9:30 AM

Adding solar panels to a brushbot project gives a new twist to an intermediate robotics building activity, but does it offer more power? With this clever build and a convenient robotics kit, it was easy to put that question to the test! After a successful series of building robots using Science Buddies procedures, we recently gave the Solar-powered Bristlebot a try. This bot is very closely related to the Light-tracking Bristlebot we built a few… Read more

Students 3D Design and Print Their Own Robots with Autodesk Tinkercad

April 10, 2015 10:00 AM

Being able to translate ideas into 3D models that can be printed and used is an important skill for students with an interest in design and engineering. A recent robotics workshop gave students in New Jersey the opportunity to experiment with 3D design and then to see their models printed as real-life parts they could use in building their individual robots. Above: Participants at a SoHa SMART workshop explored 3D design by designing their own custom bodies for their robots. Students… Read more

Stretchy Rubber Band Science: Weekly Science Activity

April 9, 2015 11:45 AM

What happens to a rubber band's elasticity when the temperature changes? What happens when you heat up or cool down a bunch of molecules? Any exceptions? In this weekly mechanical engineering-themed family science activity, students experiment to find out how rubber bands respond to heating and cooling. Because rubber bands are made of polymer chains, the results may be surprising because a heated rubber band may do the opposite of what you expect! Get… Read more

What Shape is a Hard-boiled Egg?

April 2, 2015 10:00 AM

Hard-boiling and dyeing eggs is a Spring tradition in many households. This year, give your hard-boiled eggs a twist and turn ordinary ovoid hard-boiled eggs into fun shapes! The trick to the transformation is understanding the science behind the process of hard-boiling. Raw eggs are oval in shape. Hard-boiled eggs are made from raw eggs. Therefore hard-boiled eggs must be oval in shape, right? Your basic logic primer might suggest this syllogism is… Read more

Bubbly Soda Science: Weekly Science Activity

March 31, 2015 1:00 PM

Making your own carbonated beverage can be a lot of fun. How much fizz do you like? What flavor? How sweet? The process of carbonating water and serving up a custom beverage is easier than ever before thanks to commonly available household devices like Sodastream®. But a pressurized approach to creating a carbonated beverage is not the only way to prepare a refreshing soda-style drink. With a few simple ingredients, students can experiment with mixing up their own… Read more

Science Buddies Blog (660 results)

Explore Our Science Videos