Science Projects | Science Buddies Blog (Page 50)

Roller Coaster Science: Marbles, Tubes, and Loops

June 12, 2012 10:22 AM

Building paths for marbles to race, climb, and loop brings physics to heart-pounding life—minus the admission fee, height requirement, and endless wait in line. A willingness to uncover principles of energy and laws of motion is required; cotton candy is optional. Image: Bigstock Roller coasters and marble runs offer an engaging platform for invention, engineering, and physics-based investigation. Get hands on exploring what kinds of loops are possible, how energy changes during a… Read more

Success Story: A Video Game for the Blind

May 24, 2012 10:00 AM

Dylan Viale's fifth-grade science project gave him a chance to share something he enjoys with his grandmother, who is blind. Designing his first video game ever, Dylan created Quacky's Quest, a maze game you don't have to see to play! For his fifth grade science project, Dylan Viale (pictured above) used GameMaker to create a sound-based video game to share with his grandmother, who is blind. The project gave Dylan a firsthand look at what's involved in video game design, and his classmates… Read more

The Goods on Glucose

May 15, 2012 10:23 AM

Depending on your age and your weight, you might stop, spoon poised, and fleetingly think twice about your loaded triple-fudge and caramel brownie sundae with extra candy sprinkles—just before you dig in. Whether you finish off the sundae alone or not, it's impossible to escape awareness of the debates that rage on about the nutritional dangers of too much sugar. But it isn't as simple as simply saying "no" to a spoonful of sugar here and there. When it comes to sugar and the body,… Read more

Personal Genetics and Prescription Drugs

May 9, 2012 5:58 AM

A single DNA mutation you don't even know you have may determine whether or not the medication your doctor prescribed will work for you. Image: Bigstock Due to differences in individual genetic makeup, prescription medications may work differently for different people. Online pharmacogenomics databases help document the relationship between genetic mutation and pharmaceuticals. When you catch a cold, you might reach for an over-the-counter product to help relieve symptoms like nasal… Read more

Science and Art: Mutant Sunflowers

May 3, 2012 9:24 AM

Variations in gene expression can lead to anomalies in flowers. Some of Van Gogh's sunflowers were of a mutant variety, and scientists recently tracked down genes that may be responsible. When we think of a sunflower, many of us think of a bright yellow flower with a large, dark center, like the one shown above. In Van Gogh's famous serious of sunflower paintings, there are typical sunflowers intermixed with a few mutant ones. These mutant sunflowers posed a puzzle for plant scientists,… Read more

Success Story: Tracking Wolves

April 23, 2012 1:57 PM

By Kim Mullin Tracking wild Minnesota wolves for your 6th-grade science project? When you live in Louisiana? As this animal enthusiast discovered, with the availability of online data and a Science Buddies Zoology Project Idea, you don't have to live "near" wolves to study them. An exciting project about wolf movement and behavior grabs the attention of an animal-enthusiast preparing for his first science fair. The Project Idea from Science Buddies' zoology area required Dakota (pictured… Read more

The Wonder of Bioluminescence: Organisms that Glow

April 19, 2012 4:22 PM

Many beaches and waters glow blue or green thanks to marine organisms that create their own light as a result of a biochemical reaction. The above photo, taken by photographer August Bach at Grayton Beach, shows "waves" of glowing blue light cast by bioluminescent organisms along the Florida shore. The image below shows the startling bioluminescence of the Panellus Stipticus fungus. Visitors to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City can see firsthand photos of… Read more

A Game of Letters

April 13, 2012 9:29 AM

Born on April 13, 1899: Alfred Mosher Butts, inventor of Scrabble®. The history of the Scrabble® game makes for interesting reading. As is the case with many eventual success stories, Scrabble is a game that didn't succeed at first. A chance discovery by the president of Macy's in the 1950s brought the game to the public. Today, millions of households own a copy of Scrabble®, and the game holds an enduring place in the hearts of word aficionados worldwide. The image above shows… Read more

Learning from Worms

April 9, 2012 11:35 AM

April showers bring May flowers, or so the saying goes. But if you look closely, you'll find that April showers also bring creepers, slimers, wrigglers, and crawlers out in force. Every student's and every parent's tolerance level for organisms like insects, arthropods, annelids, and isopods varies. But the simple fact is "bugs" are everywhere—and some of them, like many kinds of worms, play an important role in habitat webs and biospheres. Students can learn a lot about by observing… Read more

New Resources Guide X-ray Exploration

April 5, 2012 12:17 PM

For some students, the most enticing science project or weekend driveway science experiment is one that explodes or burns—a project with clear wow factor and just enough danger to make it exciting. If you live on the wild side of science and X-ray science hasn't made your radar yet, it's time to take a heavy-atoms look at what's possible and where your curiosity might take you. The electromagnet spectrum contains both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, some of which we are… Read more

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