Sixth Grade, Computer Science Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 5)

Follow the Bouncing Ball: A Web Animation Project

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This project is a fun way to try your hand at programming. You'll learn how to create some simple animations, and you'll perform tests and make measurements to help you create more realistic-looking animations. All you need to get started is a Web browser and a text editor (like Notepad). Read more

Game of Life

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The Game of Life is the invention of the mathematician John Conway. It is a cellular automaton, consisting of a grid of squares that turn "on" or "off" depending on simple mathematical rules that involve neighboring squares. Depending on how the grid is first set up (i.e., the initial conditions), various interesting patterns appear. Can you write a Game of Life program in a programming language of your choice? If you are new to programming, check out these resources from the Raspberry Pi… Read more

Happy or Sad? Exploring Bias in Machine Learning

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

1

2

3

4

5

5 reviews

Classifying happy and sad faces is an easy task for most humans, but can we teach a machine to do it? In this fun lesson, students will use machine learning to try this out and see how easy it is for bias to creep in. This experiment requires no computer programming skills! In an optional extension, students will also use their imaginations to explore the potential benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence solutions. This lesson will give students an awareness of how prevalent artificial… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Help! What File Format Should I Use to Save My Favorite Photo?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Jpeg, bmp, gif, tiff ... do these just look like words that you and your friends might make up for your own secret language? They are actually just a few of the file formats (which means "types") that you can use to save your favorite photo on your computer. But does it matter which one you use? Try this simple science fair project to find out and you'll never choose the wrong one again! Read more

Image Compression vs. Image Quality: Finding the Best Tradeoff

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

In this project you'll learn about how digital image files are encoded, and how digital images can be compressed so that the files take up less storage space and can be transmitted more quickly. You will also measure the quality of compressed and uncompressed images, which will give you important insights into the tradeoffs between file size and image quality. Read more

Invent an Interactive Toy with a Raspberry Pi

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you ever have a favorite toy like an action figure or doll that could light up, make noise, or move? This project will show you how to make your own interactive toy using a Raspberry Pi. Check out the video to see what this simple, but fun, project looks like. The version you make does not have to be a robot; it can be any shape and have any sound effects you want. IMPORTANT: The instructions for this project were originally written using Scratch 2 on a Raspberry Pi 3B+. If you are using a… Read more

Killing 'Vampires': Saving Money and Power by Turning Off Computer Peripherals

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What do you think about killing vampires? No, no, not the kind that drink people's blood, but the kind that suck your power and money away. Equipment like televisions, computers, printers, and fax machines all use electricity to operate, of course, but do you realize that this equipment might still be sucking electricity from the wall, even when you think it's turned off? These electricity-suckers are called vampire loads. In this science project, you will investigate how much power these… Read more

Pinwheel Magic: Take a Spin with Animation

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you enjoy watching cartoons and animated movies? Do you have fun playing video games? What do all of these things have in common? Fantastic computer animation, that's what! It's a cool job to take an interesting story or game and make it more entertaining by animating it. In this computer science project, you won't animate a full-length feature movie, but you will animate a pinwheel—a project that can go a long way toward creating your own longer animations! You will create an animated… Read more

Play an Electronic Drumset with a Raspberry Pi

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When you were little, did you ever make "music" in your kitchen by banging kitchen utensils on pots and pans? What if you could actually take those kitchen implements now, and play them with different sound effects? In this project, you can convert basic kitchen utensils into your own electronic drum set using a Raspberry Pi. Check out the video to see what this simple, but fun, project looks like. IMPORTANT: The instructions for this project were originally written using Scratch 2 on a… Read more

Program to Check (or Solve) Sudoku Puzzles

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Sudoku is an extremely popular puzzle game. You start with a 9x9 grid of squares, which contains three smaller 3x3 subgrids. Some of the squares are filled in with numbers 1 through 9. Your goal is to fill in the remaining blank squares such that each column, each row, and each 3x3 subgrid contains the numbers 1-9. No number can appear more than once in any column, row, or subgrid. For a given starting puzzle, can you write a program to check if a Sudoku solution is valid using a programming… Read more

Sixth Grade, Computer Science Projects, Lessons, Activities (51 results)

Explore Our Science Videos