Eighth Grade Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 50)

Bridge Building Bonanza: Which Design Wins?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever ridden in a car driving across a suspension bridge? Suspension bridges, with their tall towers, long spans and gracefully curving cables, are beautiful examples of the work of civil engineers. How do the cables and towers carry the load that is on the bridge, which includes you and the car you are in when you cross the bridge? Can a suspension bridge carry a greater load than a simple beam bridge? You can try to answer these questions in this science activity! Read more

Build a Fuzzy Companion Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Snuggling a dog or cat can make you feel better even when you are not lonely or sick. Therapy and companion animals are also used for patients in health care settings, but sometimes you cannot always have access to a real live animal. Can a robot serve the same purpose? Find out in this project when you add an Arduino to a stuffed animal to build a purring companion robot. Read more

Build Statues That Come Alive When They See You

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

A simple circuit and a servo motor are all you need to turn any work of art into an interactive moving creation that is happy to see you. Light sensors see your shadow as you walk past your artwork and make a servo motor move back and forth. Waving arms? Turning heads? It is all up to you! Read more

Building Personal Medicine Apps to Help Patients

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Remembering to take medication or perform a test regularly, consistently, and at specific times can be difficult for elderly people with short-term memory loss, or teenagers absorbed in activities. With mobile devices becoming our constant companions, could a smartphone or tablet offer a solution? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has created a simple tool making it possible for anyone who has a computer and Internet access to create a reminder app. It is easy, quick, and… Read more

Camera Lens Testing

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you ever use the manual camera settings when taking pictures with your phone? Does your phone have more than one camera lens? This project is a great way to learn more about your phone's camera(s) and how to take better pictures. You can also do this project with a traditional point-and-shoot camera or another camera like a DSLR. Read more

Can You Make a Happy Song Sad?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Are there some songs that always make you feel sad when you hear them? How about "Scarborough Fair," George Gershwin's "Summertime," or the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby"? All of these songs are in a minor key. Minor and major scales both use the same number of notes and include the same number of semitones (also called half tones), but in a different pattern. Some musicologists (people who study music) maintain that minor-key songs are more likely to be perceived as sad, while major-key songs are… Read more

Can Your Body Temperature Tell the Time of Day? Find Out with Human Circadian Cycles.

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever had to adjust to a new time zone and noticed that it takes a while before you start to feel normal again? By shifting your sleep and activity schedule, you have altered the pattern of your body's circadian rhythms. Human beings, like many other living things, have a number of internal processes that show a distinct circadian rhythm. The most obvious is our sleep cycle, with activity during the day, followed by sleep during the night. Circadian rhythms have also been demonstrated… Read more

Chlorophyll Extraction

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Chlorophyll is a natural pigment found in green plants. It is the primary pigment that absorbs light energy from the sun for photosynthesis. This energy is then used by the plant to synthesize glucose from carbon dioxide and water. Chlorophyll in the leaves of plants can be extracted and separated using chromatography. A good source of chlorophyll for an extraction is a dark green leafy vegetable like spinach. Rub a fresh spinach leaf on the bottom of a strip of filter paper. You can get a… Read more

Climb Every Mountain with Your Own LEGO® Cable Car

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

If you ever rode in a cable car, ski lift, or gondola, you know they make moving over obstacles like lakes, valleys, rivers, or even up steep mountains seem easy. Though it would be pretty difficult to build a full-size cable car in your home, if you have a Mindstorms® kit, you can build a working-model cable car of your own. The engineering challenge is to build a LEGO® cable car that can travel across a string you have suspended somewhere in your house (between two pieces of… Read more

Column Chromatography: Can you Separate the Dyes in Grape Soda Using Space Sand™?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What color is grape soda? If you pour it into a clear glass you can easily see it is purple, but that is usually not its natural color. Manufacturers add red and blue dye to the soda. The dyes mix together and you get purple soda. What if you wanted to un-mix the dyes, could you? Yes! In a chemistry laboratory, using a technique called column chromatography, you could separate the two dyes again. But what about at home, can you use low-tech supplies to do the same thing? In this science project… Read more

Eighth Grade Projects, Lessons, Activities (1,101 results)

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