Electricity & Electronics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 9)

How Do You Know Where You Are Without GPS? Dead Reckoning and Inertial Navigation

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Put a meter stick on the ground. Starting at one end of the stick, close your eyes and try to walk exactly one meter. Open your eyes. How close were you? Now try it again with five, ten, or twenty meters. Does it get harder as the distance gets bigger? Without an outside reference from your visual system, it's quite difficult to know exactly how far you've gone! Electronic navigation systems face the same problem. Without an external reference like the global positioning system (GPS), it's very… Read more

How Do You Take Your Tea? Make a Simple Electronic Device to Measure the Strength of Tea

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

A nice hot cup of tea sure can wake and warm you up in the morning. In this project, you will investigate the chemistry of tea. The longer you steep a tea bag in hot water, the stronger the tea will be. But how does the strength of the tea change with longer brewing time? In this project you will make a very simple electronic device to measure the strength of tea. The device will determine how strong the tea is by measuring the amount of light the tea absorbs. Read more

How Does LED Brightness Vary with Current?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are electronic components that convert a portion of the electrical energy flowing through them into light. How does the intensity of the light produced vary with the current flowing through the LED? To find out, you'll build some simple circuits to vary the current flowing an LED. You'll also build a simple light-to-voltage converter circuit to measure LED output. Read more

How Far Can Sparks Jump?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Piezoelectric barbecue fire starters work by creating a spark that ignites the volatile lighter fluid, which then starts the charcoal burning. They are low current, high voltage devices. How high does the voltage have to get to make a spark in air? This project shows you a way to find out by with an inexpensive experimental setup to measure the distance that the spark can travel between two spherical electrodes. Read more

How Fast Can You Get It Done?

STEM Activity

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Do you hate doing the dishes, folding laundry, or cleaning up your room? Do you wish you could figure out a way to get these tasks done faster? Figure out how as you take on the role of a production engineer in this fun activity! 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

LED Traffic Glove: Build a Safety Device to Direct Traffic

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

From traffic safety lights to neon signs, lights have a way of getting peoples' attention. So it makes sense that if a person wants to get attention, wearing clothing with built-in lights might help. These types of clothing, called electronic textiles (e-textiles for short), or wearable electronics, already exist. Instead of using hard surfaces for circuits (like inside your computer or cell phone), e-textiles weave electrical parts like batteries, wires, and lights directly into wearable… Read more

Linear vs. Logarithmic Changes: What Works Best for Human Senses?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you want to get your friend's attention at a crowded sporting event with lots of people cheering, you need to shout. If you're trying to do the same thing in a quiet library, a whisper works. The detection limit for each of our senses depends on the amount of "background" stimulation that is already present. This project uses an LED control circuit to investigate detection of changes in light levels. Read more

Make a Glitter Surprise Package

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever seen a video of a glitter prank package? They usually show an unsuspecting person opening a package or a gift, only to be sprayed by a shower of glitter. Former NASA engineer Mark Rober got tired of thieves stealing packages off his porch, so he decided to build an elaborate decoy glitter package*, as he shows in this video. Mark's device involves a lot of custom software, electronics, and 3D printing, so might seem a little intimidating if you are new to engineering. The summary… Read more

Make an Adaptive Switch

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

How could you send a text message without using your thumbs? What about typing on a keyboard or using a video game controller without using your fingers? Due to a variety of medical conditions like cerebral palsy or paralysis from an accident, some people might be unable to easily use their hands and fingers to push small buttons or use joysticks. However, they might be able to use their entire hand to push a single larger button or use another part of their body like their foot or even their… Read more

Electricity & Electronics Projects, Lessons, Activities (116 results)

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