Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 16)

Cosmetic Science: Testing Lip Balm Recipes

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that cosmetics companies employ teams of specialized scientists to develop and test each new line of makeup, perfume, lotion, or soap? This science project lets you be the cosmetics scientist. You will create your own lip balm right in your kitchen using a short list of ingredients, then test it, and follow up with some creative cosmetics science of your own! Read more

How Sweet It Is! Measuring Glucose in Your Food

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You know that sugar makes food sweet, but did you know that there are different kinds of sugar? Sucrose is the granulated sugar that you usually use for baking. Another kind of sugar, which is found in honey and in many fruits, is glucose. In this science project, you will measure the concentration of glucose in a variety of foods. You will use special test strips that change color in response to glucose to measure the glucose concentration in different foods. Read more

Make Sustainable Fabrics from Seaweed

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can you imagine clothing, handbags, or shoes made from seaweed or spider silk? To become more sustainable, the textile industry is looking for ways to develop more eco-friendly fabrics. Biofabrics derived from living organisms such as seaweed or bacteria have been proposed as a potential alternative to conventional fibers. In this science project, you will make several biofabrics from alginate (seaweed) and conduct tests to find out which one is most suitable as a textile replacement. Read more

Make Your Own Wireless Alarm System

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever wished you could have an alarm to prevent your little brother or sister from sneaking into your room? How about an alarm to prevent someone from stealing your favorite toy or from taking cookies out of the cookie jar? In this project you will learn how to program your own customized, wireless alarm systems to send you alerts about whatever you want! Read more

Test Your Foods for Starch

STEM Activity

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Have you ever heard about starchy and non-starchy foods? What is the difference? Starchy foods contain the carbohydrate starch, which is converted to sugar (glucose) inside our body for energy production. How do we know which foods contain starch and which do not? There is a simple chemical test that you can do to detect starch, which involves an iodine solution. The iodine solution turns any food that contains starch dark blue. Try this activity and watch it in action yourself! Read more

What Conflicting Mental Tasks Reveal About Thinking: The Stroop Effect

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can you pat your head with one hand while you rub your stomach with the other? This science project idea is kind of like doing that, but this project can actually give you some insight into how your mind works. The task is to name colors. It sounds simple enough, but see what happens when color words get in the way. Read more

Which Skin Moisturizer Works Best?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Does your skin get dry? Or do you know someone with dry skin? Dry skin can be a real medical problem for some people. You may have seen many kinds of lotions, creams, and ointments advertised as restorative for dry skin, especially dry hands. But how well do they work? And which ingredients are most important in making them work? In this science project, you will create a model of human skin using JELL-O® and test how well skin moisturizing products with different ingredients keep the… Read more

Build a Brushbot

STEM Activity

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Brushbots are a simple, fun type of robot that you can build out of arts and crafts materials. They are easy to build and you do not need any previous experience with robotics. You can build them yourself, build two robots with a friend and race them against each other, or even make them sumo wrestle! Go to the Materials section to see what parts you need to build a brushbot, and see the instructions for a step-by-step guide on how to build one. Read more

Explore the Mixing Behavior of Liquids

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wondered why some liquids mix together easily, like when you mix different juices to make a fruit punch, while others do not mix at all, like oil and water? What happens to liquids when they are mixed depends on their mixing behavior. Some liquids blend, whereas others form separate layers. If you do it right, you can even stack liquids on top of each other just like solid objects! Want to see for yourself? In this science project, you will investigate the mixing behavior of… Read more

Flowers Seeking Pollinators

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-7th

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"European honey bee extracts nectar" by John Severns In this activity, students learn about plant reproduction and use real data to construct explanations about which flowers are the most attractive to different pollinators. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-LS1-1. Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
MS-LS1-4. Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants, respectively.

Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (1,332 results)

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