Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 33)

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Virtual reality (VR) headsets are becoming increasingly popular with consumers for things like viewing 3D pictures and videos, or for playing video games. However, dedicated gaming headsets like the Oculus Rift® and PlayStation® VR can cost hundreds of dollars. Some headsets, like Google Cardboard™, which is literally made out of folded corrugated cardboard (Figure 1), are much cheaper because they can use any smartphone as the screen. Figure 1. A… Read more

Discover the Flaming Colors of Fireworks

STEM Activity

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Have you ever watched a fireworks show and wondered how all the different colors — amazing reds, yellows, oranges, blues, purples, greens, and more — are made? The color, or colors, that a firework makes depends on what color-producing chemicals are in the firework. These chemicals are various metal salts that burn when the firework goes off, and burning the metals is what makes the colors. Different metals give off different, specific colors. In this science activity, you will get… Read more

Does Sense of Touch Impact a Cat's Behavior?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever seen a cat slowly move its head and whiskers into a small space before crawling through it? They’re using their sense of touch to see if they can fit into the space! In this science experiment, you’ll test how cats use their sense of touch to move through the world by using a maze to determine if they prefer big or small spaces. Read more

Drug Solubility

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When you take medicine, it needs to dissolve in order to be passed into your bloodstream to have an effect. On the other hand, the drug needs to be packed into a small, dense pill to make it easier to swallow. How does the delivery method of a drug change how quickly it enters the bloodstream? Compare different brands of a drug to find out which brands dissolve the quickest. Does the pH of the stomach (which is usually between 1 and 2) matter? Compare coated to uncoated pills: does the coating… Read more

Flying Helicopters on Mars

STEM Activity

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During the Mars 2020 mission, NASA plans to explore the surface of Mars using a rover in combination with a lightweight helicopter. To be able to fly on Mars, this helicopter must be super light and have very efficient blades. If not, it will never generate enough lift to get off the ground. In this activity, you will make your own paper helicopter and test different blade designs. Will your findings be reflected in NASA's design? Try it out and see for yourself! Read more

Forensics: How Does It Matter? Measure the Spatter!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Every criminal leaves behind evidence at the crime scene. The trick to catching the criminal is collecting all of the evidence and making sense of it. This is what the forensic expert does. In this science project you will be correlating the size of blood stains to the distance they fell, but do not get too grossed out. You will be doing it with fake blood. If you like figuring out mysteries, this is the science project for you! Read more

How Much Sugar Is Really in That Soda?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You know there is sugar in non-diet soda, but just how much sugar? Sure, you can look on the ingredients label, but how do food scientists actually measure the amount of sugar in a solution? They use a simple scientific device called a hydrometer. The hydrometer floats in the solution that is being tested, and the higher it floats, the more sugar there is! In this science fair project, you will use a precision hydrometer to measure the amount of sugar in soda. Read more

How Old Is That Rock? Roll the Dice & Use Radiometric Dating to Find Out

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What do rocks and clocks have in common? Both keep track of time. Yes, radioactive isotopes present in rocks and other ancient material decay atom by atom at a steady rate, much as clocks tick time away. Geologists use those radioactive isotopes to date volcanic ash or granite formations like the giant Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Anthropologists, archeologists, and paleontologists also use radioactive isotopes to date mummies, pottery, and dinosaur fossils. Does this sound abstract and… Read more

How to Control a DIY Mini Drone with an Arduino™

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Most drones fly with a mix of human input and autonomous control based on feedback from electronic sensors. This allows the drone to fly up and down when the human operator presses a joystick on a controller, but automatically hover at a fixed distance above the ground when the operator lets go of the joystick. In this project, you will explore drone programming with an Arduino. What types of inputs and sensors can you make your drone respond to? What behaviors and responses can you program… Read more

How to Make a Guitar Sing

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This is a great project for a musician who is interested in the physics of stringed instruments. If you've ever played an acoustic guitar, you may have noticed that picking a single string can make one or more of the other (unpicked) strings vibrate. When this happens, it's called sympathetic vibration. What intervals lead to the strongest sympathetic vibrations? Find out for yourself with this project. Read more

Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (1,334 results)

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