Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 5)

Make a Parachute

STEM Activity

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310 reviews

Have you ever wondered what a parachute and an open rain jacket have in common? They both trap air and slow you down when you move fast! In this activity, you design a parachute for a miniature action figure. Tissue paper or a plastic bag and a few strings is all it takes to make your figure into an expert skydiver. Read more

Candy Chromatography: What Makes Those Colors?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Quick, what is your favorite color of M&Ms® candy? Do you want to know what dyes were used to make that color? Check out this science project to find out how you can do some scientific detective work to find out for yourself. Read more

Simple Lie Detector Test

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever watched a great sports player and imitated his or her moves over and over again? Or have you ever felt really bad when someone got hurt or things just weren't going his or her way? If so, you might be surprised to learn that you have been practicing skills closely tied to lying! In this science fair project, you'll discover how your brain gets a workout when it moves from truth-telling to lying, and how you can detect the shift. That's no lie! Read more

Make a Fire Snake

STEM Activity

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636 reviews

With a few simple ingredients, you can create a "fire snake" that appears to grow out of nowhere in this fun experiment! Although it looks magical, no magic is involved—it is all because of a chemical reaction. Try it to find out how it works! Read more

Can Humans Recognize AI-Generated Images?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can you tell if the pictures on this page are real or generated by a computer? Artificial intelligence (AI) generated images have exploded in popularity, bringing plenty of controversy along with them. An AI-generated image of a tiger or a flower might seem harmless, but artificial images of people or events can contribute to "fake news." In this science project you will investigate whether people can tell the difference between real pictures and pictures generated by AI. Can you spot the… Read more

How the Cookie Crumbles... in Space

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wondered what astronauts eat in space? What types of restrictions are there on the foods they can enjoy? It turns out that crumbs can be a huge problem on spaceships and space stations like the International Space Station (ISS). Crumbs can float around in zero gravity, squeeze into electrical panels, where they may cause fires, and get sucked into and clog air filtration systems. In this science project, you will investigate which ingredients are most important for creating the… Read more

How to Make a Battery with Metal, Air, and Saltwater

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wondered how your cell phone or laptop keeps running once you unplug it? Sure, it is the battery that makes your portable electronics work, but how exactly does a battery do that, and from where does the electricity come? Generally, in a battery chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. In fact, many different types of batteries exist that are all based on a different set of chemical reactions. In this science project, you will explore a special battery variant called… Read more

Build a Gauss Rifle!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What can you do with magnets and ball bearings that makes a lot of noise? Why, build a magnetic linear accelerator, called a Gauss rifle, of course! Now, this magnetic accelerator is not a weapon, but a way for you to learn a lot more about physics concepts, like momentum. In this physics science project, you will investigate how far a ball bearing launched by a Gauss rifle will fly, depending on how many magnetic acceleration stages are in the setup and the ball bearing's initial velocity.… Read more

Build a Telescope

STEM Activity

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160 reviews

Build your own telescope that you can use to see far-off objects in this fun STEM activity! The type of telescope you will build in this activity is also called a monocular or a spyglass. Read more

Build and Test a Sun-Tracking Solar Panel

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How can you get as much power as possible out of a solar panel, even in the morning or evening when the sun is low in the sky? With a solar tracker system! While many solar panels are fixed in place on rooftops or large ground-mounted poles, a solar tracker system is motorized and lets the solar panels track the sun through the sky during the day. Are these systems worth the added complexity? How much more power do they produce? Try this project and find out! Read more

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

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