Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 56)

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The oceans are a precious natural resource, part of Earth's carbon cycle. But what happens if the oceans absorb too much carbon dioxide? Many scientists are concerned that the increased absorption of carbon dioxide is causing them to become more acidic. What impact does that have on the marine life? In this ocean science fair project, you will demonstrate ocean acidification and investigate the effect on the shells of marine life. Read more

Use a Catapult to Storm Castle Walls

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You may have seen movies or read books where armies in medieval times catapulted large rocks or other objects at castles (or each other!). These armies used different types of catapults to accomplish different goals — for example, launching things over or into castle walls to knock them down. In this experiment, you will use a ping-pong ball catapult to lay siege to a "castle" and find the right settings to hit your targets. Read more

Use the Force! Push & Pull Robots With an Invisible Force

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you have seen any of the "Star Wars" movies, then you probably remember when Jedi knights like Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi used "The Force" to push, pull, and even throw objects — including some helpless battle droids. Have you ever wished you could do that in real life? In this robotics project, you will build and program a LEGO® robot that you can push and pull using an "invisible force" — almost like a real Jedi! We make no promise that you will be taking down the… Read more

Using Daphnia to Monitor Water Toxicity

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

One way to test for the presence of toxic compounds in a water sample is a bioassay. In a bioassay, a living organism serves as a detector for toxins—the same way canaries were used in coal mines to detect invisible toxic gases. In this project, water fleas (Daphnia magna), a freshwater crustacean, are used in a bioassay to monitor water quality. Many variations of this experiment are possible. Read more

Volcanoes

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The papier-mâché volcano is a real classic, but there are many other ways to make an even more exciting and interesting science project focused on volcanoes! To get started on your own volcano-based science project, you will want to first have an understanding of how volcanoes form. This is related to tectonic plates. The entire outer shell of the Earth, known as the lithosphere, is made up of tectonic plates that are constantly moving. There are seven or eight large tectonic… Read more

Water from Air: Experimenting with Dew Traps

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Most of us live in areas where sources of water exist nearby as oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, reservoirs, wells, or even underground streams. But in some places, like the desert, water is hard to find and a precious resource. In this environmental engineering science project, you will investigate one way that people living in arid regions can collect water inexpensively: dew traps. Read more

What Do We Do With Our E-waste?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you made a pile of all the electronic devices (cell phones, computers, stereos, televisions, MP3 players, video game systems, remote-control toys, etc.) that your family has gotten rid of since you were a baby, how big would that pile be? Would it be taller than you? Would it fit better in a wheelbarrow or in a pickup truck? And did they just throw it in the trash? In this science project, you'll explore what people in your community do with electronic waste, commonly called e-waste, and… Read more

Which Metal Is the Most Resistant to Corrosion?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Here's a practical engineering challenge: you need to build an enclosure for your dogs, using material that they can't chew through. It's going to be a lot of work to build, so you want to do it right. What material should you choose for the fencing? This project uses the scientific method to evaluate materials. Read more

A Cool Way to Make Electricity: Solar Cell Power Output vs. Temperature

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Solar cells provide a clean way of making electricity directly from sunlight. In this project you will build a simple circuit and experimental setup to investigate whether the power output of a solar cell changes with ambient temperature. Read more

A Simulator for Suborbital Spacecraft

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wished you could fly to space? Space flight is getting more accessible thanks to reusable rockets that make getting to space much cheaper. Civilian astronauts can even buy tickets for a few minutes in space! But exactly how high is "space"? How do engineers predict how high a rocket will go and figure out how to make it land safely? Find out in this project as you explore the physics of suborbital space flight. Read more

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

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