Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 65)

Strength in Numbers?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Ever try to tear a telephone book in half? Even though you can easily rip one or a few pages to shreds, the entire phone book has strength in numbers and holds together. This project is an introduction to measuring and comparing the strength of materials. Does spaghetti get extra strength if you bundle it together, or does strength simply increase proportionally with the number of strands? If you are interested in materials testing, get cracking! Read more

Study Bottle Rocket Performance with Electronic Sensors

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Rocket design and operation is a fascinating field and analyzing the flight path provides insight into the rocket's performance. In this project, you will take measurements of the flight path to evaluate how a change in the rocket design or launch procedure impacts the rocket's performance. Initially, while the bottle rocket expels water (or the rocket expels exhaust), the rocket gets a boost. This push is referred to as thrust and projects the rocket forward. Earth's gravity pulls the rocket… Read more

Test and Change the Air Quality of Your Environment

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you ever wonder if the air inside is cleaner or dirtier than the air you breathe outside? In this science experiment, you will test it using an air quality monitor. Have you ever wondered how lighting a candle in your room impacts your air quality? Did you cook and not turn on the fan? How did it affect your breathing, and how did it impact the air quality? In this project, you can see how these environmental factors can improve or worsen the air you breathe every day. Read more

Test the Webb Space Telescope's Amazing Multiple Mirrors and Sunshield

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can you imagine designing and building a space telescope the size of a tennis court? Believe it or not, that is someone's job! Hundreds of engineers were involved in getting the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) into space. This telescope has the potential to enable astronomers to see light from when the Universe was first formed. No one knows what amazing discoveries this might lead to, but already, JWST has delivered astounding deep space images that offer an unprecedented look at… Read more

The Impossible Arrow Illusion

STEM Activity

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Make your own 3D printed "impossible arrow" illusion in this fun activity. No matter how many times you spin the arrow around, it always seems to point in the same direction—but its reflection in a mirror points the other way! How does it work? Try it and find out! Read more

The Leaning Tower of Pasta

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Here's a project for a budding architect or structural engineer. Can you make a strong, lightweight tower using only uncooked spaghetti and white glue? In this project, you'll learn about materials testing and apply what you learn to building and testing structures that are both strong and light. Read more

The Process of Soft-Boiling an Egg

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Sometimes on a busy day, it is hard to get things done. The rush to get things done can start first thing in the morning, when you are so busy getting ready and gathering your homework, that you barely have time for breakfast. It takes time to get a nutritious meal ready. But, eggs are a perfect choice for breakfast because they can be cooked quickly and in many different ways. A soft-boiled egg is a choice that many people make. They like the way the thickened, tasty yolk coats their hash… Read more

Train a Reinforcement Learning AI to Play Minesweeper

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever played Minesweeper? Did you start clicking around randomly until you hit a mine? What did you think the numbers meant? Do you think a computer program can play Minesweeper better than a human? In this project, you will explore how to train an AI agent to play Minesweeper. Read more

Turn Milk into Plastic!

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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Teach your students how to make plastic out of milk in this hands-on lesson plan! You will conduct a simple milk-transforming experiment to explore how plastics can be derived from a natural resource such as milk. Students will perform their own experiments and can even create a product from their resulting organic casein polymer. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-PS1-2. Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

Use a Calorimeter to Measure the Heat Capacity of Water

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Along with its many other interesting properties, water has the ability to absorb a lot of heat energy, while only experiencing a relatively small change in temperature. One way this property affects us directly is that our bodies don't change temperature rapidly on hot or cold days, since we are made up of mostly water. In this chemistry-with-an-electronics-flair science fair project, you will determine how the temperature of a small volume of water changes as you add precise amounts of heat… Read more

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

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