Middle School, Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 9)

2026 Ball Run Challenge for Grades 6-8

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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18 reviews

Add a twist to a classic activity with this fun lesson plan. Your students will design and build a ball run for a ping pong ball using nothing but paper and tape. Their goal is to make the slowest ball run possible. How long can they make it take for the ball to go through their ball run? An optional variation is available if you would like to give students an extra challenge. The 2026 Engineering Challenge has ended. You can still do this challenge with students informally. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

A Candle Seesaw Balancing Act

STEM Activity

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28 reviews

Do you love playing on a seesaw? Why is it that depending on where you sit on the beam, and the weight of the person on the other side, you either fly up into the air or fall down to the ground? And why is it so difficult to perfectly balance the seesaw? It can all be explained with physics! In this activity, you will investigate the balancing forces of a seesaw—with a seesaw made of candles! Read more

A Magnifying Discovery

STEM Activity

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7 reviews

Have you ever looked through a magnifying lens? Why does an object look different when you look at it through the magnifying lens? Even though the object appears to get larger or smaller, it really stays the same size. Each lens has its own unique power of magnification; how powerful is your lens? Read more

Build an Ion Wind Rotor

STEM Activity

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Can you use electrically charged "wind" to make something move? Find out in this fun project as you build your own ion wind rotor. Read more

Can You Hear Sounds in Outer Space?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wondered what sounds you can hear in space? The answer is simple: none! In outer space there is utter silence. There are no sounds of traffic jams or thunderstorms or crashing waves. No buzzing bees or babies crying. Just silence. In this experiment, you will discover why empty space is void of sound and prove it with the help of the microphone in your phone and a sensor app. Read more

Candy Waterfalls: Can Candy Flow Like Water?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever poured sand out of a bucket, or poured cereal out of a box, and noticed it is a lot like pouring water? It is because sand and cereal are granular materials. This means they are made up of solid particles, but they can actually flow like liquids! Candies, like Skittles®, M&M's®, Nerds® candies and many others, are also granular materials. In this science activity, you will investigate how the size and shape of granular materials affect how they flow. And what… Read more

Classroom Noise Meter

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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Do you feel like it is always too loud in your classroom? In this lesson you can find out exactly how loud it is. Using a mobile phone and a sensor app, your students will measure and graph the sound levels in your classroom for different working scenarios. How loud are your students when doing independent work, having a group discussion, or listening to their teacher? Based on your students' data, you will determine as a class which sound levels are ideal for each scenario and create a… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-PS4-1. Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.

Come One, Come All! Explore the Effect of Light on the Speed of the Amazing Rotating Radiometer!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Radiometers are fun-to-watch novelty items, but they also have a distinguished scientific history, having been studied by James Clerk Maxwell and Albert Einstein. A radiometer has a set of four vanes (like small sails) connected to a spindle that is free to rotate. When the radiometer is placed in bright light, the vanes and spindle start to spin. It looks like a magic trick, but there is a scientific explanation for this weird behavior. In this science fair project, you will experiment with… Read more

Create a Sea Breeze

STEM Activity

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A hot summer day is the perfect time to go to the beach and cool down in the brisk ocean water. But it's not only the water that has a cooling effect at the beach. Have you ever noticed that there always seems to be a cool breeze blowing from the ocean to the shore? Where does the wind come from? In this activity, you will build a model of the ocean and the beach to find out—so next time you go to the beach, you will know why the sea breeze is blowing! Read more

Cricket Wicket Knockdown Challenge for Grades 6-8

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

Teach your students about the engineering design process with this fun lesson plan. They will design and build a ball-launching machine to knock down a target. Optionally, they can enter their designs in the 2020 Engineering Challenge for a chance to win a cash prize for your school! Teachers, note that elementary school and high school versions of this lesson plan are also available. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
MS-PS3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.

Middle School, Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (145 results)

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