Sixth Grade, Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 4)

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Do you like winter sports like sledding or skiing? Check out this winter-themed engineering project to build your own miniature "ski lift." Use it to transport small objects from one place to another, just like a real ski lift transports skiers from the bottom of a mountain to the top. Read more

Make a Homemade Compass

STEM Activity

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Have you ever used a compass to help you figure out what direction to go? What about while on a camping trip — have you ever needed a compass to help you navigate your way through a forest? Magnetic compasses work based on Earth's magnetic field. In this science activity, you will get to make your own magnetic compass out of a sewing needle, piece of cork, and cup of water. How well do you think it will work? Get ready to find out! Read more

Measure the Frequency Response of a Paper Speaker

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can you build a working speaker out of paper? How does a speaker's ability to play low or high-pitched notes depend on its size? Explore the science of sound in this project as you build and test your own speakers in order to answer these questions! Read more

Stealthy Shapes: How to Make an Aircraft Invisible to Radar

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever dreamed about becoming invisible? Or about making something else invisible, like the mess all over your room? Invisibility may sound like the stuff of science fiction (remember Star Trek's "Cloaking Device"?), but in reality, military vehicles, like planes and ships, can be made less observable, or even invisible, to different detection methods—like radar, sonar, or infrared sensors—by using stealth technology. In this engineering science fair project, you'll find out… Read more

Volleyball Machine Challenge

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Can you build a volleyball machine? It will need one part to launch a ping pong ball over a net and another to return the ball. How many back-and-forth volleys can you get before the ball touches the ground? Looking for inspiration? You can see how other students have tackled this and other annual Science Buddies Engineering Challenges. Teachers, lesson plan versions of this challenge are available. Read more

What's the Fastest Way to Cool a Soda?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

So you've just finished mowing the lawn on a hot summer day, and you'd like a cold, refreshing drink as a reward. You look in the fridge, and oops! it's empty. The sodas are still sitting in the cupboard, at room temperature. What's the fastest way to get that soda down to a cold, drinkable temperature with materials readily at hand? Read more

A Model of Gravity in Our Solar System

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Why do the planets orbit the sun without flying off into space? Do they move in perfect circles or do their orbits take a different shape? And how could you possibly do a science project about any of this—you can't do an experiment with the planets! However, you can build a model of our solar system that demonstrates the concept of gravity, using balls of different sizes to represent the sun and planets. Watch the summary video for an excellent introduction to the model. Think about how… Read more

How Fish Sink and Float

STEM Activity

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Have you ever thought about why most fish never sink to the bottom of the ocean or float to the water's surface? How is it that they can stay so perfectly buoyant under water? You might be surprised to hear that most bony fish have a special organ to help them with that: a swim bladder. The swim bladder is a thin-walled sac located inside the body of the fish that is usually filled with gas. Besides helping the fish stay buoyant, it can also function as a sound producer and receptor or as an… Read more

Try the Mythbusters' "Phone Book Friction" Experiment at Home

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever heard that two phone books with the pages interleaved are impossible to pull apart? This might seem crazy, right? It is not that hard to slide a sheet of paper off the top of a stack of paper. How much friction can there really be between sheets of paper? In this experiment, you will use pads of sticky notes instead of phone books. How much weight can they support when you interleave the pages? Do you think you will be able to pull them apart by hand? The results might surprise… Read more

2026 Ball Run Challenge for Grades 6-8

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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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.

Sixth Grade, Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (132 results)

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