Fifth Grade, Computer Science Science Experiments (Page 2)

STEM Activity

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If you need to send a secret message to a friend, how could you prevent other people from reading it? One way is to encrypt the message, or use a secret code that only you and your friend know. Try this activity to learn how to create your own "Caesar cipher," a popular type of code that is easy to learn. Read more

How Does Distance Affect Wireless Signal Strength?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Are you ever annoyed by a poor Wi-Fi signal? What about when you try to send a text message, and it just won't go through because of poor cell service? Have you ever wondered what factors affect the strength of your signal and the speed of the connection? If so, this project is for you! Read more

Crack the Code: Breaking a Caesar Cipher

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When you hear the word "encryption," you might think about modern computers and things like email and online bank accounts. But did you know that encryption has been around for thousands of years? In this project you will learn about the Caesar cipher, a simple type of encryption that replaces each letter of the alphabet with another letter, and demonstrate how a modern computer can crack this ancient code in just a few seconds. Read more

Predicting How Urban Wildfires Will Spread

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Urban wildfires can cause devastating loss of life and property. Can we save lives by predicting how and where these fires will spread? What protective measures can we take to save buildings from the fires? In this project you will use a computer model to simulate how wildfires spread in populated areas, and experiment with different protective measures to try and save houses from burning. Read more

Robot, Make Me a Sandwich!

STEM Activity

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Have you ever wanted a robot assistant that could do all your household chores? Science fiction has been showing us such robots for decades, but they're still not available! What's taking so long? In this project you will investigate some of the challenges in programming a "robot" to do a simple household task, such as making a sandwich. Read more

The Point of a Parabola: Focusing Signals for a Better Wireless Network

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever been annoyed by poor Wi-Fi reception for your phone, tablet, or laptop? Do you wish there was something you could do about it? In this project you will learn how to build a parabolic reflector that you can attach to the antenna of a regular wireless router to help boost its signal. Read more

Building Personal Medicine Apps to Help Patients

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Remembering to take medication or perform a test regularly, consistently, and at specific times can be difficult for elderly people with short-term memory loss, or teenagers absorbed in activities. With mobile devices becoming our constant companions, could a smartphone or tablet offer a solution? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has created a simple tool making it possible for anyone who has a computer and Internet access to create a reminder app. It is easy, quick, and… Read more

Drive a Race Car with Machine Learning

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

How do you design a program that can pilot a self-driving race car? By using machine learning. In this project, you will train your own machine learning model for an autonomous vehicle, the AWS (Amazon Web Services) DeepRacer. You can run your car's machine learning model on a simulated racetrack (Figure 1), or you can purchase a 1/18 scale model vehicle that can race on a physical track (Figure 2 - note: new cars are no longer for sale, but you may be able to purchase a used one on a site like… Read more

How do Self-Driving Cars Know What to Do?

STEM Activity

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How do driverless cars know what to do at an intersection? How do they know when they should stop and when it is their turn to go? What about yielding to pedestrians? In this activity, you will write your own algorithm, or list of steps, for a driverless car to follow when navigating through various road scenarios like stop signs, traffic lights, and roundabouts (traffic circles). Read more

Make a Medical Alert Fall Detector

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever wondered what someone would do if they fell, got hurt, and could not get up on their own? What if they were home alone and could not reach a phone to call for help? Or, what if they lost consciousness - is there any way to automatically detect that they fell and needed help? In this project, you will program your own fall detector, a device that can automatically detect when someone has fallen over, then sound an alarm or even send a message to someone else. Devices like these are… Read more

Fifth Grade, Computer Science Science Experiments (74 results)

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