An experienced chemistry professor used to say that it took about one explosion per week to maintain college students' attention in chemistry lectures. At that rate, we'd get in pretty big trouble with a lot of parents and teachers! Don't worry, our list of chemistry science and engineering projects still has lots of bubbles, fizzes, bangs, and color changes for you to explore.
Did you know that even though water is a liquid, it isn't always able to get into little cracks and crevices? So how do clothes go from caked with mud to clean? How can dishes go from greasy to glistening? With a few simple household items, you can find out!
Read more
Chem_p021
+ More Details
- Less Details
Time Required
Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
This project requires 1 mL syringes. See the Materials and Equipment list for details. Estimated project time includes time to ship the syringes. The experiment itself will take less than one day.
In this project you'll make a liquid that will contradict your expectations. Hold it loosely in your hand and it will drip off your fingers, but grab it tightly and it will feel solid. Slap a bowl of it with a spoon, and instead of splattering, it solidifies. Do background research on colloids, and be sure you can explain the following terms: colloid, Newtonian fluid, non-Newtonian fluid, thixotropic. (For instructions on how to make it see the link listed under Exploratorium, 1998, in the…
Read more
There are three different kinds of polymers used for kitchen plastic wrap: low density polyethylene (LDPE) (e.g., Handiwrap or Glad Wrap), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (e.g., Reynolds PVC Foodservice Wrap or Boardwalk PVC Food Wrap Film) and polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC) (note: Saran Wrap used to be made with polyvinylidene chloride, but has switched to polyethylene. You will need to search for another brand that uses PVdC if you want to test it). Which of these materials is least permeable to…
Read more
Chem_p032
+ More Details
- Less Details
Time Required
Long (2-4 weeks)
Prerequisites
Material Availability
Some types of plastic wraps may need to be specially ordered. Various PVC wraps are available through .
Here's a chemistry project for a beginning scientist. You'll need two 100 ml graduated cylinders, rubbing alcohol, water and liquid food dye. (You can make your own measuring cylinder from a recycled jar: tape a vertical label on the jar and carefully add water 1/4-cup at a time; mark the level on the label with each addition.) Measure 50 ml of water. Add a drop or two of food coloring and mix. In the second cylinder, measure 50 ml of rubbing alcohol. Carefully pour this…
Read more
"Plastic made from milk" —that certainly sounds like something made-up. If you agree, you may be
surprised to learn that in the early 20th century, milk was used to make many different plastic
ornaments —including jewelry for Queen Mary of England! In this chemistry science project, you can figure out the best recipe to make your own milk plastic (usually called casein plastic) and use it to make beads, ornaments, or other items.
Read more
Chem_p101
+ More Details
- Less Details
Time Required
Very Short (≤ 1 day)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Readily available
Cost
Very Low (under $20)
Safety
This science project uses hot liquids. Adult supervision and/or help is needed.
Some chemical reactions occur explosively fast, others may occur almost imperceptibly s-l-o-w-l-y. This project explores what effect the particle size of the reactants has on the speed of a chemical reaction: production of carbon dioxide gas by an Alka-Seltzer® tablet.
Read more
Chem_p028
+ More Details
- Less Details
Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Readily available
Cost
Very Low (under $20)
Safety
Adult supervision recommended when working with hot water solutions
Picture this situation: An elderly woman is rushed to the hospital complaining of severe abdominal pain, tinnitus, and lethargy. Suspecting a drug interaction, the emergency room doctor starts questioning her. The doctor learns that the woman takes no medicines except aspirin for her arthritis. Since she cannot swallow pills well she takes a powdered form of aspirin which she buys in bulk and keeps in a plastic container in her kitchen next to her baking goods. She had just finished a day of…
Read more
Chem_p093
+ More Details
- Less Details
Time Required
Very Short (≤ 1 day)
Prerequisites
Material Availability
A kit containing specialty items needed for this project is available from our partner . See the Materials tab for more details.
Cost
Average ($40 - $80)
Safety
Wear disposable gloves when working with chemicals.
This is a simple "kitchen chemistry" project about acid/base chemistry. Scientists measure the acidity or alkalinity of a solution using a logarithmic scale called the pH scale. In this project you'll learn about the pH scale, and you'll make your own pH indicator paper using a pH-sensitive dye that you'll extract from red cabbage. You can use your pH paper to measure the acidity/alkalinity of various household solutions.
Read more
Chem_p041
+ More Details
- Less Details
Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Lab filter paper can be purchased
from our partner .
Cost
Very Low (under $20)
Safety
Adult supervision required. Do not mix strong acids and bases.
Have you ever looked at sunlight through a prism? If so, you know that the prism can separate the sunlight into many different colors of light — a rainbow. Like sunlight, chemical mixtures can also be broken into their component parts. One way of doing this is a simple technique called paper chromatography. What do you think you will see if you use paper chromatography to look at the components of black ink? Is black ink just black? Find out for yourself!
Read more
Chem_p008
+ More Details
- Less Details
Time Required
Very Short (≤ 1 day)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
For your convenience a kit is available from our partner
.
Alka-Seltzer® tablets fizzle furiously when dropped into water. The moment the tablet starts dissolving, a chemical reaction occurs that releases carbon dioxide gas. In this science project, you can even measure how long and loudly your tablet fizzes using Google's
app. Do you think you can make Alka-Seltzer fizz faster or more loudly by changing the temperature of the water? How big of a difference in the rate of a chemical reaction can temperature make?
Read more
Chem_p027
+ More Details
- Less Details
Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Readily available
Cost
Very Low (under $20)
Safety
Adult supervision may be needed when working with hot water solutions.
