About 70% of Earth's surface is covered by oceans but humans have only explored 5% of the ocean! From microscopic phytoplankton to pods of whales and global weather patterns there is a lot left to discover. Whether you life near the coast or far from the ocean our list of ocean science projects has something you can do to learn about the ocean's watery mysteries.
A day at the beach is a wonderful way to spend time with your family and friends. You can swim, play games, and build sand castles. But have you ever thought about how all of that sand got there and wondered why the shoreline weaves in and out of the ocean? In this science project, you will investigate how ocean waves build beaches by making a model of the beach and shoreline. All you need is a tiny surfer and a beach volleyball court for your model, and you can imagine that you are in…
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Have you ever been swimming at the beach and gotten some water in your mouth by mistake? Then you know that the ocean is very salty. But what about other bodies of water? How much salt do they have compared to the ocean?
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If you leave an ice cube out on the kitchen counter and come back to check on it in awhile, what do you find? A puddle! The same thing happens to ice in nature—if the temperature gets warm enough, it melts. In this ocean science project, you will find out what happens to sea levels if the ice at the North Pole melts, or if the ice at the South Pole melts. It is an important question for the millions of people who enjoy living along the coasts of the world.
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OceanSci_p015
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Time Required
Very Short (≤ 1 day)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Readily available
Cost
Very Low (under $20)
Safety
Adult supervision is required when making the homemade dough.
Have you seen plankton? I am not talking about the evil villain trying to steal the Krabby Patty recipe from Mr. Krab. I am talking about plankton that live in the ocean. In this experiment you can learn how to collect your own plankton samples and see the wonderful diversity in shape and form of planktonic organisms.
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OceanSci_p010
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Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Readily available
Cost
Very Low (under $20)
Safety
Requires parental supervision and use of water safety practices when collecting water samples from piers, docks, boats, and shorelines.
Have you ever been to a tide pool during low tide? Some intertidal animals in the low tide zone are left in a tiny pool of water when the tides go out. Other intertidal animals that live in high tide zones may be left to dry out during low tide. How much time does each zone spend out of water during a tidal cycle?
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OceanSci_p008
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Time Required
Very Short (≤ 1 day)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
You need to live within driving distance to a beach or ocean front to do this experiment.
Of course it can, you say: ice is water and ice floats! And you're right. But we're talking about water in the liquid phase (the title reads better without getting overly specific). So how about it? Can liquid water float on water? Check out this project to find out.
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A tsunami is a series of waves made in a body of water, like the ocean, that can cause serious destruction when they hit the coastline. In deep water, a wave can be just a few feet high and travel very fast. As it nears the coastline, and moves into shallower water, tsunamis usually slow down, but the wave height can grow to 100 feet! In this ocean science project, you will model a tsunami and investigate how wave velocity (speed) depends on water depth. Does it match the mathematical equation…
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OceanSci_p014
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Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
You will need an extra-long plastic storage box to use as a water tank. Plastic storage boxes that can slide under a bed work very well. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.
Cost
Low ($20 - $50)
Safety
Use caution when working with the lamp and the water tank. Make sure the two are far apart from each other at all times. Adult supervision required.
Ocean currents have profound effects on the climates of the continents, especially those regions bordering on the ocean. For example, the Gulf Stream (a warm current that goes around the North Atlantic Ocean) is thought to make northwest Europe much warmer than it would otherwise be. Similarly, the California Current is thought to keep Hawaii cooler than other land masses at the same latitude as it. In this ocean science fair project, you will model the behavior of these "rivers" of hot and…
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OceanSci_p012
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Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Readily available
Cost
Very Low (under $20)
Safety
Adult supervision is required. Use caution when working with the lighter or matches.
If you've ever so much as watched a news clip about a hurricane, you probably know that hurricanes draw their power from warm ocean waters. If that is true, does it mean that hurricanes actually cool the ocean down when they pass through? Can the amount of cooling be measured? Is it proportional to the strength of the hurricane? Find out using data that you can collect yourself using online archives. This project shows you how.
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