High School, Computer Science Science Projects (27 results)

From cell phones to social media, computer science is a part of your daily life. Everything from traffic lights to medical devices requires both computer hardware and software these days. Creative problem solvers are using computer science to tackle social problems, improve agriculture, make great entertainment, and start exciting new companies. What could you create and innovate with a bit of tinkering and programming?

Make a Color Detector App to Help Colorblind People

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Do you know anyone who is colorblind, or are you colorblind yourself? What if you could carry a device in your pocket that could identify colors for you? Many people already carry around the device they need to do this - a smartphone! Since phones have built-in cameras, you can make an app that uses the camera to identify colors. In this project you will use a program called MIT App Inventor that makes it easy for anyone, even with no programming experience, to design your own mobile app. Read more

Mars Terrain Exploration: A Hands-On Coding Investigation

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wondered what the surface of Mars is really like close up? Are you wondering what the Mars rovers get to see and experience? Some parts of Mars look smooth and sandy, whereas others are covered in rocks and rough terrain. In this project, you’ll step into the role of a planetary scientist and use real Mars rover images and Python code to detect, measure, and compare rocks across different types of Martian terrain. Here you’ll explore how image processing can help… 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

Password Security: How Easily Can Your Password Be Hacked?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

We use passwords every day for our email and other computer accounts. How secure is the password that you use? How hard would it be for someone to guess your password? How hard is it to write a computer program to guess a password? You can see for yourself by writing a simple password guesser in the computer language Python. We will get you started with some ideas, a little sample code, and a few passwords for your computer program to try and guess. Read more

Identify Road Signs with Machine Learning

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Driverless cars use machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to identify road signs and other things they encounter on the road, like pedestrians and other vehicles. In this project you will take your own pictures of different types of road signs and use machine learning to identify the signs using a free online tool (no programming is required). You will then attempt to improve your machine learning model so it can identify signs in a variety of environments. Read more

Simulating The Kessler Syndrome: How Satellite Collisions Could Spiral Out of Control

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

What happens when a satellite collision in space leads to a chain reaction of more collisions? This project models The Kessler Syndrome: A scenario in which collisions between satellites in low Earth orbit create increasing amounts of debris, eventually making the region too dangerous for satellites or spacecraft to operate safely. By adjusting key variables like collision rates and debris generation, you can visualize how quickly space around Earth could become overcrowded, and explore… Read more

Build an Automatic Dog (or Cat) Treat Dispenser

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Does your dog get bored when you are not home? Do you ever toss them a few treats right before you head out the door? What if you could keep them busy by automatically dispensing treats throughout the day? What about training them to sit in a certain place or even press a button by automatically rewarding them with treats? In this project you will build your own automatic dog (or cat, or other pet) treat dispenser that you can customize to react to different sensors. 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

Can You Crowdsource a Better School Environment?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How can you motivate students and teachers to make positive changes in their school? Why not try using what is in everyone's pocket—a smartphone! With this project you'll try your hand at harnessing the power of crowdsourcing and mobile technology by creating an app that motivates users to change their school for the better. Do not worry about the app creation, the MIT App Inventor tool makes that part easy; the instructions provided here will lead you through it step-by-step. Will your… 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

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