Life on Land, Eighth Grade Science Projects (Page 5)

Native Landscapes

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do your parents like to garden? Then you might have a beautiful lawn surrounded by flowers, or a vegetable garden. Humans have been introducing plants to our landscapes for centuries, which has dramatically altered the natural habitat of many environments. Chances are, the landscape you live in is not a natural landscape. One movement is to restore these habitats by re-introducing native plants. Conduct a survey in your area looking for native and non-native plant species. You can take… Read more

Do Milkweed Bugs Show a Color Preference for Egg-Laying Sites?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Milkweed bugs, as their name suggests, have a close relationship with the milkweed plant. The plant produces an irritating, milky sap, and toxic compounds, but somehow the milkweed bug is unaffected by them. Instead, it concentrates chemicals from the sap in its body, acquiring an unsavory taste that, along with its bright coloration, protects it from predators. Given this close relationship, will the milkweed bug exhibit a color preference for egg-laying sites? This project is designed to find… Read more

Are Soil Microorganisms Important for Plant Health?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Soil may look like a bunch of dirt, but good quality soil is actually a complex mixture of dirt, nutrients, microorganisms, insects and worms. What type of benefit do these microorganisms offer a growing plant? You can test this by baking soil in the oven to sterilize and kill the microorganisms. Do plants grown in sterile soil do better than plants in unsterilized soil? What about adding worms to one plant, but not to the other. Will the plant with worms grow better? Some insects are bad… Read more

Squirrel Obstacle Course: How Far Can Squirrels Jump?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This project idea is inspired by former NASA engineer Mark Rober's "Squirrel Ninja Obstacle Course". You do not need to build a full obstacle course as intricate as Mark's (although you certainly can if you want to!) to make this into a fun science project. For example, how far can squirrels jump? You could test this question by building a mobile post and placing it next to a bird feeder. The bird feeder in Figure 1 is mounted on a metal pole. The pole is protected by a squirrel baffle, a… Read more

When the Sun Rises: The Effect of Light on the Movement of Daphnia

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Changes in the environment, or stimuli, affect your behavior and movement over the course of a day: When you get cold, for instance, you might get up and put on a sweater. Or if it is sunny and warm, you might go outside to play sports or go for a walk. Different stimuli, including light, affect the movement of other organisms as well. But how does the type of light influence their movement? Do they respond differently to different kinds of light, depending on other factors in their… Read more

Do Migratory Birds Like It Hot?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Why do birds migrate? Do all birds have the same reasons for migrating? Where do they go when they migrate? These are questions scientists have asked for centuries. The more species for which they gather data, the more specific the answers become. In this science project, you will choose a species to investigate, then access and evaluate real data collected by scientists to start answering those questions yourself! Read more

Eeew! Maggot Mass Temperature

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you're looking for an experiment that will gross out just about everyone, you probably can't do much better than this! This project investigates an important question in the field of forensic entomology. Just make sure to get permission at home before you start. Read more

Bat Detector: Listen to the Secret Sounds of Bats

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you have bats in your neighborhood? Have you heard them "whoosh" by you, but not been able to see them? In this science fair project, you will be able to detect flying bats by listening in on the ultrasonic signals they produce to locate objects in their environment. The bat detector is a useful and fun tool for studying the biology of this nocturnal flying mammal. Read more

Fighting Litter in Your Neighborhood

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Is there a public park, playground, or beach near you that suffers from a litter problem? Here is a way that you can do something about it! First, get a measure of the size of the problem by conducting a litter survey. Select a fraction of the area to survey at regular intervals (e.g., every two or three days, or maybe once a week). The area should be large enough so that you can get a representative sample of litter, but not so large that you can't clean it up. Each time you conduct your… Read more

Life on Land, Eighth Grade Science Projects (49 results)

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