Expore Computer Science Science Projects (40 results)

Explore how to accomplish tasks with computer hardware and software-- but not just a typical laptop, but everything from cellphones, to tiny Raspberry Pis, and robots. Investigate solving environmental problems, explore improving human health, or animate your art.

What Materials Can Block a Wi-Fi Signal?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever suffered from poor Wi-Fi reception for your smartphone, tablet, or laptop? Certain materials can actually block a Wi-Fi signal; do you think that could be part of your problem? In this science project, you will do an experiment to find out which materials cause the biggest drop in signal strength from a wireless router. 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

Sounds Like RFID: Using a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Reader to Make Musical Instruments

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Passports, identification cards, bus passes, and even some credit cards contain RFID tags. An RFID (radio-frequency identification) tag allows a card to be read by a computer from a short distance away. While this is very useful in everyday life, would you believe you can make music with it? RFID + sampled music sounds + a little crafting = a fun musical instrument that is limited only by your imagination. In this science project, you will make handbells out of paper cups that play real sounds,… Read more

Storytelling Alice: Once Upon a Time in a Computer-generated Land...

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up. What do these Pixar films have in common? They are all computer-animated films. While the writers and directors came up with the compelling stories and the kinds of scenes that would best tell the stories, the computer animation experts brought the films to life. In this computer science project, you will easily be able to create your own animated story using a simple computer programming environment called Storytelling Alice. To create your animation, you will… Read more

Blocking RFID Readers from Reading your ID Card

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you've ever watched an adult pay for something by simply touching their credit card to a machine at a store, or you've done the same with a bus pass, you've seen an RFID tag in action. An RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) tag allows a card to be read by a computer from a short distance away. This is very convenient, but it also allows criminals to steal information about you. For instance, on the subway or the bus, someone standing next to you can use an RFID reader to access the data on… Read more

Use an Arduino™ to Control a Color-Changing Infinity Mirror

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This project is a follow-up to the Science Buddies project Explore Optical Illusions: Build an Infinity Mirror, which shows you how to build a basic infinity mirror using light emitting diodes (LEDs) and arts and crafts materials. What if you wanted to build an infinity mirror that could change colors, like the one in Figure 1? Figure 1. A color-changing infinity mirror. You can do this by using special RGB (red, green, and blue) LEDs. Just like the pixels… Read more

Quick Draw McPaws: Teach A Computer Kitty How to Draw Shapes

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever played a computer game in which a cartoon character, like a dog or a cat, moves or turns when you click on it? Have you ever wondered how characters know how far to move or how far to turn? In this computer science project, you will learn how with a simple (and free) program called Scratch, which will let you write your own computer program that tells a cartoon kitty how to draw shapes. 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

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

Bits, Bytes, and Bases: Write a JavaScript Binary/Decimal/Hexadecimal Converter

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This is a challenging first computer science project. You'll learn the basics of how digital devices can represent numbers using only 0's and 1's, and you'll write a JavaScript program to convert numbers between binary, decimal and hexadecimal notation. Read more

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