Elementary School, Geology Science Projects (43 results)

Have you ever seen a river from far above? It is fascinating how they carve their way through the landscape. But what makes the water in a river flow? Where does a river start and end? And why is it that rivers usually have lots of turns or bends and almost never flow straight? In this science project, you will make river models using aluminum foil and water to explore how water flow inside a river changes based on its shape. Read more

Soil erosion can cost the world billions of dollars every year by washing pollutants into our streams and rivers and by causing the loss of farmland. What can you do about this problem? Help save the world (and some money!) with nothing more than a few plants! Read more

If you have ever prepared a cup of coffee or tea with sugar, you have probably seen that the grains of sugar quickly dissolve and completely disappear in hot water. But sugar is not the only type of solid that can readily dissolve in a liquid. In fact, there are some types of rocks that can be dissolved by common liquids. It might be hard to imagine large, hard rocks being eaten away by some ordinary fluids, right? But it actually happens all the time! In this geology science project, you will… Read more

Have you ever stood close to a fossilized T. rex skull and counted its razor-sharp teeth? Or, have you seen a fossilized stegosaurus skeleton and thought about how it defended itself with tail spikes and armored plates? A trip to a natural history museum lets you imagine what dinosaurs looked like and wonder what life with them on Earth was like. Fossils give us information about animals and plants that lived long ago. Certain places around the world contain more fossils than others. Why?… Read more

Have you ever had fun playing with sand and water, observing how little rivers you create carve their way down to the lowest point of the sandbox, backyard or beach? Some meander, others braid, and some carve a path straight down. Hyrdologists (or scientists who study water) do very much the same thing! Only they set up the model in a particular way, so observing their mini-rivers helps them answer questions about how water flow affects the environment. In this geology science project, you… Read more

What do rocks and clocks have in common? Both keep track of time. Yes, radioactive isotopes present in rocks and other ancient material decay atom by atom at a steady rate, much as clocks tick time away. Geologists use those radioactive isotopes to date volcanic ash or granite formations like the giant Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Anthropologists, archeologists, and paleontologists also use radioactive isotopes to date mummies, pottery, and dinosaur fossils. Does this sound abstract… Read more

Have you ever heard the expression, "You can't judge a book by its cover"? What do you think that means? That a book with a very plain cover might have a very exciting and interesting story inside? Well, in this geology science project, you'll see if the same expression holds true for a rock, but not just any old rock, a special type of rock called a geode, which looks rather plain and ordinary on the outside, but inside can hold crystals and beautiful colors! You'll discover if the texture or… Read more

Our home, Earth, is a living planet. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are proof that the geological forces that shaped our planet and created the land masses are ongoing. An amazing example of geologic activity that is less damaging is a geyser. In this geology science fair project, you will build a model geyser and determine how depth of the source affects how the water is ejected. By the end of this project, you will know a lot more about geysers and understand that a geyser is much more… Read more

You may have heard the expression, "You can't get blood from a stone." But what about oil? Can you get petroleum oil from a stone? In this geology science fair project, you'll find out what kinds of stones make the best storage rocks for oil. You'll see which ones can soak up oil like a sponge, and which ones cannot soak up oil or let it pass through, but can act as a "cap" to contain the oil in secret underground traps. Can a hard rock really act like a soft sponge... maybe SpongeBob… Read more

Caves have been used for much more than just exploring throughout Earth's history. Caves have been used for shelter, for religious purposes, and for burial sites. They were even used for food storage, before refrigeration, because they are cool and have constant high humidity. But how are caves formed? What causes those fantastic formations in caves? How do cave formations change as you go deeper in the cave? Get ready for an adventure as you visit a local cave and learn more in this science… Read more