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Life Below Water, Middle School Science Projects (23 results)

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
These projects explore topics key to Life Below Water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Science Buddies' middle school science projects are the perfect way for middle school students to have fun exploring science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Our middle school projects are written and tested by scientists and are specifically created for use by students in the middle school grades. Students can choose to follow the science experiment as written or put their own spin on the project.

For a personalized list of science projects, middle schoolers can use the Science Buddies Topic Selection Wizard. The wizard asks students to respond to a series of simple statements and then uses their answers to recommend age-appropriate projects that fit their interests.

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Acid Rain and Aquatic Life
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Chemicals from Earth's atmosphere are making their way down to the planet! Not in spaceships, but in rain. The acid rain can infiltrate ground water, lakes, and streams. How does acid rain affect aquatic ecosystems? Read more
Can Nanotechnology Help Clean Up Ocean Oil Spills? Try It Yourself with Ferrofluid
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
The enormous task of cleaning up oil spills in oceans and seas has burdened industry, government, and environmentalists for decades. The cleanup is almost always difficult. It involves great amounts of time, resources, and money to remove the oil from the water, and the cleanup is often only partially successful. Today, however, scientists are coming to the rescue, developing a new technique that combines nanotechnology and magnetism. In this science project, you will test the proposed… Read more
Classify Animals with Machine Learning
Science Fair Project Idea
Engineering Design Process
How do you tell the difference between a bird and a fish? Birds tend to have feathers and can fly, while fish have no legs and can breathe underwater. In this project, you will explore how to create a decision tree using machine learning that can classify different animals based on multiple characteristics. This project is designed for beginners and requires little to no coding experience. Ready to give it a shot? Read more
Clean Up The Water with a Trash-Skimming Robot
Science Fair Project Idea
Engineering Design Process
Engineers are trying to tackle the world's ocean pollution problem using robots. Some robots, like Mr. Trash Wheel and the ship featured in this Mark Rober video, are stationary and collect trash as it flows out of rivers before it gets into the ocean. Others, like the Jellyfishbot, are mobile and can squeeze into narrower spaces to collect trash: Can you build and test your own trash-skimming robot? If you do not have access to a natural body of water to test it in, you can use a bathtub or a… Read more
Dissolved Oxygen in Water vs. Temperature
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
To survive, we need oxygen in the air we breathe. Oxygen is also essential for most aquatic organisms, but there is much less oxygen available in water than in air. How much oxygen can dissolve in water? Does the temperature of the water matter? Learn how to measure dissolved oxygen and then see how oxygen concentration changes with water temperature. Read more
Do Plants Promote Pesticide Breakdown?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
When pesticides are applied to protect crops, run-off of potentially harmful pesticides is a major problem. Can water plants such as hardstem bulrush, common cattail, parrotfeather and smooth scouring rush promote pesticide breakdown? If so, diversion of irrigation run-off into plant-filled ponds could help reduce pesticide pollution. Mix malathion at 12.5% of the recommended application strength (to simulate dilution by rain or irrigation water). Use 5-gallon buckets for testing various… Read more
Do Your Storm Drains Keep the Ocean Trash Free?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Did you know that there is plastic in the ocean? It probably isn't too hard to imagine that some of the plastic that litters roadways, sidewalks, and parks finds its way into the ocean. So, how much do you think is in there? Hundreds of pounds of plastic? How about thousands of pounds? No one knows for sure, but estimates, based on scientific surveys, suggest the amount is in the range of millions of pounds of plastic! Of course, the ocean is big, over 300 million square kilometers, so… Read more
Froggy Forecasting: How Frog Health Predicts Pond Health
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Have you ever heard the expression "a canary in a coal mine"? In the 1900's and earlier, coal miners brought canaries with them into the mines to act as early warning signals. The canaries were very sensitive to low levels of dangerous gases, so if the birds stopped singing, or got sick, then the miners knew to leave immediately, even if they felt fine. As it turns out, our froggy friends are also very helpful at signaling problems, not in mines, but in and around bodies of water. Try this… Read more
Go Fish! Creating an Ocean-Friendly Fishing Video Game
Science Fair Project Idea
Engineering Design Process
Video games are entertainment, but like other such media (say Oscar-winning movies or award-winning books), they can also point out challenges facing people. In this science project, you will design and create a fishing video game that teaches the player about which fish are plentiful enough to catch and which fish are not because their population is declining. Maybe your game can help solve the problem of over-fishing and help sustain healthy fish populations. All while having fun of course! Read more
Heavy Metals and Aquatic Environments
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
You might know that lead can be toxic, and that you can get lead poisoning from eating or inhaling old paint dust. Lead is called a heavy metal, and there are other sources of heavy metals that can be toxic, too. Silver, copper, mercury, nickel, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium are all heavy metals that can be toxic in certain environments. In this experiment, find out if one common heavy metal, copper, can be toxic to an aquatic environment. Read more
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