Electronics Kit for Arduino Instructions

Build a Circuit to Automatically Water Your Plants

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever taken care of a plant? It can be tricky to get it right. You have to remember to water it regularly, and you also have to make sure to give it the right amount of water — not too much or too little. What if technology could help? In this engineering project, you will learn how to automate the entire process of watering a plant. Using a soil moisture sensor and a pump, you will build a circuit that will automatically detect when the soil is too dry, add water, and stop when… Read more

Build an Obstacle-Detecting Walking Stick for Blind People

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Many individuals who are blind or visually impaired use canes to navigate their surroundings, using their sense of touch to detect obstacles. What if you could create an electronic cane that emits an audible warning before coming into contact with an object? This project allows you to do just that by incorporating an ultrasonic distance sensor and a buzzer to alert the user of approaching obstacles. You can customize the cane by adding additional features or altering the design, such as using a… Read more

Build Obstacle-Detecting Glasses for Visually Impaired People

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Many visually impaired people use canes to detect obstacles at ground level. What about detecting an obstacle at face level, like a tree branch? What if you need to keep both your hands free and cannot hold a cane? Solve both problems at once with these obstacle-detecting glasses! The glasses use an ultrasonic sensor to measure distance and a buzzer to alert the user of nearby objects. You can customize the design to add or swap out features, like using a vibration motor instead of a buzzer.… Read more

Build a Fuzzy Companion Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Snuggling a dog or cat can make you feel better even when you are not lonely or sick. Therapy and companion animals are also used for patients in health care settings, but sometimes you cannot always have access to a real live animal. Can a robot serve the same purpose? Find out in this project when you add an Arduino to a stuffed animal to build a purring companion robot. Read more

Build a Light-Up Activity Timer

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Do you have trouble remembering when to stop playing and clean up? Have you ever had little kids throw a tantrum about cleaning up while you were babysitting? If so, this project is for you! You will convert a stuffed animal into a light-up activity timer. You can use the timer for different activities like play, exercise, or doing homework. What you use it for is up to you! Read more

Build a Robotic Arm

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Robotic arms have many uses, ranging from assembling things in factories to collecting soil samples on Mars to acting as prosthetics (artificial limbs) for humans. If you have ever wanted to build your own robotic arm, this project will guide you through the basics of designing and building a simple one. You can use this design as a starting point to design your own robotic arm and add your own features. Read more

Build an Arduino Strobe Light for the Stroboscopic Effect

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Science Buddies project Build a Levitating Water Fountain with the Stroboscopic Effect shows you how to illuminate a dripping stream of water with a strobe light to make it look like the drops are hovering in mid-air. If you have not already, read the background section of that project and watch the following two videos. Make sure you understand frequency, period, and duty cycle before you proceed with this project. The project has you use a strobe light app on your phone. The advantage… Read more

Make a Pomodoro Study Clock

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Pomodoro technique is a popular study method consisting of alternating study sessions and breaks. In this engineering project you will build your own customized Pomodoro timer or clock using an Arduino. In addition to displaying the time, you can use your clock to display messages or get the user's attention using lights, sound, or even moving parts. Can you work more efficiently with a Pomodoro timer at your side? Build one and find out! 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

Build a Haptic Glove with Arduino

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever used a video game or virtual reality (VR) controller that vibrates? The controller might vibrate when your character gets hit or when you crash in a racing game. This vibration provides additional information to your senses to help you understand what is happening in the game. What if you could feel these vibrations at different points on your skin through something you wear, like a glove? In this project, you will learn how to build and program your own customized glove with the… Read more

Build a Color-Detecting Rover

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers use scientific instruments, nicknamed ChemCam (Figure 1) and SuperCam respectively, to help them analyze the composition of rocks and soil on Mars. You can learn more about these cameras from the resources in the Bibliography, and more about why scientists want to analyze rocks on Mars from the video on this page. Figure 1. The two main parts of the ChemCam instrument on the Mars Curiosity rover. For a science… Read more

Make an Automatic Braille Display to Help Blind People

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

We take it for granted that computer screens can update the text on their displays. What about braille, the writing system used by blind and visually impaired people? Braille writing usually consists of a series of permanently raised bumps on a surface like a piece of paper or a sign. How can you make these bumps change or "update" to display different text? Find out in this engineering project as you design and build your own refreshable braille display. Read more

Make an Automatic Evaporative Cooling System

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

You probably know that sweat helps cool your skin on a hot day because of evaporation. But do you think you can use evaporation to cool a building? Evaporative cooling systems could provide a more environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional air conditioning. In this engineering project you will build and try to optimize your own model evaporative cooling system. Read more

Build a Model Planetary Lander with Arduino

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Imagine that you need to make sure valuable cargo — like a robot or even human astronauts — can land safely on Mars. How would you do it? In this project, you will build your own model planetary lander using an Arduino. It will use a distance sensor and automatically deploy landing gear before impact. Can you avoid a crash landing? Read more

Monitor Plant Health with a Color Sensor

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Do you have a garden or houseplants? What about living on or a near a farm? How often do you check your plants' leaves for discoloration? What if you could build a robot to check for you, and warn you if your plants are getting sick? In this project you will learn to use a color sensor to identify different colors on leaves, which can give you a warning about problems like pests, diseases, or nutrient deficiency. Get ready to automate your gardening! Read more

Design Your Own Smart LED Lighting System

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever had lights turn on automatically when you walked into a room? Have you turned on a light with your voice instead of a switch? Maybe you have even seen lights that change color depending on temperature, ambient sounds, or how close you are to something. In this project you will design and build your own smart LED lighting system that can change colors and react to various things in the room. The possibilities are endless! Check out this page for more LED science projects. Read more

Grow Plants in Microgravity with an Arduino Clinostat

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can humans grow food in space? Can we grow plants on the Moon or on a space station? This is an important question to answer as humans look to expand our existence to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. In this science project you will build a clinostat, a device that can simulate microgravity right here on Earth and use it to explore the effects of microgravity on plant growth. Read more

How Fast is Automatic Braking?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How fast can a human driver react and hit the brakes when there is an obstacle in the road? Can autonomous cars react more quickly and make the road safer for everyone? In this project you will build your own Arduino robot and test human braking versus automatic braking as the robot drives toward an obstacle at full speed. Read more

How to Control a DIY Mini Drone with an Arduino™

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Most drones fly with a mix of human input and autonomous control based on feedback from electronic sensors. This allows the drone to fly up and down when the human operator presses a joystick on a controller, but automatically hover at a fixed distance above the ground when the operator lets go of the joystick. In this project, you will explore drone programming with an Arduino. What types of inputs and sensors can you make your drone respond to? What behaviors and responses can you program… Read more

Build and Test a Sun-Tracking Solar Panel

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How can you get as much power as possible out of a solar panel, even in the morning or evening when the sun is low in the sky? With a solar tracker system! While many solar panels are fixed in place on rooftops or large ground-mounted poles, a solar tracker system is motorized and lets the solar panels track the sun through the sky during the day. Are these systems worth the added complexity? How much more power do they produce? Try this project and find out! 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

Build an Ultrasonic Levitator

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

It's not magic; it's science! Build your own acoustic levitator to make objects float in midair using invisible sound waves. Read more

Make Soft Robotic Skin

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

When you think about robots, do you think of something made from metal? What if robots could have stretchy, flexible skin just like humans? How would they detect when someone tapped them on the shoulder or something rubbed against their arm? In this project, you will learn how to make artificial robotic skin using flexible rubber with an embedded conductive fabric. You can also connect the artificial skin to a microcontroller and use it to control outputs like LEDs or motors. Read more

Build a Miniature Self-Driving Car

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

How do self-driving cars stay on the road? How do vehicles with autonomous or driver-assist features automatically brake, steer around obstacles, or perform tasks like adaptive cruise control? Experiment with these behaviors and more in this science project as you build and program your own autonomous Arduino robot. Read more

Build a Model Mass Driver for Launching Objects into Space

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

A mass driver uses electromagnetics to launch projectiles. In the future, such a device could launch payloads into space without the use of chemical rockets. This could lead to long-term cost savings when launching large amounts of material into space—for example, to construct a space station. In this project you will design and build your own working model mass driver as you learn some of the engineering principles behind how mass drivers operate. Read more

Motorized Arduino Cable-Driven Spacecraft Motion Simulator

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

How do you practice docking a spacecraft with the International Space Station or landing on Mars? With a room-sized cable-driven spacecraft motion simulator! In this project, you will build your own miniature, motorized version of a full-sized motion simulator scientists are developing that can move model spacecraft around in a controlled manner. Read more

Build a Radio-Controlled (RC) Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Radio-controlled (RC) robots can explore places that are difficult or dangerous for humans to get to, like collapsed buildings after a natural disaster. They can use cameras and a variety of other sensors to gather information about their environment, like the presence of toxic gases or other hazardous materials. The robots can even use grippers and robotic arms to collect and safely dispose of some materials. You can build your own RC robot using the Science Buddies Bluebot kit, Electronics… Read more

Build a Sound-Tracking Search and Rescue Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

HELP! Locating survivors trapped under rubble is a difficult and dangerous task. After a natural disaster, like an earthquake, rescuers must act quickly to save as many lives as possible. They can use robots with different types of sensors to help find survivors. In this project you will build a sound-tracking robot that can use two microphones to drive toward a sound source. Designing the robot's algorithm will be up to you. Read more

Build a Voice-Controlled Lamp

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

"Alexa, turn on the lights!" Sometimes it is easy to take the technology around us for granted. But have you ever wondered how a smart speaker like an Amazon Echo® knows what you are saying and how it can control lights and appliances in your home? It can seem like magic if you buy a device that just works when you open the box. In this project, you will learn how it works. You will build your own smart home device to control an appliance with voice commands using an Arduino®. Get… Read more

Can You Train People to Breathe Better?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The practice of "belly breathing" has been linked to improve mood, relaxation, and even have physical benefits like lowering your heart rate when compared to chest breathing. However, most of the time, we do not think about breathing—our bodies do it automatically. How do you know if you are belly breathing instead of chest breathing? How can you practice and get better at it? In this project you will build your own device to provide visual feedback about how a person breathes, then see… Read more

Build an Arduino Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Science Buddies Bluebot Kit contains parts to build four different robots: A motion-activated robot that uses a passive infrared (PIR) sensor A light-tracking robot that uses photoresistors A line-following robot that uses infrared emitter-detectors An obstacle-avoiding robot that uses bump sensors However, in each project, the sensors are hard-wired to control the robot's motors. This allows the robot to steer left and right based on input from two sensors, but it does not allow the… Read more

Build a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) for Underwater Exploration

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever wanted to explore cold or murky water? What about places where it could be dangerous or difficult for humans to swim? Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) allow humans to take pictures, videos, and scientific samples of underwater life and habitats while safely operating the vehicle from a boat or from shore. In this project you will design and build your own small ROV that you can test in a bathtub, pool, or nearby body of water. Read more

Build an Arduino Walking Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Plenty of animals, like dogs and horses, can walk and run on four legs, but what about robots? Sometimes legs are better than wheels—try out this project to design and build your own quadruped walking robot! Read more

Build an RC Boat

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Do you like playing with radio-controlled (RC) toys like cars, planes, and boats? What if you could build and customize your own? In this engineering project, you will learn how to build your own RC boat using an Arduino and a plastic food storage container. Read more

Dealing with Diabetes: The Road to Developing an Artificial Pancreas

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Imagine if you had to take medicine every time you ate, and you had to use a math formula to figure out how much medicine to take based on the nutritional makeup of the food, how you were feeling, and what activities you were planning to do. You might also need extra medicine throughout the day (even in the middle of the night) based on your blood glucose levels. People with diabetes who take insulin do this every day. They use finger sticks and blood glucose meters or a continuous glucose… Read more

Soft Robots with Built-In LEDs

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Check out the soft robotic gripper and artificial robotic skin projects. These projects show you how to use flexible silicone rubber to make robots or robotic parts. The second project shows you how to connect external LEDs using an Arduino. The LEDs light up when an embedded piece of conductive fabric stretches. What about embedding LEDs in the silicone rubber? You can do this by embedding the LEDs between layers of silicone (Figure 1). The trick is to solder flexible stranded wires to the… Read more

How Does Robot Behavior Affect Human-Robot Interaction?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Industrial robots, medical robots, service robots, household robots, companion robots—humans and robots are around each other in an ever-increasing number of situations. How robots look and act can have a big impact on how humans react to and feel about them. In this science project, you will program a robot with different behaviors to see how people react. Can you make people feel comfortable alongside the robot? Read more

Make a Biohybrid Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

When you think of robots, you might think of things made out of plastic or metal...but what about living materials? Living materials have one big advantage: they can heal and repair themselves if they get damaged. Since it might not always be easy to repair a damaged robot (for example, a robot on another planet), some scientists want to figure out how to include living, or biological, materials in them to create "biohybrid" robots. In this project, you will create your own simple biohybrid… Read more

Make an Automatic Pill Dispenser

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Remembering to take medicine at the right time can be hard, especially if you need to take multiple medications at different times of day. It might not be a big deal if you forget to take your daily multivitamin, but for some people, forgetting to take medication at the right time can be dangerous. What if you had a device that could not only set off an alarm at the right time, but also automatically dispense the right pills for you? In this project, you will build an automatic medicine… Read more

Motorizing a Robotic Hand

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Imagine how cool it would be to have your own motorized robot hand. Well, stop imagining and turn that daydream into reality! Start out by designing and building a robot hand. The Science Buddies project Grasping With Straws: Make a Robot Hand Using Drinking Straws shows you a simple way to make a robot hand with drinking straws, or you can design a robot hand from any other materials you think are suitable. Your hand design will need sewing threads, or some other mechanism, for motors to… Read more

Feel Sound With Your Fingertips: Ultrasonic Haptics

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Virtual reality headsets can make you see something that isn't really there, but can you feel an object that isn't there? In this project, you will build a device that lets you feel invisible sound waves in midair. Read more

What Sensors Are Best for Self-Driving Cars?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Self-driving cars use a variety of sensors to evaluate and navigate their environment. Each type of sensor has advantages and disadvantages. In this project you will evaluate two common types of distance sensor (ultrasonic and infrared) and compare their performance in different scenarios. Read more

A Robot Waiter That Can Carry Drinks

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever seen a waiter balance an entire tray of drinks without spilling any? How do they do it? Do you think you could build a robot waiter that can do the same thing? In this project, you will learn how to build a self-balancing robotic tray. You can incorporate the auto-leveling tray into one of our many other robotics projects, like the Bluebot or robotic arm. Read more

Control Motors with Your Muscles!

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever wished you could control your own suit of power armor like Iron Man? What about building a set of Wolverine-like retractable claws? You can get started by using electromyography (EMG) sensors, which can measure the tiny electrical signals generated by our muscles when they contract (Figure 1). You can interface these sensors with a microcontroller like an Arduino and use the output to control LEDs or motors. Getting these sensors to work can be tricky. The electrical signals… Read more

Build a Wearable Device Using an Arduino to Keep Astronauts Safe on Mars

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Astronauts on Mars missions must be protected from hazardous environments, like steep cliffs, rocky terrain, and extreme temperature variations. How can geofencing help? In this project, you will design a system that uses geofencing technology coupled with biosensors to ensure astronaut safety. The system will create a virtual boundary around astronauts, providing alerts if they approach dangerous areas or leave designated safe zones, or if their vital signs fall below a certain threshold. Can… Read more

How Do You Know Where You Are Without GPS? Dead Reckoning and Inertial Navigation

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Put a meter stick on the ground. Starting at one end of the stick, close your eyes and try to walk exactly one meter. Open your eyes. How close were you? Now try it again with five, ten, or twenty meters. Does it get harder as the distance gets bigger? Without an outside reference from your visual system, it's quite difficult to know exactly how far you've gone! Electronic navigation systems face the same problem. Without an external reference like the global positioning system (GPS), it's very… Read more

Automatic Drone Balancing

STEM Activity

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How do drones automatically balance themselves when you let go of the controls? Find out in this project as you build and program an experimental setup to make a drone automatically control its tilt angle about a single axis. See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

DIY Mini Drone: Arduino™ Altitude Control

STEM Activity

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How do drones automatically hover at a constant distance from the ground? Find out in this fun drone project as you build an altitude control circuit for a popsicle stick drone using an ultrasonic distance sensor and an Arduino™. See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

DIY Mini Drone: Free Flight

STEM Activity

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Make your mini popsicle stick drone lift off in this activity! You will build a dual-joystick controller to steer your drone so you can fly it manually. How well can you fly without any help from automatic controls? See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

DIY Mini Drone: Motion Control

STEM Activity

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Most modern smartphones and video game controllers have a built-in accelerometer used for motion control. In this project you will program an Arduino® to use an accelerometer to control the steering of a miniature popsicle stick drone. See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

Drone Control with an Analog Joystick

STEM Activity

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How do you steer a drone using a controller with a joystick? Find out in this activity as you program an Arduino to interface with an analog joystick, similar to those found in most video game controllers. You can use the joystick to make a mini popsicle stick drone tilt side to side or move up and down. See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

Program Drone Steering with an Arduino®

STEM Activity

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How do quadcopters (drones with four propellers) steer? Find out in this fun project as you program an Arduino to steer a mini popsicle stick drone! See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

Build an Arduino Mini-Drone

Lesson Plan Grade: 8th-12th

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In this STEM lesson, students will build a mini popsicle stick drone and use feedback control with an Arduino and an ultrasonic sensor to control the drone's altitude. Read more

Build an Arduino Self-Driving Car

Lesson Plan Grade: 8th-12th

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This eight-part lesson will guide you through building and programming Arduino-controlled autonomous cars with your students. Each part contains a detailed step-by-step video and a supplemental lesson plan PDF with learning objectives, assessment opportunities, and appendices with circuit diagrams and example code. You can present the material yourself or have students follow along with the videos and pause to work on their autonomous cars. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.

Introduction to Arduino

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-12th

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This lesson plan will introduce your students to physical computing: the process of building circuits and programming a microcontroller (an Arduino UNO®) to interact with them. The lesson is broken into seven activities that will walk your students through the basics of setting up the Arduino and interacting with circuit parts like LEDs, buttons, and resistors. This introductory material will help prepare your students for more advanced Arduino projects. Read more

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