Our Favorite Science Project Ideas

The science fair is coming and your child has yet to choose a science fair project. Our staff put together a few of our favorites below. Discuss project ideas with your child. Pose questions such as “I wonder why…” or “What do you think would happen…” to help your child choose.

POP!
Find out what happens when you force one nail vs many against balloons. Check it out.

Growing Gummy Bears
Learn about osmosis with gummy bears. Add gummy bears to salt water and watch them grow. Check it out.

 Ice Cream in a Bag
A favorite because you have a delicious, all-natural treat at the end. All you need is milk, sugar, salt and ice! See how here.

Will a McDonald’s Burger Ever Rot?
We heard the rumor that if you put a McDonalds hamburger on a shelf, it won’t change. So, we bought 2 McDonalds hamburgers and fried up a homemade burger and put this rumor to the test.

Chewing Gum
Have the kids get several different brands of chewing gum and record which one loses its flavor first. See if there’s a correlation between the amount of sugar and how long the flavor lasts. See more. 

RAINBOW ROSES
This would fascinate kids. Make rainbow roses by splitting the stems. Place each one in food coloring the roses draw the liquid coloring into the petals. Check it out.

Diva Lava Lamp
One of the most popular projects from handsonaswegrow.com is the DIY Lava Lamp. It’s a super-simple chemistry project with a colorful twist.

Make a Crystal Egg
What better activity to do with them turn a regular egg into a crystal egg? Learn all about the crystallization process with geodes on Martha Stewart’s website.

Rock Candy
Rock candy is candy made by crystallizing sugar. You can grow sugar crystals yourself, plus add color and flavor to make rock candy that you can eat. Here is a recipe from the Gluesticks blog.  Try to be patient enough to wait a week to taste them!

How to Make a Bouncy Ball
Curbly has posted on how to make bouncy balls from common household products. Borax Balls, cornstarch, glue, food coloring, and water.

Which Grows Mold The Fastest
Which food will mold grow on faster: bread, milk, bananas or cheese? While completing the project, you will discover how quickly certain foods spoil and grow mold when you do not properly store them, such as placing them in a refrigerator.

More Projects
Parenting Magazine has an entire section devoted to science fair projects. Including an article on 10 Easy Science Fair Projects for Kids which has the coolest experiments you can try at home, including color-changing milk and a Mentos Diet Coke geyser. Also check out Scientific American’s projects