Last updated: September 21, 2022
Help your child or student kick-start their science fair project with one of these great options! Here is your connection to some of the best free project plans available.
- Life Sciences Project Ideas
- Physical Sciences Project Ideas
- Engineering, Computer and Math Sciences Project Ideas
- Earth Sciences Project Ideas
Life Sciences Projects
These are science fair project ideas in biology, human anatomy, medicine, nutrition, plants, and animals.
1. Yeast Metabolism with and without Aeration | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8 biology project evaluating glucose metabolism in yeast.
2. A Magnetic Primer Designer | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 3-6 biology project that uses magnets to emulate the process scientists use to duplicate DNA, using the polymerase chain reaction.
3. Aspirin Absorption in Carbohydrate Solutions | All-Science-Fair-Projects.com
Grades 6-8, Will aspirin work faster if taken with a carbohydrate food? Test aspirin dissolution in a variety of carbohydrate solutions.
4. Growing Bacteria in Petri Dishes | Stevespanglerscience.com
Grades 3-6 biology – In this project, you collect samples of bacteria from a variety of surfaces to find the dirtiest surfaces. Includes a video of the experiment. See the comments for a project idea to test how well a variety of soaps clean your hands.
5. Bacteria and Toothpaste | All-Science-Fair-Projects.com
Grades 6-8, Which toothpaste cleans your teeth best? Grow bacteria from your freshly-brushed teeth in petri dishes to find out.
6. Demonstrating Photosynthesis: Writing in Grass | Education.com
Grades K-5, What does photosynthesis do to grass? In this fun experiment you’ll see a concrete and visually striking illustration of photosynthesis.
7. What Do Yeast Eat…and How Can You Tell? | Tinkerlab.com
Grades 2-5, Fruits, molasses, sugar, honey, corn syrup, or jelly? The goal of this science fair project is to explore which foods yeast cells eat.
8. Is a Dense Fruit a Healthy Fruit? | Education.com
Grades 9-12, Measure the densities of various fruits and vegetables to determine if there is a relationship between density and nutritional value.
9. Effect of Glucose and Sucrose as Dietary Additives | Education.com
Grades 9-12 Wild-type and GAPDH mutant Caenorhabditis elegans are used as an example of how glucose or sugar affects the lifespan of humans.
10. Effect of Acid Rain on Seedling Germination | Education.com
Grades 9-12, Does acid rain have a negative impact on seedling germination? This project uses distilled vinegar solutions to simulate acid rain conditions to find out.
11. How Do Antacids Work? | Howtosmile.org
Grades 3-6, Use fake stomach juice to simulate how antacids work to reduce heartburn.
12. Mice & Music | WeHaveKids.com
Grades 3-6, Test the effects of different types of music on the performance of mice in a maze. No mice are harmed in these experiments.
13. Hand-Eye Coordination and Age | All-Science-Fair-Projects.com
Grades 2-5, Find out how hand-eye coordination changes as children get older. Ingredients for this project include a stop watch, ping-pong ball, and kids of different ages.
14. Effectiveness of Garlic in Fighting Bacteria | All-Science-Fair-Projects.com
Grades 9-12, Is garlic a useful natural antibiotic? Test it on milk in petri dishes to find out.
15. Hydroponics vs. Soil Growth | All-Science-Fair-Projects.com
Grades 6-8, Do plants grow better in a hydroponic solution than in soil? Is this a practical solution to the lack of arable land to feed a growing world population?
16. Puppy Proportions: Your Dog’s Early Months | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Learn how a puppy’s proportions, growth, and weight change in the earliest months of its life.
17. Paw Preference in Pets | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 7-10, Most people are left-handed or right-handed. Do animals favor one paw like people do hands? Test a bunch of pets to find out.
18. Bat Detector: Listen to the Secret Sounds of Bats | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 7-10, Study the behavior of bats in the wild, based on the sounds that they make. How do they use echolocation to find a meal? When are they most active?
19. Effects of Ozone on Plants and Health | Julian’s Science Fair
Grades 4-6, Environmental conditions can dramatically impact plant growth and germination. Does increased ozone stunt germination and plant growth? Grow some plants and find out.
20. Do Migratory Birds Like It Hot? | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Pick a species of bird and determine if there is a relationship between air temperature and where and when the birds migrate.
21. Saving Migratory Animals | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 7-10, They’re here today but could be gone tomorrow. Examine the migratory path of a bird species and the similarities and differences between their winter and summer habitats. Recommend which locations should be preserved to protect these species.
22. That’s a Real Smile! …or is it? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Can people tell the difference between a fake smile and a real one? Gather information from dozens of volunteers to find out.
23. How Do Roots Grow When the Direction of Gravity Changes? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 6-10, Plants respond to gravity by stems that grow upward and roots that grow downward. Experiment with germinating seeds and rotate them to make up down and down up. How do you think the growing seedlings will respond?
24. Can plants be nourished with juice, soda, or milk instead of water? | Education.com
Grades K-3, Learn whether plants can live and grow when ‘watered’ with juice, soda, or milk.
25. How Does Color Affect Eyesight? | Education.com
Grades 1-5, Find out which colors are easier and more difficult to read at a distance. This super simple project requires volunteers and color charts you can print from the web.
Physical Sciences Projects
These are science fair project ideas for aerodynamics, chemistry, energy, food science, light, sound and physics.
1. Build a Raft Powered by Surface Tension | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-10, Learn about the properties of surface water tension and use it to propel a raft.
2. Electric wind: hi-speed threads of charged air | Scienceclub.org
Grades 9-12, Use dry ice and an electrostatic generator to observe air streams and hi-speed air-threads.
3. Making Batteries from Fruits and Vegetables | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 4-7, Use veggie power to build a simple battery from a variety of vegetables. Which ones are the most powerful?
4. A Battery That Makes Cents | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 1-2, Can you make a battery from 24 cents? Make a battery from a pile of coins and find out how different amounts of coins affect the amount of energy produced.
5. Sandwich Test: Wrap it Up | Easy-Science-Fair-Projects.net
Grades 1-2, Play with your food by testing how well different kinds of sandwich wraps keep bread fresh. Is the most expensive one the best? Or does the cheapest work just as well?
6. Make an Electromagnet | ScienceBob.com
Grades 6-12, Learn how to create an electromagent from batteries, wire and a nail. How does changing the kind of batteries used affect the power of your electromagnet? How do the number of wraps affect it?
7. Demonstrating the Separation of Mixtures | Education.com
Grades 7-10, Separate recycled objects to demonstrate how mixtures are made and the variance in the physical properties of their ingredients.
8. Bust That Rust! | Education.com
Grades 3-10, Investigate the chemistry of rust and the oxidation process. Younger students will use steel wool, water, salt and vinegar. Older students will explore the chemistry of rust.
9. Raw vs. Cooked Foods | Education.com
Grades 9-12, Do raw foods contain more calories than cooked foods? Use a bomb calorimeter to measure and calculate the amount of energy (calories) within various foods, ignite food samples, calculate change in temperature.
10. Grow the Best and the Largest Crystals | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Figure out the best temperature for making the largest, purest crystals using water and borax.
11. How a Comet’s Size Affects How Fast It Melts | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 4-7, Comets are often compared to large, dirty snowballs, and the comet tail you see in the sky is evidence of melting. In this project, you’ll use figure out how the size of a comet affects its melting rate.
Grades 3-5, Pendulums have been used for timekeeping for hundreds of years. Find out how changes in mass and length affect the oscillation of a pendulum.
13. Globular Clusters | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 7-10, Explore “star gangs” in the Milky Way and beyond. Globular cluster are compact groups of about a million stars that move around in galaxies. Use statistical data to learn how globular clusters help us better understand the universe.
14. Egg Substitutes | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 3-6, Many people avoid eggs because of allergies or diet preferences. But eggs play an important chemical function in baking and cooking. Evaluate the ability of egg substitutes to mimic their binding, leavening, or thickening properties.
15. How Much Water is Required to Cook Pasta? | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 3-6, We’re used to cooking our pasta in a big pot of boiling water. But do you really need that much water, time, and energy to cook pasta? Perform some experiments to find out.
16. Mag-nificent Breakfast Cereal
Grades 2-5, Use a blender and a magnet to find out how much iron is in different kinds of breakfast cereal.
17. Chemistry of Ice-Cream Making | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 9-12, Test how the addition of salt and other substances to water affects the freezing point of the water-based solution. Is rock salt and ice the best combination for freezing ice cream?
18. Build a Gauss Rifle | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Use magenets and ball bearings to build a rifle based on magnetism. Investigate how many magnet and ball bearing “stages” affect the velocity and distance of the projectile.
19. Smart Medicine Cabinet | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Do you know someone who needs to take medication daily? Build a sensor that reminds patients when to take their medication.
20. Water to Fuel to Water | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 9-12, Examine the possibilities for water as part of the fuel cycle for the future. How efficient is a cobalt-based catalyst at helping to form molecular oxygen?
21. What’s the Fastest Way to Cool a Soda? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Experiment with different ways to cool a can of soda. Find out the fastest way to get your tall cold drink.
22. How Salty Does the Sea Have to Be for an Egg to Float? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Figure out exactly what concentration of salt in water is required to make an egg float.
23. Bombs Away! A Ping Pong Catapult | Science Buddies.org
Grades 4-7, They fly through the air with the greatest of ease. Find ways to put a ping pong ball accurately on target time after time.
24. Effects of Temperature and Humidity on Static Charges | Education.com
Grades 1-5, Use balloons, a rubber ball and a scarf to investigate why those socks stick together when you take them out of the dryer and how conditions in the air affect static electricity.
25. How Much Potential Energy Do Different Nuts Have? | Education.com
Grades 6-8, Explore the energy of living things. Prove that different varieties of nuts produce energy in a series of experiments.
Engineering, Computer & Math Sciences Projects
These science fair project ideas include engineering, materials science, computer science, computer games, math and music, and pure mathematics.
1. Rubber Bands for Energy | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 3-6, Put the energy of rubber bands to work and learn about the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.
2. The Mechanics of Carnival Games | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 5-8, Find out why those carnival games are so hard. Learn the basic laws of science that help the concessionaires engineer the games in their favor.
3. Building the Best Bridge | Education.com
Grades 3-6, This science fair project idea develops an understanding through experimentation of which shapes are the most structurally strong.
4. Paper Airplane Science | Easy-Science-Fair-Projects.net
Grades 2-5, Put your paper airplane making and flying skills to the test. Design and fly a variety of different planes and determine which design flies the farthest.
5. Arch Magic: The Unbreakable Egg | Education.com
Grades 4-7, Tell you folks tonight is a good night for an egg dinner. Use the eggshells to explore how arches distribute weight. Demonstrates the magic of arches by challenging students to stack telephone books on top of eggs without breaking them.
6. Which Metal Is the Most Resistant to Corrosion? | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Test several kinds of metal exposed to the air, tap water, and salt water to determine which are the most resistant to corrosion, and which substances are the most corrosive to them.
7. Ionizing vs. Photoelectric Smoke Detectors | All-Science-Fair-Projects.com
Grades 6-8, Learn how smoke detectors work, and compare the effectiveness of ionizing smoke detectors to photoelectric smoke detectors.
8. Evaluating Benfords Law | Nbp.pl
Grades 9-12, In this project, students investigate the applicability of Benford’s Law to many sets of everyday data, such as lists of country populations, utility bills or the distance of various stars from earth.
9. Math Patterns in Music | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 9-12, Determine the mathematical patterns in classical music using these suggestions.
10. Levitating with Eddy Currents! | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 9-12, Build you own maglev (magnetic levitation) system and demonstrate how eddy currents work.
11. Does Your Mobile Phone Radiate? | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 9-12, Measure cell phone radiation from several distances when making a call and when texting.
12. Solar-Powered Robot Bug | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Explore electronics and solar energy by building the Frightened Grasshopper, a solar-powered bug.
13. Stressed Out with Beams | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Test the load-bearing capacity of several types of beams, including I-beams, U-beams, rectangular beams, and T-beams.
14. Save Energy with a Micro-Controller Powered Generator | Education.com
Grades 9-12, Configure a micro-controller to efficiently power your laptop, using Enstein’s Laws of Physics.
15. How Many Letters? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 1-4, How much memory does a computer use to “remember” a series of letters? Find out how much memory a computer uses to remember 1000 letters.
16. Which Wheels Work Best? | Education.com
Grades 6-9, Experiment with how different kinds of wheels affect the speed of a skateboard. You’ll calculate friction co-efficient and its correlation to velocity.
17. Lighthouse Redesign | Education.com
Grades 9-12, Old lighthouses have historic significance. Give them a new life with a modern interior redesign.
18. Robot Movement | Education.com
Grades 6-8, Construct a robot equipped with sound/touch sensor circuitry. Run it through a maze to find out if it displays sequential or random movement.
19. Repurposed Designs | Education.com
Grades 6-8, Identify items that need repurposing such as e-waste, batteries and mattresses. Then get creative and Invent your own original repurposed design.
20. Ready, Set, Search! Race to the Right Answer | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 2-5, Find out how Internet search engines work and how you can get different results depending on the type of information you request.
21. Storytelling Alice | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-12, Create your own computer-animated story using Carnegie Mellon’s 3D programming software. You’ll learn computer programming with easy-to-use drag and drop tools.
22. Killing ‘Vampires’: Saving Money and Power | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, In this project, you’ll identify electricity “vampires” in your home, such as computer peripherals and electronic equipment, that use power even when not in use. Find out exactly how much power they use. Use this eye-opening data to help your family save money on electricity.
23. Customize Your Own Drum Set! | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 7-10, Build a drum set using household materials, a computer, Scratch, and a PicoBoard. Program you drum set to create a synthesized Hip hop, rap, classical, techno, or electronic drumbeat.
24. Hero’s Engine and Newton’s Third Law | Education.com
Grades 2-5, Build an aeolipile (Hero’s Engine) to explore Isaac Newton’s Third Law – for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Can you predict the movement of the Hero’s Engine?
25. Oregametry | Education.com
Grades 9-12, Use the mathematics of paper folding to learn the practical applications of particular origami folding techniques. Create your own origami, or make modifications to existing designs. Origami Sightings has some mind-blowing applications of origami concepts.
Earth Sciences Projects
These science fair project ideas include the environment, ecology, ecosystems, geology, geography, ocean, and weather.
1. Soil Type and Liquefaction | All-Science-Fair-Projects.com
Grades 1-5, Experiment with sand, clay and loam and find out which type of soil dissolves most easily.
2. The Big Dig | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 2-5, Find out which materials are biodegradable, and which ones are not. How can you use this information to help the environment?
3. Harmful Algal Blooms in the Chesapeake Bay | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 8-12, Harmful algal blooms affect the quality of water and impact people, marine animals and birds. Study how water quality changes before, during and after algal blooms.
4. Modeling Darcy’s Law | Education.com
Grades 6-12, Model the subterranean movement of water, using Darcy’s Law. How can this information be used in hazardous material spills?
5. Windmills at Home | All-Science-Fair-Projects.com
Grades 4-6, Explore the effects of blade size and shape when constructing a windmill.
6. Jumping For Geodes: Can You Tell the Inside from the Outside? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 1-4, Can you tell what’s inside a geode from looking at the outside? Learn more out these unique rocks and crack some open to discover the surprises inside.
7. Extracting Heat Energy from a Compost Pile | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 9-12, Use your bananas peels, newspapers, leaves and coffee grounds to create compost. Find out if enough energy is generated from the compost to heat water.
8. Condensation and the Water Cycle | Easy-Science-Fair-Projects.net
Grades 2-4, Gather up some jars, bowls and ice water to determine how the amount of ice affects condensation.
9. Washing Detergent & Hydrophobic Soil | Education.com
Grades 6-8, Some soils do not absorb water very well. Find out why and if washing detergent and change their ability to absorb water.
10. Weather Related Science Projects | WeHaveKids.com
Grades 2-5, Learn more about weather and other aspects of meteorology by using instruments you build. Make a barometer, hygrometer, anemometer… even lightning!
11. Make Your Own Psychrometer | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Make a psychrometer to measure relative humidity, then use it to measure RH in a variety of weather conditions.
12. Geothermal Power Plant Model | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 3-6, Use a pinwheel and a can of boiling water to simulate geothermal power production. Determine how to generate the most energy from your “power plant.”
13. How Acidic Waters Make Rocks Disappear | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-10, Soak some limestone rocks in varying amounts of acidic water. Determine how much acidity is needed to make them dissolve.
14. Do Your Storm Drains Keep the Ocean Trash Free? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Test your local grated storm drain inlets to see if they’re up to the task of keeping plastic litter out of your community’s storm water drainage system. If they’re not, work on improving the design.
15. Can Water Float on Water? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Can liquid water float on liquid water? Investigate how the density of water is affected by its temperature and salinity.
16. Rocky Secrets: Where Does Oil Hide? | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 2-5, Can you get petroleum oil from a stone? Find out which kinds of rocks can soak up and store the most oil. Learn how petroleum geologists and engineers use this information to find the best places to get oil from the earth.
17. Dig This: Biodegradation | Education.com
Grades 2-6, How do organic materials become soil? This science experiment measures what materials biodegrade.
18. Geology 101 | Education.com
Grades 2-6, Water carries lots of soil and minerals in a creek. In this project, you’ll examine the behavior of water and gravel in creek beds and the formation of sedimentary rocks.
19. Ecological Footprint Analysis | ScienceBuddies.org
Grades 9-12, How does the ecological footprint work? Figure out how big your footprint is.
20. What Weather Factors Create Radiation Fog? | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Make systematic observations about the weather conditions needed to create radiation fog. Can you forecast when and where it will occur?
21. The Science Behind Tsunamis | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 6-8, Study the effect of water depth on wave velocity. Learn how tsunamis form and create your own simulation model wave tank to create a tsunami.
22. Do Hurricanes Cool the Ocean? | Sciencebuddies.org
Grades 9-12, Collect data on hurricane strength and sea surface temperature to determine if cooling occurs and if it can be measured with the passing of a hurricane.
23. Test the Efficiency of a Solar Cell | Education.com
Grades 6-9, Find out how much of the energy from the sun that reaches a photovoltaic cell is converted into electricity. Predict how to position solar cells for maximum conversion.
24. Seafloor Spreading | Education.com
Grades 6-12, Use an oatmeal box and some paper to demonstrate seafloor spreading.
25. How Water Beats Rock | Education.com
Grades 1-5, Discover how water is more powerful than rocks. Experiment with ways that water can break rock.
