Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Solving a 'Windy' Problem

For Students 3rd - 5th
The wind is a powerful force, enough to erode whole hillsides over time. Building structures in windy environments challenge civil engineers with special safety concerns. A wall in a windy area can either shield you from the cold or fall...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Physics of Cheating in Baseball

For Students 9th - 10th
This week-long project asks you to examine the density of certain materials, such as "corked" baseball bats and regular baseball bats, and whether they can cause a ball to travel different distances.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Now You See It, Now You Don't! Test Your Peripheral Vision

For Students 3rd - 8th
The survival of our ancient ancestors depended on their ability to use peripheral vision to find prey and to avoid predators. Almost everything we do-from riding a bike, to dribbling a basketball, to reading a book-depends on peripheral...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Cat's Meow: Designing an Enrichment Toy

For Students 9th - 10th
A great Science Fair project that involves analyzing your cat's behavior and designing toys that will be stimulating both physically and mentally. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract,...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Accept a Design Trade Off Challenge Science Projects

For Students 9th - 10th
Build a device to accomplish a fun task. Accept a design trade-off challenge of using only a set amount of simple materials, as if you were stuck on a desert island, to make your device work.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Outer Space, the Silent Frontier: An Experiment on Sound Waves

For Students 3rd - 5th
In outer space there is utter silence. There are no sounds of traffic jams or thunderstorms or crashing waves. No buzzing bees or babies crying. Just silence. In this experiment, you will discover why empty space is void of sound.
Professional Doc
University of Washington

Univ. Of Washington: Successful Science Far Projects

For Students 6th - 8th
This competent site features a thorough and detailed description of the steps needed to produce a successful science fair project. Other helpful science fair web pages can be found on this site.
Article
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Data Analysis for Advanced Science Projects

For Students 9th - 10th
The importance of data analysis in science projects is explained. Describes common mistakes young scientists make. The article then discusses how to find out what the standard methods of data analysis are for the type of research you...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Chemical Reaction Rate in Ultraviolet Beads

For Students 9th - 10th
In this science fair project, experiment with the role temperature plays in the rate at which UV beads lose their color. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction,...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: An Uplifting Project: The Buoyancy of Balloons

For Students 9th - 10th
In this science fair project, measure the "lift" of a set of balloons and track how it changes over time as the helium escapes from the balloons. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract,...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Learn How to Disinfect Contaminated Water

For Students 9th - 10th
Clean water is not a given everywhere in the world. In this science fair project, students will investigate whether sunlight could be used to disinfect contaminated water. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Case of Mistaken Identity

For Students 9th - 10th
Mysteries and detective stories have been popular since the time of Sherlock Holmes. The solutions to these fictional cases often involve untangling seemingly contradictory evidence from eyewitnesses. This project studies one procedure...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Effect of Artificial Light on Migration Pattern of Daphnia

For Students 6th - 8th
This elegant project employs a scientific approach that is particularly valuable in Environmental Science, but can be applied to other areas as well. The approach has three steps: 1) from your observations in the field, form a...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies:from Your John to the School Lawn:is Recycled Water Really Safe?

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out whether reclaimed water is really safe by following the guidelines of the Science Buddies project.
Lesson Plan
Science Buddies

Science Buddies:testing Compression Waves

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Here's a project for studying compression waves in different soil types. It uses a homemade wave tank for solids, with a frequency generator, amplifier, and loudspeaker as the vibration source. There are lots of interesting possibilities...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Solubility of Proteins

For Students 11th - 12th
Some proteins are soluble in aqueous solutions and some are not. Insoluble proteins can be a problem because the proteins can form large aggregates in solution which are difficult to purify, crystallize, and use in experiments. Compare...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Hey Gear Heads! The Physics of Bicycle Gear Ratios

For Students 9th - 10th
Here's an abstract of a project from Science Buddies that asks you to experiment with bicycle gears and the circumference of the wheel to determine revolutions per minute.
Lesson Plan
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Chain Reaction: Inversion and the Pappus Chain Theorem

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Here is a challenging problem for anyone with an interest in geometry. This project requires background research to solve it, but it is an excellent illustration of visual thinking in mathematics.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Growing, Growing, Gone! An Experiment on Nitrogen Fertilizers

For Students 3rd - 5th
Plants need nitrogen to build proteins and nucleic acids to grow healthy stems and leaves. Though the Earth's atmosphere is made up of 79% nitrogen, the form of nitrogen found in the atmosphere cannot be used by plants. In this...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Measuring Speed of Moving Objects With Stroboscopic Photography

For Students 9th - 10th
A strobe light can illuminate an entire room in just tens of microseconds. Inexpensive strobe lights can flash up to 10 or 20 times per second. This project shows you how to use stroboscopic photography to analyze motion.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Ozone Depletion

For Students 9th - 10th
The ozone layer is important for blocking most of the harmful radiation that comes from the sun. You can find maps of the ozone layer and compare different regions of the globe for ozone coverage. Some scientists think that aerosols in...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Porosity

For Students 9th - 10th
Soils are made of particles of different types and sizes. The space between particles is called pore space. Pore space determines the amount of water that a given volume of soil can hold. Porosity is the percentage of the total volume of...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Composting and Vermiculture

For Students 9th - 10th
Make your own fertile soil using kitchen scraps, manure, leaves, grass clippings, and other compostable materials. Which materials make the best compost?
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Measuring Velocity With a Video Camera

For Students 9th - 10th
A video camera records 30 "frames" or distinct images per second. (That's for an NTSC camera in the U.S. PAL cameras in other areas of the world take 25 frames per second.) You can use this fact to time events and measure velocity. One...