Physics + Programming
Simulate projectile motion with air drag in Python
Plot real trajectories with air resistance and compare them with the textbook parabola.
- Intermediate
- 1–2 weeks
- Free
606 projects · 13 streams · every class
Science projects 56
Experiments, working models and investigations in physics, chemistry, biology, earth and space. Most can be done at home or in a school lab, and each one says what it costs and how long it takes.
56 Science projects
Chemistry + Environmental Science
Make bioplastic from milk or starch
Make casein and starch plastics at home and test their strength and how they break down.
- Easy
- 1–2 weeks
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Measure the speed of light with a chocolate bar
Find the wavelength of microwaves from melt spots on chocolate, then calculate the speed of light.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Chemistry + Nutrition and Food
Measure the vitamin C in fruit juices
Titrate juices with iodine and starch to compare how much vitamin C each contains.
- Intermediate
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Measure the refractive index of water with a laser pointer
Trace a laser beam entering water at several angles and get the refractive index from Snell's law.
- Intermediate
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Biology + Environmental Science
Map the biodiversity of a school ground
Survey plants and small animals with quadrats and calculate a biodiversity index for different areas.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Free
Environmental Science · Climate
Calculate your household's carbon footprint
Collect a month of electricity, fuel, travel and food data and convert it into kilograms of carbon dioxide.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Free
Biology · Botany
Compare the stomata of different leaves
Take nail-polish peels of leaves and count stomata on upper and lower surfaces.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Biology · Cell Biology
Observe osmosis in potato strips
Soak potato strips in salt solutions and find the concentration at which they neither gain nor lose mass.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Chemistry · Physical Chemistry
Find how temperature changes reaction rate with antacid tablets
Time how long an effervescent tablet takes to dissolve at different water temperatures.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Biology + Sports and Exercise Science
Measure how exercise changes pulse rate and recovery
Record pulse before, during and after exercise for several volunteers and compare recovery times.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Free
Physics · Waves
Measure the speed of sound with two phones
Use two phones with an acoustic stopwatch app to time a clap over a known distance.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Free
Environmental Science · Waste Management
Audit your school's waste for a week
Sort and weigh one week of school waste by type and propose how to cut the largest share.
- Easy
- 1–2 weeks
- Under 250
Environmental Science + Data
Analyse 50 years of your city's temperature data
Download long-term temperature records and test whether your city has warmed, and by how much.
- Intermediate
- 1–2 weeks
- Free
Physics · Current Electricity
Verify Ohm's law and find where it fails
Plot current against voltage for a resistor and a bulb and explain the difference.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Electromagnetism
Build a homopolar motor and measure what changes its speed
Make the simplest electric motor from a cell, a magnet and wire, then test how magnets change its speed.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Oscillations
Find g with a simple pendulum and a phone
Time pendulums of different lengths and get the acceleration due to gravity from a straight-line graph.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Astronomy and Space + Pure Mathematics
Measure the Earth's circumference like Eratosthenes
Measure a stick's shadow at local noon in two cities and calculate the size of the Earth.
- Intermediate
- 1 day
- Free
Physics · Optics
Build a spectroscope from a CD and analyse light sources
Split light with a CD and compare the spectra of the Sun, LEDs, CFLs and flames.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Magnetism
Map the magnetic field of bar magnets with a phone
Use the phone's magnetometer to measure how field strength falls with distance from a magnet.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Biology · Zoology
Survey the birds of your neighbourhood
Do weekly point counts of birds at three sites and compare species between habitats.
- Easy
- 2–4 weeks
- Free
Astronomy and Space + Aerospace Engineering
Design a Mars habitat and justify every choice
Design a base for four astronauts and explain how it provides air, water, food, power and radiation shielding.
- Intermediate
- 1–2 weeks
- Under 250
Physics + Music, Theatre and Writing
Study the physics of a musical instrument
Measure how the length of a string or the water level in a bottle changes the pitch.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Under 250
Chemistry · Thermochemistry
Measure the heat released when salts dissolve
Dissolve different salts in water and classify each as heating or cooling the water.
- Intermediate
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
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