Biology · Microbiology
Grow bacteria from everyday surfaces
Swab phones, door handles and washed hands onto agar and compare the colonies that grow.
- Intermediate
- 2–7 days
- 250–500
606 projects · 13 streams · every class
Science projects 52
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.
52 Science projects
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 · Dynamics
Launch a water rocket and predict its range
Build a bottle rocket and find the water volume and angle that give the longest flight.
- Intermediate
- 2–7 days
- 250–500
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
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
Electromagnetic braking in a copper pipe
Time a magnet falling through copper, aluminium and plastic pipes and show how eddy currents slow it.
- Intermediate
- 2–7 days
- 250–500
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
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 · Electrochemistry
Make an electroplating cell and copper-plate a key
Coat a steel key with copper and find how plating time changes the mass gained.
- Intermediate
- 1 day
- 250–500
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
Physics · Electromagnetism
Build a simple DC generator and light an LED
Wind a coil, spin magnets inside it and measure the voltage you generate.
- Intermediate
- 2–7 days
- 250–500
Chemistry · Analytical Chemistry
Estimate the calcium carbonate in eggshells
React eggshell with vinegar, measure the mass of carbon dioxide lost and calculate its purity.
- Intermediate
- 1 day
- Under 250
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