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
606 projects · 13 streams · every class
Science projects 22
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.
22 Science projects
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
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
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
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 · 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
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
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
Astronomy and Space · Satellites
Track the International Space Station
Predict, watch and time passes of the space station and calculate its orbital speed.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Free
Biology · Evolution
Model natural selection with coloured beads
Play predator on beads scattered on patterned cloth and watch the population shift over generations.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Chemistry + Environmental Science
Test the hardness of water from different sources
Compare tap, well, bottled and rain water by how much soap each needs to form lather.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Biology + Psychology
Test whether music or silence helps short-term memory
Give volunteers word lists to memorise in silence, with instrumental music and with songs, and compare recall.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Free
Astronomy and Space + Environmental Science
Measure light pollution in your area
Count the stars visible in one constellation from several places and map the darkness of the sky.
- Easy
- 1–2 weeks
- Free
Chemistry + Crops, Soil and Horticulture
Map the pH of soil around your school
Test soil pH at ten spots round your school or home and draw a map of the results.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Under 250
Environmental Science · Pollution
Study the noise levels around your school
Map sound levels at ten points at different times and compare them with recommended limits.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Free
Biology · Genetics
Analyse inheritance of traits in your class
Survey classmates for visible traits and check whether the textbook "dominant" traits are really the most common.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Free
Environmental Science · Climate
Measure how trees cool their surroundings
Record air and surface temperatures under trees, on grass, on concrete and on tar through a day.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Under 250
Chemistry + Fashion and Craft
Find the best natural dye and mordant for cotton
Dye cotton with turmeric, beetroot, onion skin and tea, and test which survives washing.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Under 250
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