Physics · Fluid Mechanics
Build a hydraulic lift with syringes
Connect two syringes of different sizes and show how a small push lifts a large load.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
606 projects · 13 streams · every class
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47 projects
Statistics and Probability · Probability
Test the birthday paradox
Calculate and test the chance that two people in a group share a birthday.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Free
Chemistry · Electrochemistry
Build a lemon battery and compare fruits
Make cells from fruit, zinc and copper, measure their voltage and light an LED with several in series.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- 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
Pure Mathematics · Trigonometry
Measure heights with trigonometry
Make a clinometer and find the height of your school building, a tree and a tower.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Electrical Engineering + Physics
Build a simple electric motor and measure its speed
Wind a coil motor with a paper-clip cradle and test how turns and magnets change its speed.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Statistics and Probability · Probability
Estimate pi by dropping needles
Drop sticks on ruled paper, count how many cross a line and get an estimate of pi.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- 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
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
Environmental Science + Physics
Compare the energy use of bulbs
Measure the brightness and heat of LED, CFL and filament bulbs and calculate the yearly cost of each.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- 250–500
Physics + Environmental Science
Build a solar oven and measure its efficiency
Make a box cooker from cardboard and foil and track how hot it gets compared with open air.
- Easy
- 1 day
- 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
Mechanical Engineering · Machines
Reduce friction in a simple machine
Measure the force to pull a load with sliding, rollers, wheels and lubricant, and compute efficiency.
- 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
Statistics and Probability + Biology
Estimate the size of a crowd or a population by sampling
Use capture-recapture with beans to estimate a hidden total, then judge how accurate the method is.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Communication · Interpersonal
Study how rumours change as they spread
Pass a short story along a chain of ten people and track what is lost, added and changed.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Free
Environmental Science · Water
Build a solar still to purify water
Make drinking-quality water from salty water with sunlight and measure how much you get.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Psychology · Organizational Psychology
Study teamwork with a building challenge
Give teams 18 minutes to build the tallest tower from spaghetti and tape, and observe what the best teams do.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
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