Science Experiment Ideas

Ways to use this list

• Science fair: set Winners to 3 and choose the idea you can turn into a fair test, where you change one thing and keep everything else the same.
• Grades K–2: ask for a prediction before every test ("Will the apple sink or float?") and count the guesses with a show of hands.
• Grades 3–5: turn the idea into a question, such as "Does ramp height change how far the car rolls?", and record each try in a table.
• Middle and high school: the Grades 6–8 and up ideas give numbers you can graph, such as pendulum times or the length of potato strips.
• Friday science: spin on Wednesday so there is time to collect paper towels, jars and clean recycling before the lesson.
• Home learning: every idea uses kitchen or recycling-bin materials, and the list below says where an adult should take over.

Press Spin the wheel, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a duck race, hat, claw machine and more.

The full list (40 entries)

• Sink or Float – predict, then test which household objects sink or float in a tub of water
• Walking Water – strips of paper towel carry coloured water from cup to cup and mix the colours
• Dancing Raisins – drop raisins into a glass of fizzy water and watch the bubbles lift them up and down
• Magnet Hunt – test which classroom objects a magnet picks up, and sort them into two groups
• Ice Melt Race – sprinkle salt, sugar and sand on ice cubes to see which melts the ice fastest
• Bean in a Bag – grow a bean seed on a damp paper towel in a sealed bag taped to a window
• Pepper and Soap – sprinkle pepper on water, touch it with a soapy finger and watch the pepper rush away
• Colour-Changing Flowers – stand white flowers or celery in coloured water and check over two days
• Shadow Tracing – trace a toy's shadow on paper in the morning, at midday and in the afternoon
• Rainbow Glass – stand a glass of water on white paper in bright sunlight to make a small rainbow
• Baking Soda Volcano – pour vinegar onto baking soda in a model volcano, with an adult and safety glasses
• Paper Bridge Challenge – fold a paper bridge between two books and count how many coins it holds
• Egg Drop – design a package that protects a raw egg dropped from a set height by an adult
• Salt Crystals – an adult dissolves salt in warm water; hang a string in it and watch crystals grow over several days
• Red Cabbage Indicator – an adult makes purple cabbage water; add vinegar, lemon juice or baking soda water and watch the colour change
• Paper Helicopters – cut paper spinners with longer or shorter wings and time how they fall
• Balloon Rocket – tape a blown-up balloon to a straw threaded on a string, then let it go
• Plant Maze – grow a bean in a shoebox maze and watch the shoot find its way to the light
• Density Tower – pour honey, water and cooking oil into a jar and see how they form layers
• Ice Insulation Test – wrap ice cubes in foil, wool, paper and plastic to find which keeps them longest
• Ramp Roll – roll a toy car down a ramp at different heights and measure how far it goes
• Static Water Bend – rub a balloon on your hair and hold it near a thin stream of tap water
• Heart Rate Check – count your pulse for 15 seconds at rest, then again after a minute of jumping
• Drying Race – hang one wet cloth in the sun and one in the shade and check which dries first
• String Telephone – join two cups with string and test whether a longer string still carries your voice
• Pendulum Swings – change the length and then the weight of a pendulum, and time ten swings for each
• Ruler Drop Reaction Test – catch a falling ruler and use the distance it drops to compare reaction times
• Potato Osmosis – soak potato strips in plain and salty water and measure the change in length or mass
• Pineapple and Gelatin – find out why fresh pineapple stops gelatin from setting but canned pineapple does not
• Dissolving Race – time a sugar cube and the same amount of loose sugar dissolving in water
• Parachute Drop – test parachutes with different canopy sizes and time each fall from the same height
• Craft Stick Catapult – change the launch angle and measure how far a pom-pom flies
• Water Filter – filter muddy water through sand, gravel and cotton wool; never drink the result
• Lemon Battery – push copper wire and a galvanised nail into several lemons and link them to light a small LED
• Yeast Balloon – mix yeast, sugar and warm water in a bottle with a balloon on top and watch it fill up
• Rusty Nails – leave iron nails in water, salt water, oil and open air to see which rusts first
• Spinning Eggs – spin a raw egg and a hard-boiled egg (an adult boils it) and explain the difference
• Seed Temperature Test – start seeds in a warm room, a cool room and the fridge, and compare
• Electromagnet – with an adult, wrap wire round an iron nail, connect a battery for a few seconds and count the paper clips it lifts
• Fingerprint Patterns – press a fingertip on a pencil scribble, lift the print with tape and sort prints into loops, whorls and arches

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