Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Think Fast: Do Video Game Players Have Faster Reaction Time
Are you an avid video game player? Do you think this helps you have fast reaction times? This Science Buddies science project lays out an experiment to help you test your hypothesis. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up...
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Science Buddies: Race Your Marbles to Discover a Liquid's Viscosity
How do you like your mashed potatoes? Thin and whipped smooth? Or thick and mashed into chunks? Your mouth checks out not just the taste of your food, but its viscosity, or how it flows on your tongue, every time you take a bite. In this...
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Science Buddies: Great Globs of Gluten! Which Wheat Flour Has the Most?
Close your eyes for a moment and think about your favorite cake, pasta, and crusty bread. OK, you can open your eyes now, and please don't drool on your computer. What was the cake you pictured like? Was it light and fluffy? Did you...
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Science Buddies: How Sweet It Is: Hummingbird Food Preferences
Do you like to watch hummingbirds? Have you ever wondered why there is specialty hummingbird food? What is it about the food that makes it so appealing? In this zoology science fair project, you will observe these remarkable creatures...
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Science Buddies: You Want Fries With That? The Science of Crispy Potatoes
The first bite of a fresh-picked apple, the crunch of morning toast, the deep cut into rich, flaky layers of baklava, the pleasing snap of a chip. Besides being delicious, what do these foods have in common? They're crisp. They have a...
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Science Buddies: Ask a Cricket, 'What Is the Temperature?'
A cricket as a thermometer? Yes, that's right. In this science fair project, you'll investigate how the chirps of these tiny creatures can do more than lull you to sleep-they can tell you the temperature.
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Science Buddies: Neanderthals, Orangutans, Lemurs & You; A Primate Reunion
You have probably seen figures showing how human beings are related to chimpanzees, gorillas, and other primates. In this genomics science fair project, you will use bioinformatics tools to generate your own primate family tree.
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Science Buddies: Flavor That Food! Exploring the Science of Marinades
Have you ever tasted a delicious burger and wondered how it got so much flavor? Maybe you've heard your family talk about marinating foods before cooking or grilling them. A marinade is a mixture of seasonings used to flavor or tenderize...
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Science Buddies: Bring on the Heat! Investigating Exothermic Reaction Rates
Have you ever pulled a muscle or just been sore after a long day of work or exercise? Hot showers are great, but maybe you've used the more convenient heat packs. Heat packs, which you can buy at grocery or drug stores to soothe aching...
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Science Buddies: Ocean Currents: Modeling 'Global Conveyor Belt' in Your Kitchen
Ocean currents have a profound effect on the climates of the continents, especially those regions bordering on the ocean. The Gulf Stream makes northwest Europe much more temperate than any other region at the same latitude, and the...
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Science Buddies: Mp3 Squeeze: How Much Compression Is Too Much?
Do you love to listen to your MP3 player while you're exercising, or listen to songs on the Internet? The relatively recent development of MP3 technology has made it possible to take a stack of CD's and store them on a device no bigger...
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Science Buddies: Movie Music
Have you ever seen a great movie and then rushed out and bought its soundtrack? Did the soundtrack bring back the thrill of an action chase? Or the sadness one of the movie's characters felt? Music is a big part of the movie experience....
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Science Buddies: Just Keep Cool How Evaporation Affects Heating and Cooling
When we get hot, we sweat. The physiological role of sweat is to cool us down. When the water evaporates, it removes energy from our bodies. This sort of evaporative cooling can also be used to cool homes, using what are referred to as...
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Science Buddies: Reveal the Red: Exploring the Chemistry of Red Flower Pigments
Are all reds the same? Find out in this science fair project. Investigate if the pigments in one type of red flower are different from those in another type of red flower. Flowers contain an assortment of amazing chemicals that produce...
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Science Buddies: Maple Syrup: For Pancakes, Waffles, and Crystal Candy?
Maple syrup is deliciously gooey and great on breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles. But it has another amazing property. It can form crystals under the right circumstances, and the crystals change in size and shape, depending on...
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Science Buddies: How Can Tofu Pack Such a Flavorful Punch?
Spicy fried tofu. It's a delicious and savory main dish at many Asian restaurants. Stab a golden-brown piece, bite into it, and the juice inside rushes out, filling your mouth with rich flavors. Continue eating and you find the texture...
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Science Buddies: Old Salty: Does Age Affect the Ability to Detect Salt?
Sauerkraut, pickled fish, pickled vegetables, kimchi, corned beef, processed cheeses, smoked lunch meats. Do you like these high-salt foods? What about your grandparents, do they? Do your grandparents seem to like most foods to be a bit...
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Science Buddies: How Tweet It Is: Bird Songs in Classical Music
Do you enjoy singing contests like American Idol? Well, male songbirds have their own version of a singing competition that has been going on for thousands of years, and classical musical composers have been taking notes. In this music...
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Science Buddies: Fast Food: Can Peppermint Improve Reaction Times?
Did you know that some teachers give their students a peppermint candy on state testing days? Is it to give the kids sweet-smelling breath? Or are the teachers hoping for something more on the important testing day? In this human biology...
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Science Buddies: Jack and Jill Went Up a Hill and Came Biking Down After
Are you a budding Lance Armstrong or Greg LeMond? Are you into cycling and speed? Then this is the science fair project for you. In this science fair project, you will determine the best gear ratio for your bike, to get the highest speed...
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Science Buddies: How Sweet It Is! Measuring Glucose in Your Food
You know that sugar makes food sweet. But did you know that there are different kinds of sugar? Sucrose is the granulated sugar that you usually use for baking. Another kind of sugar, which is found in honey and in many fruits, is...
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Science Buddies: Abracadabra! Levitating With Eddy Currents!
Did you know that not all trains run on tracks? Some of the world's fastest trains are magnetic levitation trains (maglev). This means that the carriage of the train is suspended over the rails with no support, but only with magnetic...
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Science Buddies: Vines & Spines: Thigmotropism in Morning Glory Tendrils
We tend to think of plants as immobile, but the tendrils of a vine, such as the morning glory, actually move in response to touch. Tendrils wrap around structures, which give the plant something to grow on. In this science fair project,...
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Science Buddies: Build a 'Breath Spray Bomb' to Study Small Explosion
Hold onto your hats. In this science fair project, you will make a device that sends a film canister across the room with a small chemical explosion. The energy for the explosion is derived from the combustion of ethanol. You will...