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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Give It a Lift With a Lever

For Students 3rd - 8th
Simple machines allow us to do difficult tasks like lifting objects heavier than our body weight. In this science project you'll build a tabletop lever and measure how much effort it takes to lift an object by altering the length of the...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Make a Phonograph From Everyday Items

For Students Pre-K - 1st
In this physics science fair project, the student will use common materials to play back sound from a vinyl record album. The student will investigate what kinds of materials produce the best sound. The Science Buddies project ideas are...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Forensics: How Does It Matter? Measure the Spatter!

For Students 9th - 10th
Every criminal leaves behind evidence at the crime scene. The trick to catching the criminal is collecting all of the evidence and making sense of it. This is what the forensic expert does. In this science project you will be correlating...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Career Profile: Park Ranger

For Students 9th - 10th
Working in beautiful scenery is just one of the perks of being a park ranger. This Science Buddies site lays out the requirements needed to become a park ranger, as well as the education and job description. Included are interviews with...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Popping an Ollie: Skateboards and Physics

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this science fair project, investigate the effect of speed on the distance and height of the skateboard trick the "ollie". The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Swing Low: Investigate the Motion of a Pendulum

For Students 3rd - 5th
Kids love to ride the swings at the playground. The back-and-forth motion of a swing demonstrates the physics of a pendulum. In this experiment, you will investigate the factors that affect the speed and duration of a pendulum's swing.
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Long Will My Sleepy Yo Yo Sleep?

For Students 9th - 10th
Yo-yo's are a fun toy and there is nothing simpler than a string wrapped between two connected disks. But there's a lot of physics that makes a yo-yo work. In this science fair project, learn more about how and why a yo-yo works. You...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Physics of Cheating in Baseball

For Students 9th - 10th
This week-long project asks you to examine the density of certain materials, such as "corked" baseball bats and regular baseball bats, and whether they can cause a ball to travel different distances.
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Walking Coins on a (Vertical!) 'High Wire'

For Students 9th - 10th
Here is a project that is almost like a magic trick: with a strong magnet and a simple apparatus you can build yourself, you can make a coin "walk" up and down a wire coat hanger. This project is an interesting way to learn about the...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Build a Motorboat Powered by Surface Tension

For Students 3rd - 8th
If you look carefully, you could find dozens of similar interesting phenomena that are all linked to the surface tension of water. Here is a project that will help you understand and measure the properties of water surface tension.
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Measuring Light Intensity Using the Inverse Square Law

For Students 9th - 10th
You've probably heard that compact fluorescent light bulbs are more efficient than incandescent bulbs. More of the electricity they use goes into producing light, and less into producing heat than with incandescent bulbs. How much more...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Supercooling Water and Snap Freezing

For Students 6th - 8th
Can water remain liquid below its normal freezing point? If it does, that water is supercool(-ed). This project shows you a method for supercooling water. You can test water from different sources to see whether or not it can be...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Roller Coaster Marbles: How Much Height to Loop the Loop?

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a really fun project even if you don't like going on roller coasters yourself. You'll build a roller coaster track for marbles using foam pipe insulation and masking tape, and see how much of an initial drop is required to get...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Fast Can You Shoot a Hockey Puck?

For Students 6th - 8th
In this project, you'll need: a puck, a hockey stick, a tape measure, at least one helper with a stopwatch and an empty rink. Have your friend start the watch just as you make contact with the puck, and stop it when the puck hits the...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Heart Health: How Does Heart Rate Change With Exercise?

For Students 6th - 8th
Your heart starts beating before you are born and keeps right on going through your whole life. Over an average lifetime, the human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times. Keeping your heart healthy means eating right, not smoking, and...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: What's the Fastest Way to Cool a Soda?

For Students 9th - 10th
When you are craving an ice cold drink of soda, the last thing you want is to be stuck with a bunch of soda cans at room temperature. This fun science experiment sends you on a discovery to find the fastest way to cool soda with...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Pick This Project!

For Students 6th - 8th
This lab will help you understand the physics of vibrating strings, and find out why the tone of an electric guitar changes when you switch between the different pickups. If playing guitars is a hobby of yours, this experiment makes an...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Back and Forth to Go Forward: A Snake on Wheels?

For Students 9th - 10th
Have you ever ridden on a Roller Racer or Plasma Car? These are ride-on toys that you move ahead by moving the steering mechanism back and forth. You've probably seen skateboarders "slaloming" on level ground to keep rolling, it's...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Build a 'Breath Spray Bomb' to Study Small Explosion

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Strength of an Electromagnet

For Students 3rd - 5th
Has anyone ever told you that you have a magnetic personality? Have you ever heard that opposites attract? These common phrases are both based on the properties of magnets and magnetic electricity. In this science fair project, learn how...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Getting Critical Over Colloids

For Students 3rd - 5th
What is a colloid? If you have made Oobleck out of corn starch and water, then you know that a colloid is a mixture that acts like a solid and a liquid at the same time. This activity helps you determine the critical factors that...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Project Ideas: How Primary Colors Combine to Make New Colors

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this science fair project, paint color pie slices onto a wheel and spin the wheel on an electric drill. See how colors add together to make new colors. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an...
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Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Abracadabra! Levitating With Eddy Currents!

For Students 9th - 10th
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

Science Buddies: The Cat's Meow: Designing an Enrichment Toy

For Students 9th - 10th
A great Science Fair project that involves analyzing your cat's behavior and designing toys that will be stimulating both physically and mentally. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract,...