Curated OER
Energy Efficiency Ambassadors
High schoolers research energy conservation devices. They also create their own light efficiency project and presents their findings on science fair night.
Curated OER
Make Something Beautiful
Students create an art piece using recycled objects. In this environmental activity, students collect and sort recycled objects and create a three dimensional art piece.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Sound Bites: Tasting the Texture of Classical Music
Did you know that your sense of hearing can determine texture? This Science Buddies science fair project has you experiment with four major eras in western music to determine the texture of the music. The Science Buddies project ideas...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Comparing Vocal Ranges: How High and Low Can You Go?
What is the highest note you can sing? How about the lowest? Do you think males and females can reach the same notes? How about children and adults? Find out the answers to all these questions in this "note"-worthy science fair project.
Science Buddies
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...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Do Re Mi With Straws
Check out this fun science fair project about the physics of musical sound production. Here you will make musical instruments with drinking straws, one for each note on a one-octave major scale. You will figure out the right lengths for...
Science Buddies
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....
Science Buddies
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...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Leaky Clues to Dam Design: How Reservoir Height Affects Hydroel
It's hard to believe that the same water that you use every day to quench your thirst, cook with, bathe in, swim in, and wash your clothes and dishes, is capable of another trick-it can make electricity. Electricity can be generated...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Correlation Between Pitch & Age, Gender, Musical Background
Music can be a great way to learn more about science. This project uses music to examine whether there is a correlation between age, gender, or musical background and being able to sing with perfect pitch.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Follow the Bouncing Ball: A Web Animation Project
This project is a fun way to try your hand at programming. You'll learn how to create some simple animations, and you'll perform tests and make measurements to help you create more realistic-looking animations. All you need to get...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Image Compression vs. Image Quality: Finding the Best Tradeoff
In this project you'll learn about how digital image files are encoded, and how digital images can be compressed so that the files take up less storage space and can be transmitted more quickly. You will also measure the quality of...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Digital Photos and Dynamic Range
Digital cameras can be a great way to learn about photography. Most digital cameras today have LCD screens, so you get instant feedback on your photo. If you make a mistake, no problem, you just delete the picture. It's nice that you...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Digital Pinhole Camera
If you sit under a leafy tree on a sunny day, you may notice spots of sunlight on the ground from light passing through spaces between the leaves. Try putting a piece of cardboard on the ground and examining the spots of light on the...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Focusing Your Flash for 'Freezing' Motion
Here's an interesting flash photography project. With an inexpensive Fresnel lens, you can concentrate the light from your flash. You'll be able to shoot with a smaller aperture and a shorter flash duration. This will give you a greater...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Using a Digital Camera to Measure Skyglow
This is a great project for someone that is interested in both stargazing and photography. Bright city lights and even the light of the full moon obscure the dimmest stars, which can make identifying constellations more difficult. This...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Don't You Fret! Standing Waves on a Guitar
In this project, you will investigate the physics of standing waves on guitar strings. You will learn about the different modes (i.e., patterns) of vibration that can be produced on a string, and you will figure out how to produce the...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Make Your Own Electric Guitar Pickup
If you like playing electric guitar, this could be a cool project for you. In this project you'll wind one or more of your own electric guitar pickups and test them out in an inexpensive electric guitar to understand just how electric...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Guitar Fundamentals: Wavelength, Frequency, & Speed
This is a rockin' project for guitarists with an interest in the physics behind music. If you have ever wondered why the pitch of the note changes when you fret the string, this project will help you understand by applying basic...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: The Leaning Tower of Pasta
Here's a project for a budding architect or structural engineer. Can you make a strong, lightweight tower using only uncooked spaghetti and white glue? In this project, you'll learn about materials testing and apply what you learn to...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Photography With Near Infrared Illumination
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have an extra sense? What if you could hear above the normal range (ultrasound) like dogs or bats? This project shows you how you can use a camera, tripod and a special filter to take...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Alternative Sources for Paper Fiber
If you're interested in arts and crafts, you might like this project. It uses several alternative, renewable sources of fiber to make paper, and compares the resulting papers for strength and writing quality.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How to Make the Boldest, Brightest Tie Dye!
The clothes you wear are made of fibers that come from many different sources. Some fabrics are made from natural fibers, and some from manufactured or totally synthetic fibers. In this project you'll explore how different fiber types...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How to Make a Guitar Sing
This is a great project for musicians interested in the physics of stringed instruments. If you have ever played an acoustic guitar, you may have noticed that picking a single string can make one or more of the other (unpicked) strings...