Science is a complicated yet interesting subject. It comprises numerous definitions and formulas that students need to memorize. However, sometimes it becomes monotonous and students don’t show any interest.
So, to make it more fun and interesting, you can opt for numerous fun and educational science experiments, which we are about to discuss. Discussing those experiments will motivate you to try them and learn more interestingly.
Candle Carousel
One of the best parts of this experiment is that it combines the wonder of physics with the art of crafting. Here, you will light up the candles and the carousel will start spinning. Well, you need to understand that heat is a form of energy and it makes the air right above the candle rise above the colder air around it. The rising hot air will push up against the blade and make it spin. So, you can understand that it will be an enriching experience and will foster a deeper connection with the energies around us.
Materials and tools:
- Corrugated cardboard for the base
- Empty cereal box or thick cardboard
- 4 tealight candles and a lighter
- Glue gun
- Glue stick or clear acid-free adhesive
- Blu Tack
- Ruler
- Pencil or marker
- Box cutter
- Scissors
- Thin wooden skewer
- A toilet roll tube
- 4 small beads
- Plastic push pin
- Sandpaper
- Markers (for decorating your Carousel)
- Screw or a scoring tool
Steps to follow:
- Step 1- The first thing that you need to do is to make your pieces ready:
Print out all the three windmills on cardstock. In case, you don’t have cardstock, you can use a printer paper. Once done, cut them down, and stick them on a different blank sheet of the paper to make it sturdier and thicker.
- Step 2- Step 2 involves gluing of all the materials:
In the next step, sand one side of the wooden bead slightly flat and glue it over the small holes you made with the help of the pushpin. Next, you need to push the wooden skewer through the bead and rest it in the hole to make sure that it is over the hole.
- Step 3- Get the spindle and axis together:
It is time to cut the wooden skewer 15 cm in length from the pointed tip. You can use box cutter or scissors. After that, gently roll the skewer back and forth while gently cutting into the wood. One of the best things that you can do is to make a line around to make it easy to snap skewer into pieces.
Burn Calories
With the help of this experiment, you will get to unravel the mysteries behind energy transformation. It will allow you to unleash the secrets hidden in the most common substances. Here, you will build your calorimeter to fathom how many calories are present in different types of foods. For instance, with the help of this experiment, you can capture the energy released from small food items like pieces of popcorn or nuts. Therefore, start gathering all the items and conduct this experiment. The final result will provide you with a sense of accomplishment.
Materials Used:
- Soda Can (empty)
- Stirring Rod
- Ring Stand and Ring
- Thermometer
- Graduated Cylinder, 100 mL
- Large Paper Clip
- 2 Twist Ties
- 3 Food Samples with Nutrition Labels (2 to 3 g each of samples such as nuts; marshmallows; or soft chips, e.g., cheese puffs)
- Water
- Matches
- Aluminum Foil (small piece)
Steps to follow:
- Use a graduated cylinder and obtain 50 ml of water. Carefully pour it into the soda can.
- Find out the mass of the water and record your finding in the data table.
- Hold the clip horizontally and bend the outer end upwards until it is 90 degrees angle to the rest of the paper clip.
- Get 2-to-3-gms of food sample.
- Place the food sample on the paper clip’s upward extending end. You must make the sample freestanding, which is supported by the bottom of the paper clip.
- Next, place a small piece of aluminium foil underneath the paper clip in a space that is free of all the flammables.
- Insert the stirring rod through the soda can tab and place the can in the ring stand. It will support the stirring rod.
- Adjust the ring stand precisely so that the can is approximately 4cm above the food sample.
- Suspend the thermometer inside the can, few centimeters above the bottom of the can. Use 2 twist ties to secure it.
- Find out the initial temperature of the water in the can and note the value in the data table.
- Light a match carefully and use it to light the food sample.
- Allow the lit sample to heat the water in the can. Gently, stir the water periodically with the thermometer.
- Observe the temperature change of the water and record the highest observed temperature in the data table.
Find Out if Water Conducts Electricity
It is a captivating activity. Here, the students will explore the conductive properties of water. Here, you will get to unlock the secrets of how electrical current flows through various substances. Once you are done with the experiment you will learn that pure water doesn’t conduct electricity. However, the conductivity of electricity increases if you add more impurities to water. To facilitate this experiment you will need numerous materials such as a small LED, 2 small button batteries, copper wires, scotch tape, tap water, and distilled water.
Materials used:
- Small LED diode
- 2 small button batteries
- Copper wires or electrical wires with alligator clips
- Scotch tape
- Tap water
- Distilled water (you can use bottled ones or make your own distilled water)
Steps to follow:
- Fill the small container with tap water.
- Connect the batteries and LED lights using electrical wires to craft an open circuit.
- Now, dip the two open ends into the water.
- After that, you can repeat the experiment using the exact same setup. However, this time, instead of using the tap water, use distilled water.
- Using the tap water, you should be able to complete the circuit and light up the LED bulb.
Roller Coaster Stem Experiment
Now, it is a pretty interesting experiment. Here, the students will get the chance to study various track and design configurations. It will help the students to refine their problem-solving skills and gain numerous valuable insights into engineering and physics. To be precise, it will help the students to learn about centripetal force. Here you have to make a track using copper tubes and use a marble that will act like a passenger. The centripetal force that you will gain will allow the passenger (marble ball) to stay within the tracks. With the help of this experiment, you will learn numerous other phenomena such as momentum, acceleration, kinetic and potential energy.
Materials used:
- A cardboard base (optional)
- Scissors
- Marbles
- Tape
- Video instructions are available in English and Spanish
- Roller coaster template sheets, you will need to download and print these on cardstock
Steps to follow:
- The first thing that you need to do is to design your roller coaster. For that, you need to draw your design on the paper and figure out how many tracks you need.
- Next, you need to use a corrugated cardboard as base and assemble the track according to your plan. Tape the track segments together end-to-end to connect them.
- Now, you have to place a marble on the top of your track and let it go and watch carefully.
- If you see that the marble has used the whole way to reach the end, you can add more tracks to make it longer.
- If the marble is not capable of making its way out, you need to figure out the reason.
Lemon Battery
Once you engage in this experiment, it will teach you the basics of electrical circuits. It will not only spark curiosity, but it will also spark your curiosity regarding the natural world and the sciences behind it. Well, this battery is a type of voltaic battery. The primary purpose of this battery is to convert chemical energy in lemon into electrical energy. It will help you create enough electricity to power a small watch or LED. So, gather all the materials and start conducting this experiment as soon as possible. It will make you happy.
Materials used:
- LED Bulb
- 4 Lemons
- Alligator Clips
- Zinc Nails
- Copper Wire
- Goggles
- Gloves
Steps to follow:
- Start by rolling the lemons on the table and make them nice and juicy.
- Stick a zinc nail and a piece of copper wire into each of the lemons. Here, we are taking 4 lemons.
- Next, use alligator clips to connect each lemon together.
- Once you connect the last lemon, connect two more alligator clips to connect the first and last lemon to the LED light.
- Once the circuit gets completed, you will understand that how cool the experiment is.
- You can further expand the experiment by adding more lemons.
Relight the Flame without Directly Touching It
It is also a fascinating project that will challenge a student to fathom the intriguing properties of heat combustion and transfer. Once you explore the various methods to reignite a candle flame without physical contact, the students will know about the secrets of convection, heat conduction, and radiation. The best part of this experiment is that it is pretty easy to conduct. All you need are a candle, a lighter, and adult supervision. Here, the wax will get vaporized and will create a yellow flame surrounded by a blue flame. The yellow flame is the soot.
Materials used:
- A candle
- Matches
Steps to follow:
- An adult should be present during the experiment.
- Light the candle and wait until you are getting a big flame.
- Light a match and after that, blow out the candle.
- Check whether you are capable of igniting the candle by igniting the gas that rises from the candle.
Separate Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen Using Electrolysis
It is an electrifying project. It will allow the students to explore the decomposition and electrolysis of water into its elemental components. It requires numerous materials such as a glass or plastic tub, 2 elastic bands, 2 test tubes, a bicarp of soda, graphite pencil leads, water, battery, 2 pairs of crocodile clips, and waterproof tape. Once you opt for this experiment, bubbles of gas will start to form at each electrode. You will see that most gas is getting collected at the negative electrode compared to the positive electrode. So, try to conduct this experiment and learn more about electrolysis.
Materials use:
- Glass or plastic tub
- 2 elastic bands
- 2 test tubes (with lids if possible)
- Bicarb of soda (1 tbsp)
- Graphite pencil leads
- Water
- Battery
- 2 pairs of crocodile clips
- Waterproof tape
Steps to follow:
- Connect one end of each crocodile clip to a piece of graphite and other to the battery.
- Next, secure the graphite ends to the bottom of the tub and make sure that the graphite is sticking up. After that, place an inverted tube over each piece of graphite.
- Dissolve the bicarb of soda in the water and make sure to fill the tub.
- Finally, you need to remove each test tub, fill it with water, and place it over the graphite carefully.
- Any gas collected during the electrolysis will replace in the water tubs. So, make sure that there are no air bubbles.
Carbon Sugar Snake
It is an interesting project that will allow the students to witness a dazzling display of science by using common household materials. All you need to do is combine those household ingredients and create a coiling, dark snake. The snake will be made of carbon. Your carbon sugar snake will be the reaction product of three chemical reactions and all of them depend on heat. Well, make sure to light the sand on a safe and fireproof base.
Materials used:
- A wide baking tray filled with 2 kg of sand
- 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate soda
- 4 tablespoons of icing mixture (also known as powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar)
- 50 ml of ethanol, lighter fluid or methylated spirits
- A BBQ lighter
- Bowl & spoon
- Fire extinguisher, fire blanket or running water & bucket nearby.
Steps to follow:
- In a bowl, combine 4 tsp of powdered sugar along with 1 tsp of baking soda.
- Get a pie tin and fill it with sand and create a small mound in the middle. To make an indent in the middle of the mound, use your knuckle.
- Pour lighter fluid on mound as well as indentation. Make sure that the sand is well soaked.
- Use the spoon to stir your baking and sugar soda to mix into the center of the mound.
- Carefully light the sand near the sugar mixture. The baking soda and sugar mixture will start creating bubble and turn back. As this mixture burns, witness the snake will begin to form.
- A snake will start to form and can continue to burn for 20 minutes.
Build a Hydraulic Elevator
If you want to learn about fluid mechanics and engineering, you can use this experiment. Here, you need to construct a hydraulic elevator, where you will explore the principles of Pascal’s law along with the concept of fluid law. All the supplies that you need to conduct this experiment are jumbo Popsicle sticks, wooden skewers, 2-10 syringes, and plastic tubing. Once you make the elevator, you can use it to move, lift, and position heavy loads.
Materials used:
- Jumbo Popsicle sticks
- Wooden skewers
- 2-10 ml syringes
- Thin plastic tubing
Steps to follow:
- Mark the center and two endpoints on each of the Popsicle sticks. After that you need to draw a hole on the marking points and then match up with the other ones.
- Stack the sticks together and use some masking tapes to tape them.
- Using a small drill bit, make holes on the marked ends. However, be careful as it tends to split and stick to the ends. You can also use screwdriver, but it will consume a lot of time of yours.
- Once you make the holes in all the sticks, tie them with a wire through the center point. Repeat it for three times.
- Now, it is time to connect the two ends of each pair and you will three pairs of overlapping sticks.
- Repeat the same process of other half. Now, you have two moving pieces and each will comprise of six sticks.
- On the bottom and top holes, join two sides together with a wooden skewer through holes. You can additionally use glue at the ends so that sticks never slip from their points.
- Tie the bottom surface to the table through tape according to your preference.
- Cut a small piece of tubing and attach the syringe at one tip. Then fill the other with water and attach it to the other end of the tube.
So, these are the fun high-school science projects that you can try. If you are looking for a place that can help you conduct these experiments, you can get in touch with Kalibre Education. They will help you understand the setup and theory behind each of the experiments. Plus, they support the completion of assignments in primary and high school.
