Science Fair Experiment Ideas

YOU NEED PRIOR APPROVAL IF YOUR EXPERIMENT INVOLVES A HUMAN OR ANIMAL IN ANYWAY. 

EMAIL DEESSCIENCEFAIR@GMAIL.COM BEFORE YOU START. 

★ Food

○  What happens to cookies if you cook them longer/shorter? Use more/less flour? Use shortening/butter?  Use honey/sugar?

○  How much mass is lost when you bake a cookie?  Weigh it before and after baking.

○  How much sugar do you need to make the best lemonade? Try several recipes and take a survey.

○  What foods are acidic? Basic? Neutral?

○  Do different liquids boil at different temperatures?

○  How does fat content in milk affect making hot chocolate? Which type of milk makes the best hot chocolate?

○  What liquids travel slowest down a ramp?

○  What happens to chocolate if it gets very hot? Very cold? Very dry? Very wet?

○  When you mix water and salt, does the volume of liquid change? How about the mass?

★ Plants

○  How much water does a plant drink in a day? How could you measure it?

○  What kind of light will a sunflower grow towards most? (sunlight, LED, old-fashioned bulb)

○  What type of fertilizer is best for bean plants?

○  Will sunflowers grow better in soil that recently had beans growing in it?

○  What type of dirt do radishes grow best in? Sandy, peat-filled, compost, or topsoil?

○  What type of liquid will celery absorb the most of? Make them different colors so you can measure how far up the celery they travel in a certain amount of time.

★ Toys

○  Which paper airplane design will fly the farthest/fastest?

○  What’s the strongest way to build a wall/bridge of Legos?  Try several and test them.

○  Try making two different cranes, and see which one will hold more weight.

○  What throw/string twistedness/weight makes a yo-yo sleep the longest?

○  What is the range of a set of walkie-talkies (or wireless internet)?  Can you increase it?

○  How do different materials (cardboard/metal/plastic) affect the range of wi-fi or cell service?

○  How can you use pulleys to lift heavier things? Measure what happens when you do?

○  What size of slinky works best for walking down stairs? Does it depend on the stairs’ size?

○  Which Rubik's cube algorithm/technique is the fastest? Learn several and compare.

★ Sports

○  Which bike gear is fastest for pedalling up a nearby hill?

○  What part of your foot is best for kicking a soccer ball the farthest?

○  Is overhand or underhand better for throwing farther? faster? more accurately? How does a wind-up affect a throw?

★ Around the House

○  What substances work best for getting out ketchup/grass stains/sap? Hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, shampoo, hand sanitizer, etc?

○  How do people’s heart rates change when they do various exercises?

○  Does a cold candle (cooled in the fridge) burn slower than a warm one?

○  What kind of light makes the best rainbows when shone through a prism? LED, filament bulb, candle light?

○  How does the length of a pendulum or the weight of a pendulum affect how fast it swings?

 Introduction

• Science experiments are something anyone can do - all you need is a question that can be answered by doing a test. Then you record what you did and all the results you got from your test and try to answer your question.

• Students present their projects to judges by explaining what they did and why, as well as their results, and the judges give the students constructive feedback. Doing a science project gives students tools they can use to solve many kinds of problems using the scientific method.

• Students may work on their own or in groups.

• The Science Fair Committee can answer any questions you have, or help you if you get stuck! Please contact deessciencefair@gmail.com.  You can use a template and the worksheets (above) to plan and present your work.

The Project

Choose your Topic

• Choose something that you are curious about! Maybe you have an idea for a new way to bake a cookie, or want to test the fastest way to bike up a hill, or want to test the strength of different strings. Before you start, make sure that your topic is something you can test within the time you have. Several ideas are listed on this webpage.

Plan your Project

• Set deadlines for each part of the project to ensure you can finish on time. You can use the worksheets on the webpage to help you plan your project.

Execute your Project

• Do your research, execute your experiment, or make your invention.  Take notes, pictures, and record data.

Present your Project

• You will have the opportunity to present your work from a tri-fold display board. You can purchase or make one.   You may type or write by hand on the display board. Decide the best way to present your data - illustrations, graphs, charts, and/or photos all help people understand your project better.

• For using slides or the tri-fold display board, you can use the templates above if you want. Type in your data from your own project. Put the title, your name, grade, and teacher’s name in the center of the board.  

• If you are citing books or websites in your Bibliography, see How to Format a Bibliography.

• Practice explaining your project to someone else out loud.

Most of all… Have Fun!

ANIMAL SAFETY

Students doing experiments with, or on, live vertebrate animals need prior approval before starting. Paperwork Approvals must accompany the project.

No live animals, preserved vertebrate animals or parts, including embryos, may be exhibited. Research involving the use of animals may display photographs, drawings, charts, or graphs to illustrate the methods and results of the investigations.

SAFETY

Anything that could be hazardous to the public is prohibited in the display. This includes:

●  Microbial (bacteria, viruses, mold) cultures and fungi, live or dead

●  Any flames, open or concealed

●  Highly flammable materials

●  Dangerous chemicals including caustics and acids

●  Operation of Class II or IV lasers

●  Glass of any kind

If any of the above items are used, take a picture instead of including them in the display.

The following requirements for all operating exhibits must be followed:

●  Any exhibit producing temperatures above 100 degrees C (212 degrees F) must be adequately insulated from its surroundings.

●  Batteries with open top cells are not permitted; other types may be used.

●  High voltage equipment (above 12 volts D.C.), large vacuum tubes or dangerous ray-operating devices must be properly shielded.

SAFETY BOTTOM LINE:

Be Safe, and be a good steward for science while performing your experiment. 

Care for yourself, others or other things, and the environment.

Double Eagle Judging Rubric for 2026-2027 (subject to change)