It’s Science Fair season! Time to dust off the microscopes and beakers and start experimenting. For generations, students have been doing the same old experiments, from baking soda and vinegar volcano to crystal growing. Let’s shake things up this season with some new and exciting experiments. We share a list of unique experiments to try in your classroom today.
Life Science: How Important Are Thumbs?
The goal of this activity is to provide you with a chance to understand how important the thumb is for animals. You will discover which of your simple daily activities are possible only because of your thumbs. You will discover which activities take longer without the use of a thumb. You will discover what sort of human activities would not be possible to do without your thumbs.
What You’ll Need:
- masking tape
- scissors
- paper clips
- zip-lock bag
- plastic fork and knife
- pencil
- paper
- balloons
What You’ll Do:
- Tape your thumbs to the sides of your hands.
- Try to complete the tasks listed below. Be careful not to use your thumbs!
- After completing each item, write out the answers to the following questions:
- Is the task most difficult with or without a thumb?
- How did you have to change your usual technique in order to complete this task?
- Do you think organisms without thumbs would carry out this task on a regular basis? Why or why not?
Tasks:
- Pick up a pen or pencil from the table. Use it to write your name on paper.
- Open a book. Turn a few pages, one page at a time.
- Pick up a whiteboard marker. Write your name on the board.
- Tear off a small piece of tape.
- Turn on the water faucet. Turn it off.
Click here to download a printable version of this experiment that includes the full list of tasks.
Physical Science: Measure the Speed of Sound
This science experiment challenges students to measure the speed of sound.
What You’ll Need:
- a stopwatch
- a note pad
- a tape measure
- a pocket calculator
- something that makes a loud, sudden sound
What You’ll Do:
- Find a high, flat, up-and-down surface, like a high building or a steep cliff. It must have a wide, open space in front of it.
- Measure the distance to the building or cliff.
- Have one person make a loud sound. You must be able to hear the sound echoed from the cliff or building.
- The other person measures the time from when you made the sound until you heard the echo.
- Find the speed of sound. Multiply the distance to the cliff or building by 2. Divide the result by the time you measured. This is the speed of sound.
Click here to download a printable version of this experiment.
Earth Science: Make Sand Dunes
In this experiment, you will see how wind makes sand dunes in the desert and at the beach.
What You’ll Need:
- sand
- a big electric fan
What You’ll Do:
- Get some sand. Pick a place where it will be easy to sweep up the sand.
- Spread the sand out. Make it about one or two inches deep.
- Plug in the fan. Place the fan so it will blow straight across the sand.
- Watch for little dunes to form.
- Try different fan speeds.
- Answer the following questions:
- How does the sand move to form the dunes?
- How long did it take for dunes to form?
- What differences did you notice when changing to a different speed?
- Do the dunes move after they are formed?
Click here to download a printable version of this experiment.
For more ideas, visit the Science section of our Free Content store page. We have even more fun experiments to try, like the How Much Air? experiment, the Cloud in a Jar experiment, the Electrostatic Force experiment, and the How the Sun Warms the Earth experiment.