When planning a project for science fair, follow your kids’ ideas interests, curiosities and questions they already have. Do you have a young student obsessed with rubbing balloons on her hair and sticking them to the wall? That could be a project!
Or how about a middle-schooler who just likes to light things on fire? Get a quantitative spectroscope so he can analyze the light spectra produced by burning different elements—and make it a science fair project!
The Science fair the perfect way to inspire learning through natural curiosity. To get started on brainstorming ideas for your child’s project, find science fair project ideas by grade level and topic below. Home Science Tools also offers a variety of complete science fair kits to maximize fun and education while minimizing stress.
For detailed directions, you can check out our free Science Fair Guide.
Science Fair Ideas: Projects by Grade Level
Science Fair Projects for Elementary Students
Getting an early start is a great way to foster a lifelong appreciation for scientific discovery. This is a great opportunity to help your kid develop basic scientific skills, such as sorting and classifying, sustaining their attention for long periods of time, using deductive or inductive reasoning, and applying a concept to more general situations.
Science Fair Projects for Middle School Students
Middle school science fairs are a great opportunity to allow your student to dive in deeper on STEM fields that interest them. As they develop important science skills, their science fair project should emphasize personal connections to natural phenomena and ways they apply to everyday life.
Science Fair Projects for High School Students
As the world begins to open up for high school students, put their desire to do something meaningful to good use! With science fair, kids get the opportunity to engage current science and technology for the benefit of society. High school science fair projects often ask students to grasp abstract concepts, and use advanced reasoning.
Science Fair Ideas: Projects by Topic
Science Fair Ideas: Projects for Procrastinators
Your student just announced science fair is when? Yep, life happens, and sometimes you need easy ideas to pull off in a snap. Many science fair projects can be completed in less than two weeks. While we wouldn’t recommend waiting to the last minute, we can help your kid have a great learning experiences. Here are our recommendation for science fair projects with shorter timelines.