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72 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand

Because science doesn’t have to be complicated.

If there is one thing that is guaranteed to get your students excited, it’s a good science experiment! While some experiments require expensive lab equipment or dangerous chemicals, there are plenty of cool projects you can do with regular household items. We’ve rounded up a big collection of easy science experiments that anybody can try, and kids are going to love them!

Easy Chemistry Science Experiments

Easy physics science experiments, easy biology and environmental science experiments, easy engineering experiments and stem challenges.

1. Taste the Rainbow

Teach your students about diffusion while creating a beautiful and tasty rainbow! Tip: Have extra Skittles on hand so your class can eat a few!

Learn more: Skittles Diffusion

2. Crystallize sweet treats

Crystal science experiments teach kids about supersaturated solutions. This one is easy to do at home, and the results are absolutely delicious!

Learn more: Candy Crystals

3. Make a volcano erupt

This classic experiment demonstrates a chemical reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (acetic acid), which produces carbon dioxide gas, water, and sodium acetate.

Learn more: Best Volcano Experiments

4. Make elephant toothpaste

This fun project uses yeast and a hydrogen peroxide solution to create overflowing “elephant toothpaste.” Tip: Add an extra fun layer by having kids create toothpaste wrappers for plastic bottles.

5. Blow the biggest bubbles you can

Add a few simple ingredients to dish soap solution to create the largest bubbles you’ve ever seen! Kids learn about surface tension as they engineer these bubble-blowing wands.

Learn more: Giant Soap Bubbles

6. Demonstrate the “magic” leakproof bag

All you need is a zip-top plastic bag, sharp pencils, and water to blow your kids’ minds. Once they’re suitably impressed, teach them how the “trick” works by explaining the chemistry of polymers.

Learn more: Leakproof Bag

7. Use apple slices to learn about oxidation

Have students make predictions about what will happen to apple slices when immersed in different liquids, then put those predictions to the test. Have them record their observations.

Learn more: Apple Oxidation

8. Float a marker man

Their eyes will pop out of their heads when you “levitate” a stick figure right off the table! This experiment works due to the insolubility of dry-erase marker ink in water, combined with the lighter density of the ink.

Learn more: Floating Marker Man

9. Discover density with hot and cold water

There are a lot of easy science experiments you can do with density. This one is extremely simple, involving only hot and cold water and food coloring, but the visuals make it appealing and fun.

Learn more: Layered Water

10. Layer more liquids

This density demo is a little more complicated, but the effects are spectacular. Slowly layer liquids like honey, dish soap, water, and rubbing alcohol in a glass. Kids will be amazed when the liquids float one on top of the other like magic (except it is really science).

Learn more: Layered Liquids

11. Grow a carbon sugar snake

Easy science experiments can still have impressive results! This eye-popping chemical reaction demonstration only requires simple supplies like sugar, baking soda, and sand.

Learn more: Carbon Sugar Snake

12. Mix up some slime

Tell kids you’re going to make slime at home, and watch their eyes light up! There are a variety of ways to make slime, so try a few different recipes to find the one you like best.

13. Make homemade bouncy balls

These homemade bouncy balls are easy to make since all you need is glue, food coloring, borax powder, cornstarch, and warm water. You’ll want to store them inside a container like a plastic egg because they will flatten out over time.

Learn more: Make Your Own Bouncy Balls

14. Create eggshell chalk

Eggshells contain calcium, the same material that makes chalk. Grind them up and mix them with flour, water, and food coloring to make your very own sidewalk chalk.

Learn more: Eggshell Chalk

15. Make naked eggs

This is so cool! Use vinegar to dissolve the calcium carbonate in an eggshell to discover the membrane underneath that holds the egg together. Then, use the “naked” egg for another easy science experiment that demonstrates osmosis .

Learn more: Naked Egg Experiment

16. Turn milk into plastic

This sounds a lot more complicated than it is, but don’t be afraid to give it a try. Use simple kitchen supplies to create plastic polymers from plain old milk. Sculpt them into cool shapes when you’re done!

17. Test pH using cabbage

Teach kids about acids and bases without needing pH test strips! Simply boil some red cabbage and use the resulting water to test various substances—acids turn red and bases turn green.

Learn more: Cabbage pH

18. Clean some old coins

Use common household items to make old oxidized coins clean and shiny again in this simple chemistry experiment. Ask kids to predict (hypothesize) which will work best, then expand the learning by doing some research to explain the results.

Learn more: Cleaning Coins

19. Pull an egg into a bottle

This classic easy science experiment never fails to delight. Use the power of air pressure to suck a hard-boiled egg into a jar, no hands required.

Learn more: Egg in a Bottle

20. Blow up a balloon (without blowing)

Chances are good you probably did easy science experiments like this when you were in school. The baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment demonstrates the reactions between acids and bases when you fill a bottle with vinegar and a balloon with baking soda.

21 Assemble a DIY lava lamp

This 1970s trend is back—as an easy science experiment! This activity combines acid-base reactions with density for a totally groovy result.

22. Explore how sugary drinks affect teeth

The calcium content of eggshells makes them a great stand-in for teeth. Use eggs to explore how soda and juice can stain teeth and wear down the enamel. Expand your learning by trying different toothpaste-and-toothbrush combinations to see how effective they are.

Learn more: Sugar and Teeth Experiment

23. Mummify a hot dog

If your kids are fascinated by the Egyptians, they’ll love learning to mummify a hot dog! No need for canopic jars , just grab some baking soda and get started.

24. Extinguish flames with carbon dioxide

This is a fiery twist on acid-base experiments. Light a candle and talk about what fire needs in order to survive. Then, create an acid-base reaction and “pour” the carbon dioxide to extinguish the flame. The CO2 gas acts like a liquid, suffocating the fire.

25. Send secret messages with invisible ink

Turn your kids into secret agents! Write messages with a paintbrush dipped in lemon juice, then hold the paper over a heat source and watch the invisible become visible as oxidation goes to work.

Learn more: Invisible Ink

26. Create dancing popcorn

This is a fun version of the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment, perfect for the younger crowd. The bubbly mixture causes popcorn to dance around in the water.

27. Shoot a soda geyser sky-high

You’ve always wondered if this really works, so it’s time to find out for yourself! Kids will marvel at the chemical reaction that sends diet soda shooting high in the air when Mentos are added.

Learn more: Soda Explosion

28. Send a teabag flying

Hot air rises, and this experiment can prove it! You’ll want to supervise kids with fire, of course. For more safety, try this one outside.

Learn more: Flying Tea Bags

29. Create magic milk

This fun and easy science experiment demonstrates principles related to surface tension, molecular interactions, and fluid dynamics.

Learn more: Magic Milk Experiment

30. Watch the water rise

Learn about Charles’s Law with this simple experiment. As the candle burns, using up oxygen and heating the air in the glass, the water rises as if by magic.

Learn more: Rising Water

31. Learn about capillary action

Kids will be amazed as they watch the colored water move from glass to glass, and you’ll love the easy and inexpensive setup. Gather some water, paper towels, and food coloring to teach the scientific magic of capillary action.

Learn more: Capillary Action

32. Give a balloon a beard

Equally educational and fun, this experiment will teach kids about static electricity using everyday materials. Kids will undoubtedly get a kick out of creating beards on their balloon person!

Learn more: Static Electricity

33. Find your way with a DIY compass

Here’s an old classic that never fails to impress. Magnetize a needle, float it on the water’s surface, and it will always point north.

Learn more: DIY Compass

34. Crush a can using air pressure

Sure, it’s easy to crush a soda can with your bare hands, but what if you could do it without touching it at all? That’s the power of air pressure!

35. Tell time using the sun

While people use clocks or even phones to tell time today, there was a time when a sundial was the best means to do that. Kids will certainly get a kick out of creating their own sundials using everyday materials like cardboard and pencils.

Learn more: Make Your Own Sundial

36. Launch a balloon rocket

Grab balloons, string, straws, and tape, and launch rockets to learn about the laws of motion.

37. Make sparks with steel wool

All you need is steel wool and a 9-volt battery to perform this science demo that’s bound to make their eyes light up! Kids learn about chain reactions, chemical changes, and more.

Learn more: Steel Wool Electricity

38. Levitate a Ping-Pong ball

Kids will get a kick out of this experiment, which is really all about Bernoulli’s principle. You only need plastic bottles, bendy straws, and Ping-Pong balls to make the science magic happen.

39. Whip up a tornado in a bottle

There are plenty of versions of this classic experiment out there, but we love this one because it sparkles! Kids learn about a vortex and what it takes to create one.

Learn more: Tornado in a Bottle

40. Monitor air pressure with a DIY barometer

This simple but effective DIY science project teaches kids about air pressure and meteorology. They’ll have fun tracking and predicting the weather with their very own barometer.

Learn more: DIY Barometer

41. Peer through an ice magnifying glass

Students will certainly get a thrill out of seeing how an everyday object like a piece of ice can be used as a magnifying glass. Be sure to use purified or distilled water since tap water will have impurities in it that will cause distortion.

Learn more: Ice Magnifying Glass

42. String up some sticky ice

Can you lift an ice cube using just a piece of string? This quick experiment teaches you how. Use a little salt to melt the ice and then refreeze the ice with the string attached.

Learn more: Sticky Ice

43. “Flip” a drawing with water

Light refraction causes some really cool effects, and there are multiple easy science experiments you can do with it. This one uses refraction to “flip” a drawing; you can also try the famous “disappearing penny” trick .

Learn more: Light Refraction With Water

44. Color some flowers

We love how simple this project is to re-create since all you’ll need are some white carnations, food coloring, glasses, and water. The end result is just so beautiful!

45. Use glitter to fight germs

Everyone knows that glitter is just like germs—it gets everywhere and is so hard to get rid of! Use that to your advantage and show kids how soap fights glitter and germs.

Learn more: Glitter Germs

46. Re-create the water cycle in a bag

You can do so many easy science experiments with a simple zip-top bag. Fill one partway with water and set it on a sunny windowsill to see how the water evaporates up and eventually “rains” down.

Learn more: Water Cycle

47. Learn about plant transpiration

Your backyard is a terrific place for easy science experiments. Grab a plastic bag and rubber band to learn how plants get rid of excess water they don’t need, a process known as transpiration.

Learn more: Plant Transpiration

48. Clean up an oil spill

Before conducting this experiment, teach your students about engineers who solve environmental problems like oil spills. Then, have your students use provided materials to clean the oil spill from their oceans.

Learn more: Oil Spill

49. Construct a pair of model lungs

Kids get a better understanding of the respiratory system when they build model lungs using a plastic water bottle and some balloons. You can modify the experiment to demonstrate the effects of smoking too.

Learn more: Model Lungs

50. Experiment with limestone rocks

Kids  love to collect rocks, and there are plenty of easy science experiments you can do with them. In this one, pour vinegar over a rock to see if it bubbles. If it does, you’ve found limestone!

Learn more: Limestone Experiments

51. Turn a bottle into a rain gauge

All you need is a plastic bottle, a ruler, and a permanent marker to make your own rain gauge. Monitor your measurements and see how they stack up against meteorology reports in your area.

Learn more: DIY Rain Gauge

52. Build up towel mountains

This clever demonstration helps kids understand how some landforms are created. Use layers of towels to represent rock layers and boxes for continents. Then pu-u-u-sh and see what happens!

Learn more: Towel Mountains

53. Take a play dough core sample

Learn about the layers of the earth by building them out of Play-Doh, then take a core sample with a straw. ( Love Play-Doh? Get more learning ideas here. )

Learn more: Play Dough Core Sampling

54. Project the stars on your ceiling

Use the video lesson in the link below to learn why stars are only visible at night. Then create a DIY star projector to explore the concept hands-on.

Learn more: DIY Star Projector

55. Make it rain

Use shaving cream and food coloring to simulate clouds and rain. This is an easy science experiment little ones will beg to do over and over.

Learn more: Shaving Cream Rain

56. Blow up your fingerprint

This is such a cool (and easy!) way to look at fingerprint patterns. Inflate a balloon a bit, use some ink to put a fingerprint on it, then blow it up big to see your fingerprint in detail.

57. Snack on a DNA model

Twizzlers, gumdrops, and a few toothpicks are all you need to make this super-fun (and yummy!) DNA model.

Learn more: Edible DNA Model

58. Dissect a flower

Take a nature walk and find a flower or two. Then bring them home and take them apart to discover all the different parts of flowers.

59. Craft smartphone speakers

No Bluetooth speaker? No problem! Put together your own from paper cups and toilet paper tubes.

Learn more: Smartphone Speakers

60. Race a balloon-powered car

Kids will be amazed when they learn they can put together this awesome racer using cardboard and bottle-cap wheels. The balloon-powered “engine” is so much fun too.

Learn more: Balloon-Powered Car

61. Build a Ferris wheel

You’ve probably ridden on a Ferris wheel, but can you build one? Stock up on wood craft sticks and find out! Play around with different designs to see which one works best.

Learn more: Craft Stick Ferris Wheel

62. Design a phone stand

There are lots of ways to craft a DIY phone stand, which makes this a perfect creative-thinking STEM challenge.

63. Conduct an egg drop

Put all their engineering skills to the test with an egg drop! Challenge kids to build a container from stuff they find around the house that will protect an egg from a long fall (this is especially fun to do from upper-story windows).

Learn more: Egg Drop Challenge Ideas

64. Engineer a drinking-straw roller coaster

STEM challenges are always a hit with kids. We love this one, which only requires basic supplies like drinking straws.

Learn more: Straw Roller Coaster

65. Build a solar oven

Explore the power of the sun when you build your own solar ovens and use them to cook some yummy treats. This experiment takes a little more time and effort, but the results are always impressive. The link below has complete instructions.

Learn more: Solar Oven

66. Build a Da Vinci bridge

There are plenty of bridge-building experiments out there, but this one is unique. It’s inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old self-supporting wooden bridge. Learn how to build it at the link, and expand your learning by exploring more about Da Vinci himself.

Learn more: Da Vinci Bridge

67. Step through an index card

This is one easy science experiment that never fails to astonish. With carefully placed scissor cuts on an index card, you can make a loop large enough to fit a (small) human body through! Kids will be wowed as they learn about surface area.

68. Stand on a pile of paper cups

Combine physics and engineering and challenge kids to create a paper cup structure that can support their weight. This is a cool project for aspiring architects.

Learn more: Paper Cup Stack

69. Test out parachutes

Gather a variety of materials (try tissues, handkerchiefs, plastic bags, etc.) and see which ones make the best parachutes. You can also find out how they’re affected by windy days or find out which ones work in the rain.

Learn more: Parachute Drop

70. Recycle newspapers into an engineering challenge

It’s amazing how a stack of newspapers can spark such creative engineering. Challenge kids to build a tower, support a book, or even build a chair using only newspaper and tape!

Learn more: Newspaper STEM Challenge

71. Use rubber bands to sound out acoustics

Explore the ways that sound waves are affected by what’s around them using a simple rubber band “guitar.” (Kids absolutely love playing with these!)

Learn more: Rubber Band Guitar

72. Assemble a better umbrella

Challenge students to engineer the best possible umbrella from various household supplies. Encourage them to plan, draw blueprints, and test their creations using the scientific method.

Learn more: Umbrella STEM Challenge

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Science Bob

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Okay, this is the hardest part of the whole project…picking your topic. But here are some ideas to get you started. Even if you don’t like any, they may inspire you to come up with one of your own. Remember, check all project ideas with your teacher and parents, and don’t do any project that would hurt or scare people or animals. Good luck!

• Does music affect on animal behavior?
• Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like them?
• Where are the most germs in your school? ( CLICK for more info. )
• Does music have an affect on plant growth?
• Which kind of food do dogs (or any animal) prefer best?
• Which paper towel brand is the strongest?
• What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?
• What level of salt works best to hatch brine shrimp?
• Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?
• How effective are child-proof containers and locks.
• Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?
• Does acid rain affect the growth of aquatic plants?
• What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?
• Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?
• What plant fertilizer works best?
• Does the color of a room affect human behavior?
• Do athletic students have better lung capacity?
• What brand of battery lasts the longest?
• Does the type of potting soil used in planting affect how fast the plant grows?
• What type of food allow mold to grow the fastest?
• Does having worms in soil help plants grow faster?
• Can plants grow in pots if they are sideways or upside down?
• Does the color of hair affect how much static electricity it can carry? (test with balloons)
• How much weight can the surface tension of water hold?
• Can some people really read someone else’s thoughts?
• Which soda decays fallen out teeth the most?
• What light brightness makes plants grow the best?
• Does the color of birdseed affect how much birds will eat it?
• Do natural or chemical fertilizers work best?
• Can mice learn? (you can pick any animal)
• Can people tell artificial smells from real ones?
• What brands of bubble gum produce the biggest bubbles?
• Does age affect human reaction times?
• What is the effect of salt on the boiling temperature of water?
• Does shoe design really affect an athlete’s jumping height?
• What type of grass seed grows the fastest?
• Can animals see in the dark better than humans?

Didn’t see one you like? Don’t worry…look over them again and see if they give you an idea for your own project that will work for you. Remember, find something that interests you, and have fun with it.

To download and print this list of ideas CLICK HERE .

• The scientific method
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• a little helpful advice

Seventy-Five Scientific Research Projects You Can Contribute to Online

From astrophysicists to entomologists, many researchers need the help of citizen scientists to sift through immense data collections

Rachael Lallensack

Former Assistant Editor, Science and Innovation

If you find yourself tired of streaming services, reading the news or video-chatting with friends, maybe you should consider becoming a citizen scientist. Though it’s true that many field research projects are paused , hundreds of scientists need your help sifting through wildlife camera footage and images of galaxies far, far away, or reading through diaries and field notes from the past.

Plenty of these tools are free and easy enough for children to use. You can look around for projects yourself on Smithsonian Institution’s citizen science volunteer page , National Geographic ’s list of projects and CitizenScience.gov ’s catalog of options. Zooniverse is a platform for online-exclusive projects , and Scistarter allows you to restrict your search with parameters, including projects you can do “on a walk,” “at night” or “on a lunch break.”

To save you some time, Smithsonian magazine has compiled a collection of dozens of projects you can take part in from home.

American Wildlife

If being home has given you more time to look at wildlife in your own backyard, whether you live in the city or the country, consider expanding your view, by helping scientists identify creatures photographed by camera traps. Improved battery life, motion sensors, high-resolution and small lenses have made camera traps indispensable tools for conservation.These cameras capture thousands of images that provide researchers with more data about ecosystems than ever before.

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s eMammal platform , for example, asks users to identify animals for conservation projects around the country. Currently, eMammal is being used by the Woodland Park Zoo ’s Seattle Urban Carnivore Project, which studies how coyotes, foxes, raccoons, bobcats and other animals coexist with people, and the Washington Wolverine Project, an effort to monitor wolverines in the face of climate change. Identify urban wildlife for the Chicago Wildlife Watch , or contribute to wilderness projects documenting North American biodiversity with The Wilds' Wildlife Watch in Ohio , Cedar Creek: Eyes on the Wild in Minnesota , Michigan ZoomIN , Western Montana Wildlife and Snapshot Wisconsin .

"Spend your time at home virtually exploring the Minnesota backwoods,” writes the lead researcher of the Cedar Creek: Eyes on the Wild project. “Help us understand deer dynamics, possum populations, bear behavior, and keep your eyes peeled for elusive wolves!"

If being cooped up at home has you daydreaming about traveling, Snapshot Safari has six active animal identification projects. Try eyeing lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, elephants, giraffes, baobab trees and over 400 bird species from camera trap photos taken in South African nature reserves, including De Hoop Nature Reserve and Madikwe Game Reserve .

With South Sudan DiversityCam , researchers are using camera traps to study biodiversity in the dense tropical forests of southwestern South Sudan. Part of the Serenegeti Lion Project, Snapshot Serengeti needs the help of citizen scientists to classify millions of camera trap images of species traveling with the wildebeest migration.

Classify all kinds of monkeys with Chimp&See . Count, identify and track giraffes in northern Kenya . Watering holes host all kinds of wildlife, but that makes the locales hotspots for parasite transmission; Parasite Safari needs volunteers to help figure out which animals come in contact with each other and during what time of year.

Mount Taranaki in New Zealand is a volcanic peak rich in native vegetation, but native wildlife, like the North Island brown kiwi, whio/blue duck and seabirds, are now rare—driven out by introduced predators like wild goats, weasels, stoats, possums and rats. Estimate predator species compared to native wildlife with Taranaki Mounga by spotting species on camera trap images.

The Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Instant Wild app has a dozen projects showcasing live images and videos of wildlife around the world. Look for bears, wolves and lynx in Croatia ; wildcats in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula ; otters in Hampshire, England ; and both black and white rhinos in the Lewa-Borana landscape in Kenya.

Under the Sea

Researchers use a variety of technologies to learn about marine life and inform conservation efforts. Take, for example, Beluga Bits , a research project focused on determining the sex, age and pod size of beluga whales visiting the Churchill River in northern Manitoba, Canada. With a bit of training, volunteers can learn how to differentiate between a calf, a subadult (grey) or an adult (white)—and even identify individuals using scars or unique pigmentation—in underwater videos and images. Beluga Bits uses a “ beluga boat ,” which travels around the Churchill River estuary with a camera underneath it, to capture the footage and collect GPS data about the whales’ locations.

Many of these online projects are visual, but Manatee Chat needs citizen scientists who can train their ear to decipher manatee vocalizations. Researchers are hoping to learn what calls the marine mammals make and when—with enough practice you might even be able to recognize the distinct calls of individual animals.

Several groups are using drone footage to monitor seal populations. Seals spend most of their time in the water, but come ashore to breed. One group, Seal Watch , is analyzing time-lapse photography and drone images of seals in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. A team in Antarctica captured images of Weddell seals every ten minutes while the seals were on land in spring to have their pups. The Weddell Seal Count project aims to find out what threats—like fishing and climate change—the seals face by monitoring changes in their population size. Likewise, the Año Nuevo Island - Animal Count asks volunteers to count elephant seals, sea lions, cormorants and more species on a remote research island off the coast of California.

With Floating Forests , you’ll sift through 40 years of satellite images of the ocean surface identifying kelp forests, which are foundational for marine ecosystems, providing shelter for shrimp, fish and sea urchins. A project based in southwest England, Seagrass Explorer , is investigating the decline of seagrass beds. Researchers are using baited cameras to spot commercial fish in these habitats as well as looking out for algae to study the health of these threatened ecosystems. Search for large sponges, starfish and cold-water corals on the deep seafloor in Sweden’s first marine park with the Koster seafloor observatory project.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center needs your help spotting invasive species with Invader ID . Train your eye to spot groups of organisms, known as fouling communities, that live under docks and ship hulls, in an effort to clean up marine ecosystems.

If art history is more your speed, two Dutch art museums need volunteers to start “ fishing in the past ” by analyzing a collection of paintings dating from 1500 to 1700. Each painting features at least one fish, and an interdisciplinary research team of biologists and art historians wants you to identify the species of fish to make a clearer picture of the “role of ichthyology in the past.”

Interesting Insects

Notes from Nature is a digitization effort to make the vast resources in museums’ archives of plants and insects more accessible. Similarly, page through the University of California Berkeley’s butterfly collection on CalBug to help researchers classify these beautiful critters. The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology has already digitized about 300,000 records, but their collection exceeds 4 million bugs. You can hop in now and transcribe their grasshopper archives from the last century . Parasitic arthropods, like mosquitos and ticks, are known disease vectors; to better locate these critters, the Terrestrial Parasite Tracker project is working with 22 collections and institutions to digitize over 1.2 million specimens—and they’re 95 percent done . If you can tolerate mosquito buzzing for a prolonged period of time, the HumBug project needs volunteers to train its algorithm and develop real-time mosquito detection using acoustic monitoring devices. It’s for the greater good!

For the Birders

Birdwatching is one of the most common forms of citizen science . Seeing birds in the wilderness is certainly awe-inspiring, but you can birdwatch from your backyard or while walking down the sidewalk in big cities, too. With Cornell University’s eBird app , you can contribute to bird science at any time, anywhere. (Just be sure to remain a safe distance from wildlife—and other humans, while we social distance ). If you have safe access to outdoor space—a backyard, perhaps—Cornell also has a NestWatch program for people to report observations of bird nests. Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center has a similar Neighborhood Nest Watch program as well.

Birdwatching is easy enough to do from any window, if you’re sheltering at home, but in case you lack a clear view, consider these online-only projects. Nest Quest currently has a robin database that needs volunteer transcribers to digitize their nest record cards.

You can also pitch in on a variety of efforts to categorize wildlife camera images of burrowing owls , pelicans , penguins (new data coming soon!), and sea birds . Watch nest cam footage of the northern bald ibis or greylag geese on NestCams to help researchers learn about breeding behavior.

Or record the coloration of gorgeous feathers across bird species for researchers at London’s Natural History Museum with Project Plumage .

Pretty Plants

If you’re out on a walk wondering what kind of plants are around you, consider downloading Leafsnap , an electronic field guide app developed by Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution. The app has several functions. First, it can be used to identify plants with its visual recognition software. Secondly, scientists can learn about the “ the ebb and flow of flora ” from geotagged images taken by app users.

What is older than the dinosaurs, survived three mass extinctions and still has a living relative today? Ginko trees! Researchers at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History are studying ginko trees and fossils to understand millions of years of plant evolution and climate change with the Fossil Atmospheres project . Using Zooniverse, volunteers will be trained to identify and count stomata, which are holes on a leaf’s surface where carbon dioxide passes through. By counting these holes, or quantifying the stomatal index, scientists can learn how the plants adapted to changing levels of carbon dioxide. These results will inform a field experiment conducted on living trees in which a scientist is adjusting the level of carbon dioxide for different groups.

Help digitize and categorize millions of botanical specimens from natural history museums, research institutions and herbaria across the country with the Notes from Nature Project . Did you know North America is home to a variety of beautiful orchid species? Lend botanists a handby typing handwritten labels on pressed specimens or recording their geographic and historic origins for the New York Botanical Garden’s archives. Likewise, the Southeastern U.S. Biodiversity project needs assistance labeling pressed poppies, sedums, valerians, violets and more. Groups in California , Arkansas , Florida , Texas and Oklahoma all invite citizen scientists to partake in similar tasks.

Historic Women in Astronomy

Become a transcriber for Project PHaEDRA and help researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics preserve the work of Harvard’s women “computers” who revolutionized astronomy in the 20th century. These women contributed more than 130 years of work documenting the night sky, cataloging stars, interpreting stellar spectra, counting galaxies, and measuring distances in space, according to the project description .

More than 2,500 notebooks need transcription on Project PhaEDRA - Star Notes . You could start with Annie Jump Cannon , for example. In 1901, Cannon designed a stellar classification system that astronomers still use today. Cecilia Payne discovered that stars are made primarily of hydrogen and helium and can be categorized by temperature. Two notebooks from Henrietta Swan Leavitt are currently in need of transcription. Leavitt, who was deaf, discovered the link between period and luminosity in Cepheid variables, or pulsating stars, which “led directly to the discovery that the Universe is expanding,” according to her bio on Star Notes .

Volunteers are also needed to transcribe some of these women computers’ notebooks that contain references to photographic glass plates . These plates were used to study space from the 1880s to the 1990s. For example, in 1890, Williamina Flemming discovered the Horsehead Nebula on one of these plates . With Star Notes, you can help bridge the gap between “modern scientific literature and 100 years of astronomical observations,” according to the project description . Star Notes also features the work of Cannon, Leavitt and Dorrit Hoffleit , who authored the fifth edition of the Bright Star Catalog, which features 9,110 of the brightest stars in the sky.

Microscopic Musings

Electron microscopes have super-high resolution and magnification powers—and now, many can process images automatically, allowing teams to collect an immense amount of data. Francis Crick Institute’s Etch A Cell - Powerhouse Hunt project trains volunteers to spot and trace each cell’s mitochondria, a process called manual segmentation. Manual segmentation is a major bottleneck to completing biological research because using computer systems to complete the work is still fraught with errors and, without enough volunteers, doing this work takes a really long time.

For the Monkey Health Explorer project, researchers studying the social behavior of rhesus monkeys on the tiny island Cayo Santiago off the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico need volunteers to analyze the monkeys’ blood samples. Doing so will help the team understand which monkeys are sick and which are healthy, and how the animals’ health influences behavioral changes.

Using the Zooniverse’s app on a phone or tablet, you can become a “ Science Scribbler ” and assist researchers studying how Huntington disease may change a cell’s organelles. The team at the United Kingdom's national synchrotron , which is essentially a giant microscope that harnesses the power of electrons, has taken highly detailed X-ray images of the cells of Huntington’s patients and needs help identifying organelles, in an effort to see how the disease changes their structure.

Oxford University’s Comprehensive Resistance Prediction for Tuberculosis: an International Consortium—or CRyPTIC Project , for short, is seeking the aid of citizen scientists to study over 20,000 TB infection samples from around the world. CRyPTIC’s citizen science platform is called Bash the Bug . On the platform, volunteers will be trained to evaluate the effectiveness of antibiotics on a given sample. Each evaluation will be checked by a scientist for accuracy and then used to train a computer program, which may one day make this process much faster and less labor intensive.

Out of This World

If you’re interested in contributing to astronomy research from the comfort and safety of your sidewalk or backyard, check out Globe at Night . The project monitors light pollution by asking users to try spotting constellations in the night sky at designated times of the year . (For example, Northern Hemisphere dwellers should look for the Bootes and Hercules constellations from June 13 through June 22 and record the visibility in Globe at Night’s app or desktop report page .)

For the amateur astrophysicists out there, the opportunities to contribute to science are vast. NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission is asking for volunteers to search for new objects at the edges of our solar system with the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project .

Galaxy Zoo on Zooniverse and its mobile app has operated online citizen science projects for the past decade. According to the project description, there are roughly one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe. Surprisingly, identifying different types of galaxies by their shape is rather easy. “If you're quick, you may even be the first person to see the galaxies you're asked to classify,” the team writes.

With Radio Galaxy Zoo: LOFAR , volunteers can help identify supermassive blackholes and star-forming galaxies. Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout asks users to look for young, “clumpy” looking galaxies, which help astronomers understand galaxy evolution.

If current events on Earth have you looking to Mars, perhaps you’d be interested in checking out Planet Four and Planet Four: Terrains —both of which task users with searching and categorizing landscape formations on Mars’ southern hemisphere. You’ll scroll through images of the Martian surface looking for terrain types informally called “spiders,” “baby spiders,” “channel networks” and “swiss cheese.”

Gravitational waves are telltale ripples in spacetime, but they are notoriously difficult to measure. With Gravity Spy , citizen scientists sift through data from Laser Interferometer Gravitational­-Wave Observatory, or LIGO , detectors. When lasers beamed down 2.5-mile-long “arms” at these facilities in Livingston, Louisiana and Hanford, Washington are interrupted, a gravitational wave is detected. But the detectors are sensitive to “glitches” that, in models, look similar to the astrophysical signals scientists are looking for. Gravity Spy teaches citizen scientists how to identify fakes so researchers can get a better view of the real deal. This work will, in turn, train computer algorithms to do the same.

Similarly, the project Supernova Hunters needs volunteers to clear out the “bogus detections of supernovae,” allowing researchers to track the progression of actual supernovae. In Hubble Space Telescope images, you can search for asteroid tails with Hubble Asteroid Hunter . And with Planet Hunters TESS , which teaches users to identify planetary formations, you just “might be the first person to discover a planet around a nearby star in the Milky Way,” according to the project description.

Help astronomers refine prediction models for solar storms, which kick up dust that impacts spacecraft orbiting the sun, with Solar Stormwatch II. Thanks to the first iteration of the project, astronomers were able to publish seven papers with their findings.

With Mapping Historic Skies , identify constellations on gorgeous celestial maps of the sky covering a span of 600 years from the Adler Planetarium collection in Chicago. Similarly, help fill in the gaps of historic astronomy with Astronomy Rewind , a project that aims to “make a holistic map of images of the sky.”

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Rachael Lallensack | READ MORE

Rachael Lallensack is the former assistant web editor for science and innovation at Smithsonian .

30 Best Science Experiments & Projects for High School

Welcome to our round-up of top science fair projects and science experiments tailored specifically for curious high school students.

Science fair is not just about the glitz and glamour of a first-place trophy; it’s about the passion, the inquiry, and the insatiable curiosity that drive every scientist, young and old. Hopefully, our curated list of the best hands-on science fair projects for high school students will ignite that curiosity in you.

Each project on this list offers a unique opportunity to dive deep into scientific inquiry and present findings with both clarity and flair.

Let’s dive in and make learning an unforgettable adventure!

1. Burn Calories

Don’t miss this opportunity to unravel the mysteries of energy transformation and uncover the scientific secrets hidden in the simplest of substances!

Learn more: Science Buddies

2. Extracting DNA from Strawberry

By following a series of simple yet insightful steps, students will witness the magical moment of DNA extraction, fostering a deeper appreciation for the fundamental building blocks of life.

Learn more: Extracting DNA from Strawberry

3. Build a Simple DIY Newton’s Cradle

As students assemble the materials and witness the rhythmic dance of swinging spheres, they will witness the scientific principles they’ve learned in the classroom come to life before their eyes.

4. Make a Monster Dry Ice Bubbles

Unleash your inner mad scientist and learn how to make Monster Dry Ice Bubbles with this high school science experiment!

Get ready to be captivated as you create giant, spooky bubbles that dance and swirl with the mysterious power of dry ice.

Learn more: Wonder How To

5. Soil Erosion Experiment

As stewards of our environment, it’s crucial to comprehend the impact of natural processes like soil erosion.

Through this experiment, students will gain a deeper appreciation for the significance of soil conservation and sustainable land management practices.

Learn more: Life is a Garden

6. Candle Carousel

This experiment combines the wonders of physics with the art of crafting, making it an enriching experience that ignites curiosity and fosters a deeper appreciation for the elegant dance of energy in our world.

7. Find Out if Water Conducts Electricity

In this captivating activity, students will explore the conductive properties of water and unlock the secrets of how electrical currents flow through different substances.

Learn more: Rookie Parenting

8. Roller Coaster Stem Experiment

By experimenting with various designs and track configurations, students will refine their problem-solving skills and gain valuable insights into the practical applications of physics and engineering.

Learn more: STEM Project

9. Lemon Battery

Engaging in this experiment not only teaches the basics of electrical circuits but also sparks curiosity about the natural world and the science behind it.

Learn more: Coffee Cups and Crayons

10. Watering Plants Using Different Liquids

Discover the wonders of plant hydration with the intriguing high school science experiment – “Watering Plants Using Different Liquids.” In this captivating project, students explore how various liquids impact plant growth and health.

Learn more: Lemon Lime Adventures

11. Measure Electrolytes Found in Sports Drinks

By conducting a series of tests and analyses, students will quantify the electrolyte content present in various sports drinks.

12. Relight the Flame Without Directly Touching It

This captivating project challenges students to learn about the intriguing properties of heat transfer and combustion.

By exploring different methods to reignite a candle flame without physical contact, students will uncover the secrets of heat conduction, convection, and radiation.

Learn more: Stevespangler

13. Conduct Fingerprint Analysis

This captivating project immerses students in the intriguing world of crime scene investigations, where they will uncover the uniqueness of fingerprints and their role in forensic science.

14. Separate Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen Using Electrolysis

This electrifying project allows students to explore electrolysis and the decomposition of water into its elemental components.

Learn more: Navigating by Joy

15. Simple Color Detection Circuit 

This experiment not only introduces fundamental concepts in electronics and circuitry but also opens up endless possibilities for real-life applications, from automated sorting systems to color-sensitive devices.

16. Carbon Sugar Snake

This enchanting project allows students to witness a dazzling display of science as they combine common household ingredients to create a dark, coiling “snake” made of carbon.

Learn more: Kiwi Co

17. Build a Hydraulic Elevator

This captivating project invites students to learn about engineering and fluid mechanics. By constructing a working model of a hydraulic elevator, students will explore the principles of Pascal’s law and the fascinating concept of fluid pressure.

Learn more: Teach Beside Me

18. Brew up Some Root Beer

This enticing project invites students to explore the fascinating world of chemistry and fermentation while creating their own delicious and bubbly concoction.

Learn more: Home School Creations

19. Extracting Bismuth From Pepto-Bismol Tablets

This hands-on experiment not only sheds light on the principles of chemistry and lab techniques but also highlights the real-world applications of bismuth in medicine and various industries.

Learn more: Popscie

20. Solar-Powered Water Desalination

By designing and building a solar-powered water desalination system, students will learn how to harness the sun’s energy to purify saltwater and make it safe for consumption.

21. Applying Hooke’s Law: Make Your Own Spring Scale

By designing and constructing their very own spring scale, students will uncover the principles of Hooke’s Law and the relationship between force and displacement in a spring system.

22. Homemade Hand Warmer

By creating their own hand warmers using safe and easily accessible materials, students will witness the magic of heat generation through chemical processes.

Learn more: Steve Spangler

23. Explore the Concept of Symbiosis Involving Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria.

By investigating how certain plants form a mutually beneficial bond with these bacteria, students will gain insights into the essential role of nitrogen fixation in the ecosystem.

Learn more: Education.com

24. Center of Gravity Experiment

This fascinating project invites students to explore the concept of the center of gravity and its role in determining stability.

25. Power up Homemade Batteries

This captivating project invites students to learn about electrochemistry and energy generation.

Learn more: 123 Homeschool

26. Film Canister Explosions

Prepare for a blast of excitement and chemistry with the high school science experiment – “Film Canister Explosions!” This project teaches students about chemical reactions and pressure build-up.

27. Investigating Osmosis with Potato Slices

This hands-on experiment not only provides a practical understanding of osmosis but also highlights its relevance in everyday life, from understanding plant hydration to food preservation techniques.

28. Make Homemade Fly Trap

This captivating “Make Homemade Fly Trap!” project invites students to explore the principles of pest control and observe the behavior of flies.

29. Hydroponics: Gardening Without Soil

This exciting project invites students to explore innovative agricultural practices that harness water and nutrient solutions to grow plants.

By setting up their hydroponic system and nurturing plants through this method, students will witness the fascinating dynamics of root development and nutrient absorption.

30. Clothespin Airplane

As they test and modify their creations, students will learn about the principles of lift, thrust, and drag, gaining a deeper understanding of how these forces come together to keep airplanes soaring through the skies.

Learn more: Steamsational

Similar Posts:

• 68 Best Chemistry Experiments: Learn About Chemical Reactions
• 37 Water Science Experiments: Fun & Easy
• Top 40 Fun LEGO Science Experiments

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Science Fun

Science Experiments for Kids:

Science experiments you can do at home!  Explore an ever growing list of hundreds of fun and easy science experiments. Have fun trying these experiments at home or use them for science fair project ideas. Explore experiments by category, newest experiments, most popular experiments, easy at home experiments, or simply scroll down this page for tons of awesome experiment ideas!

Making A Volcano:

Acids and Bases Can Erupt in Your Faces

Orange Fizz:

Awesome Experiments:

New Experiments:

Check Out Our Newest Experiments

Top Experiments:

Easy Experiments:

Storm In A Glass:

Home Made Play Dough:

Snow Fluff:

Snow Globe:

Squishy Turkeys:

Rainbow in a Glass:

Sizzlin’ Snowballs:

Jello Lenses:

Ice Fishing:

Super Cool Soda:

Jack-O-Cano:

Dancing Hearts:

Marbled Gift Wrap:

Massive Expanding Soap:

Surface Tension Art:

Fizzy Fruit:

Rotting Pumpkin:

Explode A Bag:

Invisible Extinguisher:

Paper Hovercrafts:

Fun Fossil Stamps:

Cool Crystals:

Balloon Pop! Not!

Solar Eclipse Kit:

Moldy Apples:

Cool Off Volcanoes:

Vinegar Pops:

Make It Rain:

Black Light Blue Beverage:

Changing of the Leaves:

Snowflakes:

Water Fireworks:

Mind of a Student:

Balloon Speakers:

Polar Bear Blubber:

Gorgeous Gooey Gobstoppers:

Olympic Medals:

Dyed Flowers:

Rain, Rain, Don’t Go Away Gauge:

Blossoming Beans:

Butter Fingers:

Polishing Pennies:

Dancing Liquid:

Floating Egg:

Bendy Bones:

Pot Of Gold:

Layers of Liquids:

Crystal Candy:

23 Ideas for Science Experiments Using Plants

ThoughtCo / Hilary Allison

• Cell Biology
• Weather & Climate
• B.A., Biology, Emory University
• A.S., Nursing, Chattahoochee Technical College

Plants are tremendously crucial to life on earth. They are the foundation of food chains in almost every ecosystem. Plants also play a significant role in the environment by influencing climate and producing life-giving oxygen. Plant project studies allow us to learn about plant biology and potential usage for plants in other fields such as medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. The following plant project ideas provide suggestions for topics that can be explored through experimentation.

Plant Project Ideas

• Do magnetic fields affect plant growth?
• Do different colors of light affect the direction of plant growth?
• Do sounds (music, noise, etc.) affect plant growth?
• Do different colors of light affect the rate of photosynthesis ?
• What are the effects of acid rain on plant growth?
• Do household detergents affect plant growth?
• Can plants conduct electricity?
• Does cigarette smoke affect plant growth?
• Does soil temperature affect root growth?
• Does caffeine affect plant growth?
• Does water salinity affect plant growth?
• Does artificial gravity affect seed germination?
• Does freezing affect seed germination?
• Does burned soil affect seed germination?
• Does seed size affect plant height?
• Does fruit size affect the number of seeds in the fruit?
• Do vitamins or fertilizers promote plant growth?
• Do fertilizers extend plant life during a drought?
• Does leaf size affect plant transpiration rates?
• Can plant spices inhibit bacterial growth ?
• Do different types of artificial light affect plant growth?
• Does soil pH affect plant growth?
• Do carnivorous plants prefer certain insects?
• 8th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas
• Plant and Soil Chemistry Science Projects
• High School Science Fair Projects
• Middle School Science Fair Project Ideas
• Animal Studies and School Project Ideas
• Environmental Science Fair Projects
• Elementary School Science Fair Projects
• College Science Fair Projects
• Chemistry Science Fair Project Ideas
• Magnetism Science Fair Projects
• 11th Grade Science Fair Projects
• 9th Grade Science Fair Projects
• Science Fair Project Ideas
• 4th Grade Science Fair Projects
• Caffeine Science Fair Projects
• Science Fair Experiment Ideas: Food and Cooking Chemistry

Learn STEM by Doing (and having fun)!

The Ultimate Science Fair Project Guide – From Start to Finish

When our daughter entered her first science fair, we kept seeing references to the Internet Public Library Science Fair Project Resource Guide .  However, the IPL2 permanently closed… taking the guide with it.  Bummer !  After now participating in over a half-dozen elementary school science fairs (including a first-place finish!), we created our own guide to help other students go from start to finish in their next science fair project.  If this is your first science fair, have fun!  If you’ve done it before, we hope this is your best one!  Let’s science!

*Images from Unsplash

How to Use the STEMium Science Fair Project Ultimate Guide?

If you are just starting off and this is your first science fair, here’s how to get started:

• Start with the STEMium Science Fair Project Roadmap . This is an infographic that “maps” out the process from start to finish and shows all the steps in a visual format.
• Getting Started – Why Do a Science Fair Project . Besides walking through some reasons to do a project, we also share links to examples of national science fair competitions, what’s involved and examples of winning science fair experiments .  *Note: this is where you’ll get excited!!
• The Scientific Method – What is It and What’s Involved . One of the great things about a science fair project is that it introduces students to an essential process/concept known as the scientific method.  This is simply the way in which we develop a hypothesis to test.
• Start the Process – Find an Idea . You now have a general idea of what to expect at the science fair, examples of winning ideas, and know about the scientific method.  You’re ready to get started on your own project.  How do you come up with an idea for a science fair project?  We have resources on how to use a Google tool , as well as some other strategies for finding an idea.
• Experiment and Build the Project . Time to roll up those sleeves and put on your lab coat.
• Other Resources for the Fair. Along the way, you will likely encounter challenges or get stuck.  Don’t give up – it’s all part of the scientific process.  Check out our STEMium Resources page for more links and resources from the web.  We also have additional experiments like the germiest spot in school , or the alka-seltzer rocket project that our own kids used.

Getting Started – Why Do a Science Fair Project

For many students, participating in the science fair might be a choice that was made FOR you.  In other words, something you must do as part of a class.  Maybe your parents are making you do it.  For others, maybe it sounded like a cool idea.  Something fun to try.  Whatever your motivation, there are a lot of great reasons to do a science fair project.

• Challenge yourself
• Learn more about science
• Explore cool technology
• Make something to help the world! (seriously!)
• Win prizes (and sometimes even money)
• Do something you can be proud of!

Many students will participate in a science fair at their school.  But there are also national competitions that include 1000s of participants.  There are also engineering fairs, maker events, and hackathons.  It’s an exciting time to be a scientist!!  The list below gives examples of national events.

• Regeneron Science Talent Search
• Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair
• Google Science Fair
• Conrad Challenge
• Microsoft Imagine Cup
• JSHS Program
• Exploravision

What’s the Scientific Method?

Before we jump into your project, it’s important to introduce a key concept:  The Scientific Method .  The scientific method is the framework scientists use to answer their questions and test their hypothesis.  The figure below illustrates the steps you’ll take to get to the end, but it starts with asking a question (you’ve already finished the first step!).

After we find a problem/idea to tackle, and dig into some background research, we create a guess on a potential solution.  This is known as our hypothesis.

Example of a Hypothesis

My brother can hold his breath underwater longer than I can (“our problem”) –> how can I hold my breath longer? (“our question”) –>  if I drink soda with caffeine before I hold my breath, I will be able to stay underwater longer (“our solution”).  Our hypothesis is that using caffeine before we go underwater will increase the time we hold our breath.  We’re not sure if that is a correct solution or not at this stage – just taking a guess.

Once we have a hypothesis, we design an experiment to TEST our hypothesis.  First, we will change variables/conditions one at a time while keeping everything else the same, so we can compare the outcomes.

Experimental Design Example

Using our underwater example, maybe we will test different drinks and count how long I can hold my breath.  Maybe we can also see if someone else can serve as a “control” – someone who holds their breath but does not drink caffeine.  For the underwater experiment, we can time in seconds how long I hold my breath before I have a drink and then time it again after I have my caffeine drink.  I can also time how long I stay underwater when I have a drink without caffeine.

Then, once we finish with our experiment, we analyze our data and develop a conclusion.

• How many seconds did I stay underwater in the different situations? 
• Which outcome is greater?  Did caffeine help me hold my breath longer? 

Finally, (and most important), we present our findings. Imagine putting together a poster board with a chart showing the number of seconds I stayed underwater in the different conditions.

Hopefully you have a better sense of the scientific method.  If you are completing a science fair project, sticking with these steps is super important.  Just in case there is any lingering confusion, here are some resources for learning more about the scientific method:

• Science Buddies – Steps of the Scientific Method
• Ducksters – Learn About the Scientific Method
• Biology4kids – Scientific Method
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences – Scientific Method

What Science Fair Project Should I Do?

And science is no different.

Just know that if you can get through the idea part, the rest of the science fair is relatively smooth sailing.  Remember to keep an open mind and a positive outlook .  Each year 100s of 1000s of kids, teenagers and college students come up with new projects and ideas to test.  You’ve got this!

What Makes a Great Science Fair Project?  Start with a Problem To Solve

As we discuss below, good science experiments attempt to answer a QUESTION.  Why is the sky blue?  Why does my dog bark at her reflection?  First, we will step through some ways to find TESTABLE QUESTIONS.  These questions that you create will be what you work on for your science fair project.  Pick something fun, something interesting and something that you are excited about.  Not sure what that looks like?  Step through some of the tips below for help.

Use the Google Science Fair Idea Generator

Are you surprised Google made a tool for science fair projects??  Our post called the low-stress way to find a science fair project gives a more in-depth overview about how to use it.  It’s a great first stop if you’re early in the brainstorming process.

Answer your own questions

• What type of music makes you run faster?
• Can boys hold their breath underwater longer than girls?
• How can I be sure the sandwich I bought is gluten free?
• If we plant 100 trees in our neighborhood, will the air be cleaner?

Still stuck? Get inspiration from other science fair projects

Check out the Getting Started section and look at some of the winning science project ideas, our STEMium experiments and our Resource page.  We’ve presented a ton of potential idea starters for you – take time to run through some of these, but our suggestion is to give yourself a deadline to pick an idea .  Going through the lists could take you longer than you think, and in many cases sometimes it’s just better to pick something and go for it!  The next section will take you through how to create testable questions for your project.

Starting Your Project: Find A Testable Question

The best experiments start with a question.  Taking that a step further, the questions you useyou’re your science fair project should be ones that are TESTABLE.  That means something you can measure.  Let’s look at an example.  Let’s say I’m super excited about baking.  OH YEA!!  I love baking.  Specifically, baking cakes.  In fact, I love baking cakes so much that I want to do a science project related to cakes.  We’ve got two questions on cakes that we created.  Which question below could be most useful for a science fair project:

1)  Can eating cake before a test improve your score?

2)  Why isn’t carrot cake more popular than chocolate cake?

The second question isn’t necessarily a bad question to pick.  You could survey people and perhaps tackle the question that way.  However, chances are you will get a lot of different answers and it will probably take a lot of surveys to start to pick up a trend.

Although, the first question might be a little easier.  How would you test this?   Maybe you pick one type of cake and one test that you give people.  If you can get five people to take the test after eating cake and five people take the test with no cake, you can compare the test results.  There might be other variables beyond cake that you could test (example: age, sex, education).  But you can see that the first question is probably a little easier to test.  The first question is also a little easier to come up with a hypothesis.

At this point, you’ve got an idea.  That was the hard part!  Now it’s time to think a little more about that idea and focus it into a scientific question that is testable and that you can create a hypothesis around .

What makes a question “testable”?

Testable questions are ones that can be measured and should focus on what you will change.  In our first cake question, we would be changing whether or not people eat cake before a test.  If we are giving them all the same test and in the same conditions, you could compare how they do on the test with and without cake.  As you are creating your testable question, think about what you WILL CHANGE (cake) and what you are expecting to be different (test scores).  Cause and effect.  Check out this reference on testable questions for more details.

Outline Your Science Project – What Steps Should I Take?

Do Background Research / Create Hypothesis

Science experiments typically start with a question (example: Which cleaning solution eliminates more germs?).  The questions might come up because of a problem.  For example, maybe you’re an engineer and you are trying to design a new line of cars that can drive at least 50 mph faster.  Your problem is that the car isn’t fast enough.  After looking at what other people have tried to do to get the car to go faster, and thinking about what you can change, you try to find a solution or an answer.  When we talk about the scientific method, the proposed answer is referred to as the HYPOTHESIS.

• Science Buddies
• National Geographic

The information you gather to answer these research questions can be used in your report or in your board.  This will go in the BACKGROUND section.  For resources that you find useful, make sure you note the web address where you found it, and save in a Google Doc for later.

Additional Research Tips

For your own science fair project, there will likely be rules that will already be set by the judges/teachers/school.  Make sure you get familiar with the rules FOR YOUR FAIR and what needs to be completed to participate .  Typically, you will have to do some research into your project, you’ll complete experiments, analyze data, make conclusions and then present the work in a written report and on a poster board.  Make a checklist of all these “to do” items.  Key things to address:

• Question being answered – this is your testable question
• Hypothesis – what did you come up with and why
• Experimental design – how are you going to test your hypothesis
• Conclusions – why did you reach these and what are some alternative explanations
• What would you do next? Answering a testable question usually leads to asking more questions and judges will be interested in how you think about next steps.

Need more help?  Check out these additional resources on how to tackle a science fair project:

• Developing a Science Fair Project – Wiley
• Successful Science Fair Projects – Washington University
• Science Fair Planning Guide – Chattahoochee Elementary

Experiment – Time to Test That Hypothesis

Way to go!  You’ve found a problem and identified a testable question.  You’ve done background research and even created a hypothesis.  It’s time to put it all together now and start designing your experiment.  Two experiments we have outlined in detail – germiest spot in school and alka-seltzer rockets – help show how to set up experiments to test variable changes.

The folks at ThoughtCo have a great overview on the different types of variables – independent, dependent and controls.  You need to identify which ones are relevant to your own experiment and then test to see how changes in the independent variable impacts the dependent variable .  Sounds hard?  Nope.  Let’s look at an example.  Let’s say our hypothesis is that cold weather will let you flip a coin with more heads than tails.  The independent variable is the temperature.  The dependent variable is the number of heads or tails that show up.  Our experiment could involve flipping a coin fifty times in different temperatures (outside, in a sauna, in room temperature) and seeing how many heads/tails we get.

One other important point – write down all the steps you take and the materials you use!!  This will be in your final report and project board.  Example – for our coin flipping experiment, we will have a coin (or more than one), a thermometer to keep track of the temperature in our environment.  Take pictures of the flipping too!

Analyze Results – Make Conclusions

Analyzing means adding up our results and putting them into pretty pictures.  Use charts and graphs whenever you can.  In our last coin flipping example, you’d want to include bar charts of the number of heads and tails at different temperatures.  If you’re doing some other type of experiment, take pictures during the different steps to document everything.

This is the fun part….  Now we get to see if we answered our question!  Did the weather affect the coin flipping?  Did eating cake help us do better on our test??  So exciting!  Look through what the data tells you and try to answer your question.  Your hypothesis may / may not be correct.  It’s not important either way – the most important part is what you learned and the process.  Check out these references for more help:

• How to make a chart or graph in Google Sheets
• How to make a chart in Excel

Presentation Time – Set Up Your Board, Practice Your Talk

Personally, the presentation is my favorite part!  First, you get to show off all your hard work and look back at everything you did!  Additionally, science fair rules should outline the specific sections that need to be in the report, and in the poster board – so, be like Emmett from Lego Movie and read the instructions.  Here’s a loose overview of what you should include:

• Title – what is it called.
• Introduction / background – here’s why you’re doing it and helping the judges learn a bit about your project.
• Materials/Methods – what you used and the steps in your experiment. This is so someone else could repeat your experiment.
• Results – what was the outcome? How many heads/tails?  Include pictures and graphs.
• Conclusions – was your hypothesis correct? What else would you like to investigate now?  What went right and what went wrong?
• References – if you did research, where did you get your information from? What are your sources?

The written report will be very similar to the final presentation board.  The board that you’ll prepare is usually a three-panel board set up like the picture shown below.

To prepare for the presentation, you and your partner should be able to talk about the following:

• why you did the experiment
• the hypothesis that was tested
• the data results
• the conclusions.

It’s totally OK to not know an answer.  Just remember this is the fun part!

And that’s it!  YOU DID IT!! 

Science fair projects have been great opportunities for our kids to not only learn more about science, but to also be challenged and push themselves.  Independent projects like these are usually a great learning opportunity.  Has your child completed a science fair project that they are proud of?  Include a pic in the comments – we love to share science!!  Please also check out our STEMium Resources page for more science fair project tips and tricks .

STEMomma is a mother & former scientist/educator. She loves to find creative, fun ways to help engage kids in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math).  When she’s not busy in meetings or carpooling kids, she loves spending time with the family and dreaming up new experiments  or games they can try in the backyard.

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Measurable Science Fair Ideas

Good Science Fair Project Ideas for the 7th Grade

Good science fair projects must be measurable. Your topic should ask a question that you can test, which enables you to research the topic and formulate an informed hypothesis regarding the outcome you expect. You can then design and conduct your experiment, collecting and measuring data based upon which you draw conclusions.

How Well Do Plants Grow with Other Liquids

Test the impact of liquids other than water on plant growth. Design your experiment based on feeding one plant with water, another with milk, a third with orange juice and a final pot with vinegar. Be sure all other conditions, such as exposure to sun, are consistent with all four pots. Record each plant’s growth daily using both a ruler as well as a digital camera to store evidence of your experiment and the results. Add other liquids to expand your experiment. For example, test the results of flavored water or soda on plant growth.

What Type of Batteries Last the Longest

Test the duration of AA battery types. Purchase two sets of brand new AA standard batteries, heavy duty batteries, alkaline batteries and rechargeable batteries with a charger. Set a battery-operated clock to 12:00. Put each set of batteries into the clock, and record the time the clock stops, which will tell you how long that particular type of battery lasted. Test the same type of battery in the clock again, and average the time of both trials. Repeat this procedure with each type of battery. Test the batteries in other devices to ensure results are consistent across the board.

What Type of Fertilizer Produces the Fastest Growth

Test both organic and inorganic fertilizer on the growth of grass. Purchase six peat cups from your local greenhouse. Fill each pot with the same soil and same amount of grass seed. Fertilize three with organic fertilizer and the remaining three with inorganic fertilizer. Water each cup with the same amount of water every other day. Add more fertilizer once a week. Measure the growth of the grass every three days over a three-week period. Determine which fertilizer, organic or inorganic, facilitates the fastest grass growth.

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8 Fun Science Experiments You Can Easily Do at Home

Looking for a science project to do with kids? These experiments go beyond the trivial and incorporate real-world scientific research.

SciStarter Blog

Around the world, millions of kids are headed back to school in a totally different way. Classes are online. Teachers talk to students in virtual classrooms. And parents are often left looking for new, hands-on science learning opportunities.

We’ve got your back. Here are eight fun and easy science experiments that you can do at home with kids of all ages. What’s more, each of these science projects ties into real-life research efforts through citizen science, where volunteers help experts collect and analyze data.

RELATED: VIRTUAL DISSECTION: ANIMALEARNING FROM HOME

Make Wild Sourdough

It seems like the whole world is baking homemade sourdough bread right now. Sourdough took on broad appeal when the baker’s yeast disappeared from store shelves. Unlike other baking projects, sourdough doesn’t need store bought yeast. Instead, it’s made with sourdough starter.

RELATED: FREE SCIENCE EDUCATION E-BOOKS

If you have flour, you can easily experiment with making your own sourdough starter.  Wild sourdough starters  tap into the abundant yeast in our homes and puts them to work making delicious bread. When it comes to science experiments you can do at home, few could be more delicious and rewarding than this one. You’ll also be helping scientists out along the way.

RELATED: BACK TO SCHOOL WITH CITIZEN SCIENCE

The Wild Sourdough Project is a global science experiment that hopes to discover how sourdough starter communities form over time. The team behind the effort is hoping to unravel how factors like geography and different kinds of flour affect the yeast communities. Best of all, the effort has a step-by-step guide that lets you learn how to make your own sourdough starter.

Take Part: Make Your Own Sourdough for Science

Create a Cloud in a Jar

Clouds are an important and often overlooked driver of Earth’s temperature. They trap sunlight in, but they also reflect it back into space. That role has climate scientists rushing to study our planet’s clouds, and how they’re changing.  NASA’s GLOBE Observer: Clouds  project taps citizen scientists to provide pictures of the sky, plus observations of cloud cover, type, sky conditions and visibility. That data helps info real science research and verify what satellites are seeing from space.

You can get involved with your kids and enrich the experience by adding lessons about clouds. For example, NASA has added a number of fun and easy ways to learn about climate science and clouds, including science experiments. One of the best related projects is to make a cloud in a jar. This simple science experiment is a powerful way to demonstrate how clouds work. You only need water, ice, a jar, and a few minutes of time.

Take Part: Join NASA’s Globe Observer Clouds

Measure Rain and Snow with CoCoRaHS

Fall is approaching fast, which means many of us will soon be at home watching rain and snow out the window. Instead of succumbing to the gloom, why not make that weather into a fun science experiment for your kids?

The CoCoRaHS weather monitoring program, or Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network, is a network of volunteers who measure and report on precipitation. CoCoRaHS emphasizes training and education, and they even have an interactive website rich in educational resources and even National Weather Service lesson plans you can use at home.

RELATED: Getting Creative with Remote Science Learning

As a volunteer, you’ll use the same low-cost weather gauges that meteorologists and cities use. Then, when it rains, snows or hails, you’ll submit your precipitation data to the website where you can compare it to others in real-time. That information also helps out the National Weather Service, as well as researchers, farmers, emergency managers — and curious people everywhere.

Take Part: Join the CoCoRaHS Weather Monitoring Network

Plant a Pollinator Garden

Pollinators play a vital role in Earth’s ecosystems, and yet they’re threatened by pesticides, disease, habitat loss and even climate change. That has many people searching for  ways to help save bees and other pollinators .

There are many options to chip in, but one of the most impactful things you and your kids can do at home is  plant a pollinator garden .

Not only will this serve to help struggling pollinators, it can also serve as a long-term science laboratory at home. SciStarter, the citizen-science group behind this blog post, has compiled an entire group of at-home science projects that can be done from your pollinator garden. You can watch moths, butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and more, then help scientists track their migration across the country.

Take Part: Plant a Pollinator Garden

Build a Bee Condo

If you already have a bumper garden at home, or it’s getting too cold to think about planting just yet, you can still stay indoors and help pollinators. The group behind National Pollinator Week has put together instructions for how you can build a home for native bees, called a bee condo. Unlike domesticated honey bees that live in apiaries, most native, wild bees you find in your backyard actually burrow their homes into the soil or a tree.

By building a bee condo, you can encourage bees to live nearby and also get a fun, DIY science experiment to do at home. Once it’s up, you can watch what kinds of critters take up residence there and report back on the results for science.

Take Part: Build a Bee Condo

Scan the Night Sky

Around the world, light pollution from buildings and street lamps is blocking our view of the night sky. Most people who live in cities have never seen a truly dark sky, or the Milky Way. That’s not just bad for humans, it’s also bad for the plants, animals and insects who are disrupted by light pollution.

If you have a budding astronomy-lover in the house, you can participate in a science project called  Globe at Night  that aims to create a world-wide measure of light pollution in our night sky.

For this science experiment, you can start making observations using only a smartphone. You’ll mark the sky’s darkness by how many stars you can see. And you can get a sky quality meter through the project to help record even better data.

Take Part: Measure Light Pollution in Your Community

Measure Water Quality

More than 1.5 million volunteers from across the planet are already taking part in a science experiment to track — and protect — Earth’s waterways. The citizen science effort is called the  EarthEcho Water Challenge , and it has users buy a water test kit for about $25, then start collecting basic water data.

Volunteers record things like water clarity, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. That data gets plugged into a large database, where it’s used for real science research and to help protect waterways.

Take Part: Join the Earth Echo Water Challenge

Study the Vitamin C in Your Juice

Back in the golden age of sailing, sailors worried that they’d get scurvy. A lack of vitamin C during long voyages can cause a host of health problems. Scurvy leaves you weak, causes skin problems and gum disease, and makes it harder to heal. Scurvy can even kill you. This isn’t just an old-timey concern, either. Future space explorers will have to worry about vitamin C as they head off to explore the solar system. And that’s the angle utilized by a fun citizen science project called  Space Scurvy .

The project asks students to use household items to test the vitamin C content of juices from their schools and homes. The necessary tools for this science experiment should be easy to come by, and the site has fun and simple directions for you to follow.

Take Part: Measure Vitamin C for the Space Scurvy Project

Note: Some of these projects are SciStarter Affiliates. You can use your SciStarter account email to join and earn credit for your participation in your SciStarter dashboard.

Citizen Science Lessons During the Pandemic

About the Author

Eric Betz is a science and tech writer for Discover Magazine, Astronomy Magazine, and others. He is a lover of #darkskies and pale blue dots.

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Citizen Science Promotes Environmental Engagement

Research at Home: Citizen Science

Citizen science projects can be a great way to take a dive into research anytime, anywhere..

You can participate in a citizen science project, analyze data from these projects for your own research, get ideas for your own spin-off research, or create your own citizen science project.

Contribute to a Citizen Science Project

SciStarter is a globally acclaimed, online citizen science hub where more than 3,000 projects, events, and tools, searchable by location, topic, age level, etc, have been registered by individual project leaders or imported through partnerships with federal governments, NGOs, and universities.

With over 100 projects to choose from and no experience necessary, you can start classifying galaxies, finding kelp forests, or locating homes in rural Africa in minutes!

National Geographic

Did you know snapping mountain-top photos of smog and listening for frog calls can help scientists? Get engaged in these projects recommended by National Geographic!

Smithsonian

Contribute to the Encyclopedia of Life, transcribe field notes of notable scientists, or contribute to climate research by analyzing ginkgo trees in these Smithsonian-sponsored projects!

Inventing Tomorrow

Check out these citizen science projects led by our friends at Inventing Tomorrow: Water Insights, Curio, ISeeChange

Foldit is a crowdsourcing computer game enabling you to help fight disease by contributing to protein folding research.

ISEF Abstracts on Citizen Science

Check out these ISEF projects in Earth and Environmental Sciences and Animal Sciences, two of the twenty-one Regeneron ISEF categories. See more ISEF abstracts by visiting the ISEF Project database .

Earth and Environmental Sciences

• Studying Avian Biodiversity Changes after Wetland Restoration: A Novel Approach via Remote Sensing and Citizen Science
• Quakify: A Low-Cost, Crowdsourced, Real-Time Solution to Earthquake Early Warning
• An Innovative Crowdsourcing Approach to Monitoring Freshwater Bodies
• Coral Grief: Machine Learning on Crowd-sourced Data to Highlight an Ecological Crisis

Animal Sciences

• Developing Novel, Low-Cost Methods to Support Citizen Scientists in the Conservation of Bat Species
• Hopping Down the Bunny Trail: Spatial Distribution of Lepus americanus Tracks
• Fossil-Augmented Species Distribution Models Reveal the Shifted Baselines of California Avifauna under Climate Change

Society Blog Posts about Citizen Science

Projects: STEM in the world. Solutions in your backyard

Start your own citizen science project, federal government toolkit for citizen science, cornell citizen science toolkit, citizen science projects that share their data, articles about citizen science.

Science News  and  Science News for Students are our award-winning publications that cover current advances across all STEM disciplines. We have gathered a collection of articles specifically on Citizen Science to further shed light on this topic and provide inspiration for student research projects.

Kids make great citizen scientists

Researchers are making important discoveries, thanks to help from people of all ages

READ THE SCIENCE NEWS FOR STUDENTS ARTICLE

These women endured a winter in the high Arctic for citizen science

The two are spending nine months on Svalbard to collect data for climate scientists

READ THE  SCIENCE NEWS  ARTICLE

Getting on the citizen science train

If you have curiosity and a computer, you can participate in scientific projects

READ THE  SCIENCE NEWS FOR STUDENTS ARTICLE

An astrophysicist honors citizen scientists in the age of big data

The Crowd and the Cosmos examines the role of amateurs in science

READ THE  SCIENCE NEWS ARTICLE

Citizen scientists spy on camel crickets

Hiding in dark basements and garages, these insects live across the United States

Photographing wildflowers and other ways you can help fight climate change

Even nonscientists can take part in climate and conservation research

Scooping poop for science

Finnish study enlists members of 4H for a study on cowpats

Scientists seek bat detectives

You could help in an online research study by picking out bat calls

What do plants and animals do during an eclipse?

A citizen science project aims to gather data to put science behind anecdotal evidence. Want Science News for free for your school? Teachers can sign up for Science News in High Schools .

READ THE SCIENCE NEWS ARTICLE

Biology Research Projects for High School Students: 20 Ideas To Try This Summer

By János Perczel

Co-founder of Polygence, PhD from MIT

16 minute read

Biology and biomedical research are two of the most popular academic disciplines among high schoolers. If you’re someone who’s interested in those fields and you’re looking for research opportunities this summer, you’ve come to the right place! With the study of biology, not only can you gain a better understanding of the natural world, but your research can have practical applications in fields like medicine, agriculture, and environmental science. Whether you’re just starting out in your exploration of biology, have taken a biology class in school, or you’re looking to do some advanced research to submit to your state’s science fair , we have level-appropriate ideas for you!

With a variety of topics like cancer treatment, genetics, neurodegenerative diseases, and marine life, we’ve got you covered. Here is a curated list of 20 different research project ideas to get those creative juices flowing. If you’re hungry for more, head over to our comprehensive Project Ideas database here and browse over 2800 more ideas!  

Research YOUR fave areas of Biology and Medicine

Polygence pairs you with an expert mentor in to create a passion project around biology and medicine. Together, you work to create a high quality research project that is uniquely your own. We also offer options to explore multiple topics, or to showcase your final product!

Human Body Project Ideas

Rate of cognitive decline in different elevations.

Oxygen partial pressure decreases with altitude, challenging blood oxygenation which may affect brain function. If you’ve ever felt some altitude sickness, then this is exactly what’s happening. This is because the atmospheric pressure decreases at higher elevations, leading to a decrease in the partial pressures of the gasses in the air, including oxygen. And of course, oxygen is needed for us to function. What is the effect on brain health/ cognition in sudden increased elevation: say, climbing Mount Everest? Does chronic exposure to high elevations increase the likelihood of dementia? In this project, a meta-analysis of published works examining the effects of altitude on cognition would be conducted.

Idea by mentor Alyssa

Building a Blood Vessel

Use online graphics to illustrate how a blood vessel forms. Blood vessels are structures that carry blood and are responsible for transporting nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. There are three main types of blood vessels: arteries, veins, and capillaries. For this project, complete a literature search to understand what is known about blood vessel growth. Then, utilize this information to generate a graphic with no words to demonstrate how the vasculature (network of blood vessels) forms. The goal of this project is to explain science without using text and therefore make it more available to a larger community.

Idea by mentor Natalie

Examining the bacterial profile of various households

As of late, bacterial microbiomes have been a huge and interesting topic in the field of bacteriology as they play an important role in human health. Bacterial microbiomes are communities of bacteria that live on or outside organisms. They’re found in various parts of the human body, and help us to digest food and regulate our immune system. In this project, you will seek to understand how skin microbiomes can differ between different  individuals of different households. This project will require making different bacterial media that can be made at home selecting for various microorganisms. If you’re new to preparing bacterial media, check out this resource here!

Idea by mentor Hamilton

Regulation of Circadian Clocks

Sleep is known to be governed by two distinct processes: a circadian clock that aligns sleep and wakefulness to the solar day and the sleep homeostat that encodes for sleep debt as a compensatory mechanism against sleep loss. You’ve most likely heard about circadian rhythm and our body’s internal clock, and circadian regulation of sleep is a fundamental process that allows animals to anticipate sleepiness or wakefulness consistently every day. These mechanisms can be regulated in multiple ways: at the gene, protein, gene, and clock neuronal level. In this project, we will focus on 1) how to efficiently digest primary and review articles to compile and condense information, 2) investigate how circadian clocks are regulated at these different genetic levels, and 3) try to effectively summarize the information we've gathered. We can present this information in a variety of ways, and what the final product looks like is up to you.

Idea by mentor Oscar

The Biology of Aging

Aging is the number one risk factor for a variety of diseases including cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and loss of hearing/sight. We are only now beginning to truly understand the process of aging and have even started to uncover ways that we could stop, or potentially reverse, the effects of aging. What are the hallmarks/signs of aging? How do researchers study 'aging'? How does human lifespan and aging compare to the rest of the animal kingdom? Is it possible to stop or reverse the effects of aging? What advancements are being made related to this? We could explore these questions or brainstorm others you might have about the biology of aging.

Idea by mentor Emily

Animals, Plants, and Nature Project Ideas

How genetically engineered mosquitoes are reducing rates of vector-borne diseases such as zika.

Many countries are already releasing millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes into the wild every week. These mosquitoes have been modified to reduce their ability to transmit disease-causing pathogens like dengue fever, Zika, and malaria, and are sent into the wild to mate with disease-carrying mosquitoes. However, this is still controversial as some people are concerned about the unintended consequences on the environment. What could be the potential pros and cons for this? The project will mainly focus on doing meta analysis of articles and watching informative videos to understand how/why genetically engineered mosquitoes can be used to reduce rates of different diseases. Students will have the chance to use critical thinking and do in-depth research on genetic engineering techniques, how scientists determine breeding rates and number of insects released, and epidemiology of different bloodborne diseases.

Idea by mentor Vanessa

Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are areas of ocean or coastal waters that are set aside for the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. These areas are established by governments, NGOs, or other organizations, and they can take different forms, from fully protected "no-take" zones to areas with regulated fishing or other activities. Marine protected areas have the potential to guide sustainable resource management and protect biodiversity, but have a host of reasons for why they are not currently effective. Explore reasons for why MPAs may not be effective. Then develop a framework for mapping, modeling, and implementing an effective Marine Protected Area.

Bioinspiration: Do animals hold the answers?

Can the toxins produced by frogs help us fight antibiotic resistant bacteria strains? How can understanding how lizards and newts regrow their limbs help us improve wound treatment? Why do tilapia skins help with burns? Discover the role of animals in the development of modern medicine as well as its potential. Are there any ethical concerns with these developments and findings? If so, what are they and do they matter? Share your findings in a research proposal, article, or presentation.

Idea by mentor Cheyenne

How Climate Change Can Affect Future Distributions of Rare Species

Climate change, such as global warming and longer drought, can threaten the existence of some of the rarest plants on earth. It is important to understand how future suitable habitats will change for these rare species so that we can target our conservation efforts in specific areas. In this project, you will identify a rare species that you like (it can be animals, plants, or fungi!), and gather the data online on its current occurrences. Then you will learn how to perform species distribution modeling to map its current and future suitable habitat areas. To get you started on learning species distribution modeling, check out this Youtube resource here. The changes in the amount or location of future suitable habitats can significantly affect the destiny of a rare species. By doing this project, you will not only learn skills in data analyses but also become the best ambassador for this rare species that you love. 

Idea by mentor Yingtong

A Reef’s Best Frenemies

Coral reefs are in global decline. A primary cause of this is "coral bleaching" which results in the white reefs we often see in the news. Coral bleaching is actually the breakdown in the partnership between the coral animal and tiny, symbiotic algae that live within its cells. Corals and algae have a variety of thermal tolerances which are likely decided by genetic and environmental factors. However, despite how important this relationship is, it's currently very poorly understood. This project would review existing literature on the symbiotic partnernship and try to identify factors that predict bleaching and thermal resilience.

Idea by mentor Carly

Dive in to BioMed NOW!

Register to get paired with one of our expert mentors and to get started on exploring your passions today! You have agency in setting up your schedule for this research. Dive in now!

Diseases and Treatments Project Ideas

The understanding of a new and upcoming treatment: immunotherapy.

Immunotherapies have been growing in the past few years as alternative treatments for many types of cancer. These treatments work by boosting the patient's immune system to fight the disease, however it is not always effective. There are many types of immunotherapies with various nuances, but they all work to attack specific cells that are causing the disease. For this project, pick one of a few types of immunotherapy and deeply understand the mechanism of action and what is the current effectiveness against the cancer it treats.

Idea by mentor Hannah

Exploring The Cancer Genome Atlas data 

There has been an explosion of publicly available data for cancer. The Cancer Genome Atlas was a research program with the purpose of creating a comprehensive catalog of genomic and molecular information about different types of cancer, with the aim of improving our understanding of the disease and developing new treatments. The dataset has been used to identify new cancer subtypes, develop diagnostic tests, and discover potential targets for new cancer therapies. Explore the implications and impact of The Cancer Genome Atlas data, and why it’s become so important.

Idea by mentor Hersh

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Physiological Benefits of Fasting-induced Autophagy

Autophagy, meaning "self-eating", is a cellular process where damaged or unwanted components are disposed. Autophagy has been linked to various diseased pathologies, including cancer and heart disease. Fasting or specific dietary lifestyles may induce levels of autophagy in the human body. In this project, we will perform and systematic review and meta-analysis of fasting or diet-induced autophagy and its benefits on the body. You will gain skills in 1) searching and reviewing primary literature, 2) computational skills for performing data analysis (R language), and 3) writing your scientific findings.

Idea by mentor Jose 

The Amyloid Hypothesis: Sifting through the controversy

For many years, scientists have thought that amyloid beta was the protein responsible for a patient developing Alzheimer's Disease symptoms. This "Amyloid Hypothesis" is now being questioned in light of current clinical data. Recently, drugs have been developed that reduce amyloid beta in patients. Surprisingly, the drugs worked in reducing amyloid beta, but it did not result in the slowing of disease pathology. Does this mean that the amyloid hypothesis is incorrect? Is amyloid beta less important in the progression of disease then what we once thought? This research project aims to explore the issues with the amyloid hypothesis and to assess where we stand in our understanding of amyloid beta's contribution to Alzheimer’s.

Idea by mentor Patrick

How do vaccines work?

During the COVID pandemic, vaccines have been all over the news! But how do they actually work? What’s the science behind them? Through this project, you will explore how vaccines work and the history of science behind vaccine development. While the final product of the projectwill be up to you, the ultimate goal of this project is for you to be a true public health advocate for vaccines and to be able to communicate why vaccines are so important in a way that the general public can understand.

Idea by mentor Helen

Sleep Disruption Profiles in Various Mouse Models of Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been studied for decades but we are no closer to understanding the mechanisms of the disease. Because of the vast number of researchers studying AD, there are numerous models used to study the disease. All these models have different sleep profiles, phenotypes, disease onsets, sex differences etc. Therefore, in this project we will compile a document based on extensive literature review about the various models there are. We will focus on sleep profiles in these animals with an emphasis on male and female differences. This information is valuable because it is important to know which model is best to use to answer your scientific questions and there is a lot of criticism (by other scientists) that can be brought on by the model chosen so you need to be able to justify your choice. This project will also introduce you to the world of AD research and some of the gaps in knowledge in the field.

Idea by mentor Shenee

Rethinking The Treatment Of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases affect millions of people worldwide. They are conditions that affect the nervous system, particularly the brain and spinal cord, and examples include Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. While billions of dollars have been spent trying to find treatments for the disease, very few drugs and therapies have had a meaningful impact on slowing down disease progression. This is often because by the time someone is diagnosed with a disease, it has progressed too far for a treatment to have a substantial effect. Some recent approaches to treatment have turned to looking for early indications of the disease (termed "biomarkers") that can occur before the onset of symptoms. By diagnosing disease and beginning treatment before symptoms arise, these treatments could have a more profound effect in slowing down the progression of disease. Students could review the recent progress being made on identifying biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, and either write a paper or even record a podcast on their findings!

Idea by mentor David

Genetics Project Ideas

Height and genetics: nature or nurture.

How much do your genes determine your height? How much do nutrition and environmental factors play a role? What gene variants are implicated in height differences and what is the role of epigenetics? Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype that occur without changes to the underlying DNA sequence. These changes can be influenced by diet and lifestyle. We will access and analyze an open dataset on twins to estimate the correlation between monozygotic twins (who have the exact same DNA) and height. You will learn to use R to open a dataset, analyze data with statistical methods such the student’s t-test, and display your data as graphs and charts. Finally, you will learn how to make a research presentation on height and genetics, describe the research methods, and present the data in a compelling and thorough way.

Idea by mentor Adeoluwa

The World of Personalized Medicine

Similar to our fingerprints, our genetic code is also unique to each individual person. Our genetic code is what determines our hair color, height, eye color, skin tone...just about everything! For those that develop diseases such as cancer, their genetic code found inside the malignant cells that comprise a tumor may also be unique to them or to certain groups of people with similar mutations (the drivers of disease). So why is it that we treat each person the same way even though the genetic drivers of that disease may be disparate? The world of Personalized Medicine is new and exciting and looks to circumvent this problem. Personalized Medicine (also known as precision medicine) uses the genetic code of a patients disease to guide treatment options that prove to be highly efficacious. Together, lets write a review on a disease of your choice that could benefit from Personalized Medicine based on current literature and research.

Idea by mentor Somer

General Biology Project Ideas

Teach a biology concept two ways: to your fellow students and to the general public.

One of the best ways to learn is to teach. Choose a biological concept that interests you and prepare a lesson and or demo on it. The format should be a video recording of yourself teaching (a la Khan Academy or a Zoom class), but the other details are up to you. Consider incorporating a demonstration (e.g. how can you use items from your kitchen to illustrate properties of mixtures?) or animation (e.g. to illustrate molecular motion). Also consider how you will check that your students understand the concept(s) and/or skill(s) you have taught them. Prepare and record two versions of your lesson: one intended for your peers and one for the general public. How will the versions differ to reflect these different audiences? You will learn what it's like to teach, gain a much greater understanding of your chosen concept(s)/skill(s), and learn how to communicate science to different audiences.

Idea by mentor Alexa

Once you’ve picked a project idea, check out some of our resources to help you progress with your project! Whether you’re stuck on how to cite sources , how to come up with a great thesis statement , or how to showcase your work once it’s finished , we’ve created blog posts to help you out. If you’re interested in doing one of the biology research projects with the help of an amazing mentor at Polygence, apply now ! If you would like some help with coming up with your own idea, book a complimentary consultation call with our admissions team here !

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Inside the CIA’s Secret Mission to Use Mind Control to Spy on the Soviet Union

During the height of the Cold War, the CIA ran tests on people with paranormal abilities in an effort to unlock top-secret intel on foreign targets.

As Harold Puthoff, a physicist with the Stanford Research Institute, witnessed the output from his magnetometer changing, he was mind-blown. There was no physical explanation for the reading changing the way it did. And as soon as Puthoff asked Swann to stop thinking about the apparatus, the unexplained changes in the magnetic field abruptly stopped.

“These phenomena are real. Psychic phenomena are real,” Dean Radin , Ph.D., chief scientist at the California-based nonprofit Institute of Noetic Sciences, tells Popular Mechanics . He’s been examining parapsychology, or the study of psychic events, for the past four decades.

And in the early 1970s—in the midst of the Cold War against the Soviet Union—the U.S. government agreed.

By the time Puthoff and his colleague Russel Targ, another physicist at the Stanford Research Institute (now known as SRI International), presented their results at an international meeting on quantum physics and parapsychology, the CIA had already begun working with SRI to perform top-secret research on paranormal phenomena—primarily “remote viewing” for intelligence collection. Remote viewing refers to a type of extra-sensorial perception that involves using the mind to “see” or manipulate distant objects, people, events, or other information that are hidden from physical view.

By the mid-1980s, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) took the program over, calling it “Stargate.” DIA had three main goals for its research:

• Determine how to apply remote viewing to intelligence gathering against foreign targets;
• Figure out how other countries could be doing the same thing and using it against the U.S.; and
• Perform laboratory experiments to find ways to improve remote viewing for use in the intelligence field

The program was about as clandestine as it gets. Radin, who served as a visiting scientist on the Stargate program, says security personnel would brief him and his colleagues about the incredible sensitivity of their highly classified work every two weeks, and ask them if they had any reason to believe that anyone outside of the project knew anything about it.

“You had to become a professional paranoid, essentially. It was very uncomfortable for me,” Radin says.

He remembers asking one of his supervisors what would happen if they had a breakthrough—say, coming up with a drug to make someone super psychic. The response was immediate. “It would disappear and you would never be able to talk about it again,” Radin recalls, “which is antithetical to the whole scientific process, but I also understood why.” Any weapon or intelligence tool developed under Stargate would have presumably been too valuable and too dangerous for public release.

The DIA continued the project until the mid-1990s, when the CIA began declassifying its documents on remote viewing research to facilitate an external review of the project, and the DIA quickly followed suit. In June 1995, the CIA asked The American Institutes for Research (AIR)—an Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit tasked with evaluating and providing technical assistance in behavioral and social science research—to conduct an external review of the Stargate program .

To present a balanced review of the scientific credibility of the program, AIR asked two researchers with opposing perspectives on parapsychology to write the report: Jessica Utts , Ph.D., an accomplished statistician and now professor emerita at the University of California, Irvine, who views parapsychology as a promising science; and Ray Hyman , Ph.D., a renowned psychologist and now professor emeritus at the University of Oregon, who is a noted skeptic and critic of parapsychology.

.css-2l0eat{font-family:UnitedSans,UnitedSans-roboto,UnitedSans-local,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.625rem;line-height:1.2;margin:0rem;padding:0.9rem 1rem 1rem;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-2l0eat{font-size:1.75rem;line-height:1;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-2l0eat{font-size:1.875rem;line-height:1;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-2l0eat{font-size:2.25rem;line-height:1;}}.css-2l0eat b,.css-2l0eat strong{font-family:inherit;font-weight:bold;}.css-2l0eat em,.css-2l0eat i{font-style:italic;font-family:inherit;} “These phenomena are real. Psychic phenomena are real.”

“They sent us these boxes full of reports and papers and told us we had one summer to write this report,” Utts tells Popular Mechanics . She and Hyman separately reviewed dozens of Stargate experiments while also taking into account data from the broader scientific community at the time.

The reviewers’ individual conclusions were as expected. Utts found the statistics compelling, and believed the studies provided strong evidence that remote viewing is a human capability. One of the things she found most convincing was that the results seen across studies in different laboratories were all very similar. “And it was all statistically significant,” she says, “so that’s really hard to explain by chance, or cheating, or coincidence, or fluke.”

To that extent, Hyman agreed with Utts, but it wasn’t enough to convince him that remote viewing is real. He found what he considered to be potential flaws in the experimental methods, such as using the same person to judge psychic ability in each trial, and determined that the experimental results were not consistent enough with experiments outside the program. Nonetheless, he wrote in the final report: “The case for psychic functioning seems better than it ever has been. The contemporary findings along with the output of the [Stargate] program do seem to indicate that something beyond odd statistical hiccups is taking place.”

Despite what may be viewed as an optimistic review, the Stargate program no longer exists, and as far as we know, the U.S. government hasn’t continued such research. “I’m sorry it ended, because I really do think that there’s much more to be discovered there,” Utts says.

But maybe it hasn’t ended. Maybe it’s just top secret. Only a true psychic would know.

Kimberly is a freelance science writer with a degree in marine biology from Texas A&M University, a master's degree in biology from Southeastern Louisiana University and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work has been published by NBC, Science, Live Science, Space.com and many others. Her favorite stories are about health, animals and obscurities.  

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Navigating the Wide World of Technology With Student Research Projects

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When a student comes to Adelphi University to study computer science, the curriculum is not one-size-fits-all.

In fact there are tracks to fit the interests of any budding technologist, from software engineering, cybersecurity and computer graphics programming to foundations of computer science and applied science. Accordingly, teaching students interested in these diverse areas of technology requires faculty members to have a broad understanding of the field.

Enter Sung Kim, JD , assistant professor in Adelphi University’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science . Kim earned a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, Mathematics and Economics, as well as a Master of Science in Computer Science from Dartmouth College, working on the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Lab on network-based security. He then went on to the NYU School of Law, after which he specialized in patent litigation involving high-tech patents.

Since joining the ranks of Adelphi’s full-time faculty in 2019, Kim’s research has largely focused on cybersecurity and human-computer interaction, though he still maintains an interest in data privacy and the intersection of law and policy with technology.

With this diverse educational background and résumé, Kim is uniquely prepared to mentor students across the field of tech. “As part of my work in law, I worked on understanding the different technology at issue to analyze the products at issue and to explain the material to the court and to the jury,” Kim said. “This experience helped inform my teaching style as I had practice getting to the heart of the matter and figuring out key issues that need to be explained and to identify potential areas of confusion.”

Kim teaches subjects from programming and cybersecurity to applied cryptography, but he finds his senior capstone course particularly rewarding because of the variety of creative projects the students develop.

“I encourage my students to find an idea that resonates with them as they will be working on the project for a full year,” Kim said. “Over the years, I’ve seen some really creative applications of what the students have learned during their career at Adelphi, and the opportunity to present their hard work at the research conference is so important to them.”

Computer Science Projects Represent the Wide Range of Tech Paths

Some students who Kim mentored for Scholarship and Creative Works Conference projects applied their personal interests to their endeavors, others developed applications to solve problems and still others sought to develop solutions to technology problems in business.

Kim said, “Over the course of a year, I get to oversee as many as 12 projects covering different topics and areas of focus. For me, this allows me to dive into different areas and play around with different areas of technology as well.”

Students Bo Nappie , Martin Genao and Giovanny Joseph developed a mobile app called Woof, which allows users to find pet-friendly accommodations and businesses when traveling.

“We aim to bridge the gap between pet owners and businesses, making it easy for pet owners to plan pet-friendly trips and excursions, whether it be a local outing or a family vacation, because pets are family too,” Nappie said. “Leveraging data from application programming interfaces, our application establishes a central repository of pet-friendly businesses, events and reviews from fellow pet owners.”

The Woof app was designed with a user-friendly interface and accessibility, and offers the ability to specify location preferences via geolocation services. It also provides local businesses with opportunities to promote their pet-friendly events and locations.

Nappie said that creating and sharing the team’s project at the conference was a deeply meaningful experience, representing the culmination of their collective creativity, autonomy and collaborative efforts. “Sharing our project with others is a moment of pride, demonstrating our ability to overcome challenges and deliver impactful results,” Nappie said. “I feel as though this project fueled an entrepreneurial spark in me.”

Jordan Rivas , Kennie Dionísio , Kaleb Gailyard and Derek Feliu developed a 3D tower defense-style game called Eternal Guardian, built using the Unity game development platform, that immerses players into a realm where strategic thinking and resource management are paramount. Players, each with unique abilities, are tasked with strategically defending various types of towers along predetermined pathways to thwart enemy advances. As the game progresses, players must adapt their strategies, utilize power-ups to overcome evolving enemy threats.

Rivas says that Eternal Guardian offers not only entertainment, but also cognitive skill development, problem-solving abilities, critical thinking skills and strategic planning.

“My team and I see this conference as a significant opportunity to share our accomplishments that we have achieved over the course of our senior year,” he said. “We look forward to other curious individuals testing, enjoying and inquiring about our game that we’ve spent countless hours working on. Creating this project helped us realize that we are capable of effectively taking on challenging projects and delivering successful outcomes.”

According to Rivas, Kim was a great help in guiding the team on how to structure their effort and provided crucial feedback on the overall development process. “It was super helpful to have a third party review our progress biweekly and give comments on where we succeeded or where we came up short—overall, he was an amazing help, and without him I don’t think our project would be a fraction of what it is now,” Rivas said.

Matthew Ramnarace and Justin Torres presented a gap analysis that aimed to uncover the areas that information technology organizations struggle with around the field of cybersecurity. The main focus points of their project are cyber threats, compliance, remote work settings and cloud security.

As part of their gap analysis, Ramnarace and Torres reviewed case studies and available data to describe the current state of how organizations deal with cyber threats, and then proposed a best practices approach for organizations to prepare for cyber threats.

Ramnarace says that though he has a background in audio visual integration systems and computer networking, this project allowed him to diversify his skill set within the information technology field.

“Cybersecurity is a growing field and learning about the threats we face and ways to combat these threats promotes our safety in the online world,” Ramnarace said. “Justin and I believe that our newfound knowledge will be beneficial to others who are looking to learn more about cybersecurity and the modern threats that we face.”

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Nasa’s orca, airharp projects paved way for pace to reach space, goddard digital team.

It took the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission just 13 minutes to reach low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in February 2024. It took a network of scientists at NASA and research institutions around the world more than 20 years to carefully craft and test the novel instruments that allow PACE to study the ocean and atmosphere with unprecedented clarity.

In the early 2000s, a team of scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, prototyped the Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment (ORCA) instrument, which ultimately became PACE’s primary research tool: the Ocean Color instrument (OCI). Then, in the 2010s, a team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), worked with NASA to prototype the Hyper Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP), a shoebox-sized instrument that will collect groundbreaking measurements of atmospheric aerosols.

Neither PACE’s OCI nor HARP2 — a nearly exact copy of the HARP prototype — would exist were it not for NASA’s early investments in novel technologies for Earth observation through competitive grants distributed by the agency’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). Over the last 25 years, ESTO has managed the development of more than 1,100 new technologies for gathering science measurements.

“All of this investment in the tech development early on basically made it much, much easier for us to build the observatory into what it is today,” said Jeremy Werdell, an oceanographer at NASA Goddard and project scientist for PACE.

Charles “Chuck” McClain, who led the ORCA research team until his retirement in 2013, said NASA’s commitment to technology development is a cornerstone of PACE’s success. “Without ESTO, it wouldn’t have happened. It was a long and winding road, getting to where we are today.”

It was ORCA that first demonstrated a telescope rotating at a speed of six revolutions per second could synchronize perfectly with an array of charge-coupled devices — microchips that transform telescopic projections into digital images. This innovation made it possible for OCI to observe hyperspectral shades of ocean color previously unobtainable using space-based sensors.

But what made ORCA especially appealing to PACE was its pedigree of thorough testing. “One really important consideration was technology readiness,” said Gerhard Meister, who took over ORCA after McClain retired and serves as OCI instrument scientist. Compared to other ocean radiometer designs that were considered for PACE, “we had this instrument that was ready, and we had shown that it would work.”

Technology readiness also made HARP an appealing solution to PACE’s polarimeter challenge. Mission engineers needed an instrument powerful enough to ensure PACE’s ocean color measurements weren’t jeopardized by atmospheric interference, but compact enough to fly on the PACE observatory platform.

By the time Vanderlei Martins, an atmospheric scientist at UMBC, first spoke to Werdell about incorporating a version of HARP into PACE in 2016, he had proven the technology with AirHARP, an airplane-mounted version of HARP, and was using an ESTO award to prepare HARP CubeSat for space.

HARP2 relies on the same optical system developed through AirHARP and HARP CubeSat. A wide-angle lens observes Earth’s surface from up to 60 different viewing angles with a spatial resolution of 1.62 miles (2.6kilometers) per pixel, all without any moving parts. This gives researchers a global view of aerosols from a tiny instrument that consumes very little energy.

Were it not for NASA’s early support of AirHARP and HARP CubeSat, said Martins, “I don’t think we would have HARP2 today.” He added: “We achieved every single goal, every single element, and that was because ESTO stayed with us.”

That support continues making a difference to researchers like Jessie Turner, an oceanographer at the University of Connecticut who will use PACE to study algal blooms and water clarity in the Chesapeake Bay.

“For my application that I’m building for early adopters of PACE data, I actually think that polarimeters are going to be really useful because that’s something we haven’t fully done before for the ocean,” Turner said. “Polarimetric data can actually help us see what kind of particles are in the water.”

Without the early development and test-drives of the instruments from McClain’s and Martins’ teams, PACE as we know it wouldn’t exist.

“It all kind of fell in place in a timely manner that allowed us to mature the instruments, along with the science, just in time for PACE,” said McClain.

To explore current opportunities to collaborate with NASA on new technologies for studying Earth, visit ESTO’s open solicitations page here.

By Gage Taylor NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.

Related Terms

• PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem)
• Earth Science Division
• Earth Science Technology Office
• Goddard Space Flight Center
• Science Mission Directorate

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May 1, 2024 | Olivia Drake - UConn College of Engineering

Engineering Students Share Yearlong Research Projects During Senior Design Demo Day

Through their Senior Design projects, students work to solve real-world engineering problems while learning valuable skills

More than 240 teams from the College of Engineering participated in Senior Design Demo Day on April 26. (Chris LaRosa / UConn)

While chemical engineers may more commonly be known for working in areas of pharmaceutical development, materials processing, and petroleum industries, Kanisha Desai ’24 (ENG) is brewing up her own innovative idea for putting her chemical engineering degree to use.

Desai, along with engineering classmates Cameron Hubbard ’24 (ENG), Hailey Tam ’24 (ENG), and Ethan Krouskup ’24 (ENG), debuted their project—a non-alcoholic beer brewing process—during Senior Design Demonstration Day on April 26 in an energy-buzzed Gampel Pavilion. ( View the photo gallery online here .)

“We wanted to solve a problem that most people wouldn’t normally classify as an ‘engineering problem,’” Desai says. “Brewing has always been a fascinating topic to us as chemical engineers, and since many people love the taste and creative flavors of craft beers, but don’t want the added alcohol, this project allows us to help small breweries develop a thriving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer brewing business.”

The team’s project, “ Spirit of Sobriety: Of Non-Alcoholic Brews ,” was among 242 student-led endeavors showcased during the 2024 Senior Design Demo Day. Sponsored by the College of Engineering (CoE) and under the mentorship of Associate Professor in Residence Jennifer Pascal, the project took first place of all senior designs from the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department.

Senior Design is two-semester capstone course where faculty and industry engineers mentor students as they work to solve real-world engineering problems for university and company sponsors. Through the experience, students learn about the principles of design, how ethics affect engineering decisions, and how professionals communicate ideas. In addition, they acquire valuable teamwork skills and professional skills while interacting with industry professionals and other mentors.

“Each year, dozens of leading manufacturing companies, pharmaceutical and medical firms, consulting practices and utilities present the College of Engineering with design challenges or problems they are encountering in their business,” explains CoE Dean Kazem Kazerounian. “For a modest fee, the companies suggest a particular problem and our senior engineering students, under the joint mentorship of engineering faculty and practicing experts from the sponsoring entities, work to properly frame the problem and develop meaningful solutions.”

Senior Design Demo Day provides the soon-to-be UConn graduates an opportunity to share the results of their independent research projects with fellow students, faculty, alumni, and community members.

“For our students, this experience is the culmination of their undergraduate education, and an opportunity to showcase their skills and education as they venture into the next steps of their careers,” says Daniel Burkey, associate dean for undergraduate education and Castleman Term Professor in Engineering Innovation. “Even after Demo Day, some students continue working on their project, especially if they accept a job with their project sponsor.”

While the “Spirit of Sobriety” team also implemented a pasteurization process on a home-brewing scale to ensure the safe drinkability of the non-alcoholic beer, materials science and engineering majors Charlotte Chen ’24 (ENG), Sanjana Nistala ’24 (ENG), Jenna Salvatore ’24 (ENG), and Allison Determan ’24 (ENG) designed a “ Joint-On-A-Chip ” to emulate the in vivo environment of a knee joint affected by osteoarthritis. The chip mimics the immune response and mechanical strain that cells in an affected joint experience in the human body.

Through their Senior Design project, “ Deblurring of Digital Images ,” electrical and computer engineering majors Andrew Feliciano ’24 (ENG) and Colby Powers ’24 (ENG) evaluated blur reduction or removal algorithms that could be implemented on imaging systems found on United States Coast Guard ships and naval vessels.

And Gary Zhu ’24 (ENG), Jack Crocamo ’24 (ENG), Ryka ChandraRaj ’24 (ENG), Alicia Chiu ’24 (ENG), Ryan Mercier ’24 (ENG), and Donny Sauer III ’24 (ENG) completed a systems engineering project titled, “ Data Collection and Analysis for an Autonomous Electric Vehicle System .” With the support of sponsor Pratt & Whitney, the team developed a data analysis framework capable of precisely predicting a self-driving vehicle’s reactions to input directives. The foundation of this initiative rests upon a data-driven control system tailored for electric vehicles, harnessing the power of machine learning algorithms.

Solving Problems Statewide

One of the goals of Senior Design is to help solve problems on a local level.

In Madison, Conn., the Connecticut Department of Transportation wants to expand a rest stop along the heavily traveled Interstate 95. Environmental engineering majors Rory Cavicke ’24 (ENG), Kelsey DiCesare ’24 (ENG), and Alexander Brita ’24 (ENG) worked with industry sponsor CHA Consulting to design a septic system and stormwater infrastructure for an expanded tractor trailer rest stop. The team developed their designs in accordance with the CT Public Health Code 2023 Technical Standards and the CT Stormwater Quality Manual.

And in Woodstock, residents are working to restore and preserve the historic Chamberlin Mill, which produced wood shingles in the 19th and early 20th centuries. For their senior design project, mechanical engineering majors Alexander Guzman ’24 (ENG), Will Goss ’24 (ENG), and Vinicius De Souza ’24 (ENG) conducted a mechanical analysis and working CAD model of the mill’s 1860s shingle machine , which will be used by the mill to teach future STEM students.

Catalyzing Campus

Other projects focused on benefiting UConn itself.

Under the guidance of faculty advisor Shinae Jang, civil engineering majors Joshua Maccione ’24 (ENG), Christian Maignan ’24 (ENG), Connor Behuniak ’24 (ENG), Ryan Baj ’24 (ENG), and Darren Lin ’24 (ENG) designed a multi-story, modernized building to accommodate the expanding engineering programs within the newly designated College of Engineering. The team obtained geotechnical data from past construction projects and identified an optimal new location for this proposed facility on campus. The design incorporated composite and non-composite beams, along with a combination of steel and braced frames. Their project, “ Proposed College of Engineering Building at the University of Connecticut ,” took second place of all civil engineering senior designs.

Also, mechanical engineering majors Christian Bjork ’24 (ENG), Alanna Barzola ’24 (ENG), and Nicholas Trottier ’24 (ENG), along with electrical engineering majors Patrick Place ’24 (ENG) and River Granniss ’24 (ENG), collaborated on the design, development, and analysis of a scaled-down, concentrated photovoltaic/thermal system (CPV/T) that could be integrated into a greenhouse roof at UConn. Photovoltaic and thermal systems are considered conventional green energy methods used to power a greenhouse, however combining them is relatively new concept.  Because photovoltaic systems can become inefficient when they reach high temperatures, for this project, the team proposed cooling the photovoltaic system with a combined thermal system while simultaneously producing thermal energy to heat the greenhouse.

Their project, “ Design and Development of PV/Thermal System for Greenhouses ” was advised by Wajid Chishty, Nathan Lehman, and Ravi Gorthala and sponsored by Sonalysts, Inc. It received first place in systems engineering projects and third place in mechanical engineering project.

For Grannis, the senior design process proved to be challenging, but rewarding. With his electrical engineering knowledge, Grannis was tasked with making the system’s sun tracking device operate correctly, in a minimal amount of time.

“The tracking system design we ended up using was not finalized until about a month into the second semester of senior design. After that, I spent all of my time working on the electronics and software for the tracking system pretty much until Demo Day,” Grannis says. “The biggest thing I learned was coding in C++ for Arduino. In many cases the hardest parts of the project were not the most interesting to present, so learning to show off what is interesting while continuing to work on the hard stuff—while also informing sponsors and advisors about what difficulties there are—is a balance that needs to be found early on. The most important thing Senior Design reinforced is how important interpersonal communication is, even in engineering where things are heavily results-driven.”

A Little Competition …

Demo Day isn’t the only venue students share their novel projects. For Senior Design, Ashley Sciacca ’24 (ENG), Nathan Garala ’24 (ENG), Ryan Maguire ’24 (ENG), and Spencer Alsup ’24 (ENG) fabricated a fully electric-powered, waterproof boat . Along with other members of UConn’s Promoting Electric Propulsion team— Christopher Capozzi, Andrews Marsigliano, Ian Pichs, and Xavier Purandah—the group competed in a five-mile course in Virginia, sponsored by the American Society of Naval Engineers. Students designed the boat using a simulation software and combined this data with test results to determine power requirements.

“This was the first year of competition for the UConn team, and of 39 schools, we finished in the top 10, which is a great accomplishment,” said project advisor Vito Moreno, professor in residence of mechanical engineering.

Similarly, electrical and computer engineering majors Matthew Silverman ’24 (ENG), Spencer Albano ’24 (ENG), and Nicholas Wycoff ’24 (ENG) participated in a Software Defined Radio (SDR) university challenge in Ohio with their Senior Design project, “ Physical Layer Network Slicing .” They created an access point that can establish a network and communicate across both Wi-Fi and Zigbee (a Wi-Fi alternative) devices. The competition, hosted by the Wright Brothers Institute (WBI) and Air Force Research Laboratory, encouraged hands-on skill building and explore experimentation through SDR hardware. UConn’s team was among the top 8 finalists and received the Most Outstanding Project Award. Shengli Zhou, professor of electrical and computer engineering, served as the team’s advisor.

“There are some routers that can communicate over both Wi-Fi and Zigbee but are typically two separate devices bundled in the same enclosure,” Albano explains. “Having one device that communicates across both standards provides ease to a network administrator that can manage devices in both standards. The benefits include efficiency, flexibility, and security.”

And the Winners Are …

Senior Design Demo Day began more than 40 years ago. Today, it features the projects of students majoring in biomedical engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering; civil and environmental engineering; electrical and computer engineering; environmental engineering; materials science and engineering; systems engineering; management and engineering manufacturing; multidisciplinary engineering; the School of Computing; and the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering.

Each CoE department and school awarded prizes for the best poster presentations. The 2024 winners are:

Biomedical Engineering

1st place: “Joint-On-A-Chip Osteoarthritis Disease Modeling for Evaluating Anti-Inflammatory Drug Performance,” by Charlotte Chen (MSE), Sanjana Nistala, Jenna Salvatore, and Allison Determan. Advisor: Syam Nukavarapu. Sponsor: UConn Biomedical Engineering Department.

2nd place: Singular Part 3D-Printed External Prosthetics for Mastectomy Patients Without Reconstruction,” by Yukti Ummaneni, Ashwini Patel, Mia Haynes, and Jamie Trinh. Advisor: Liisa Kuhn. Sponsor: Beekley Lab for Biosymmetrix

3rd place (tie): “Circuit and Sensor Design for Smartphone-Based Electroretinography,” by Rory Harris, Rodrigo Tuesta, and Yuexi Hao. Advisor: Hugo Posada-Quintero. Sponsor: UConn Biomedical Engineering Department.

3rd place (tie): “In Vitro Model for the Study of Traumatic Brain Injury” by Mark Cristino, Rudin Lloga, and Kaiya Pringle. Advisor: Kazunori Hoshino. Sponsor: UConn Biomedical Engineering Department.

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering 1st place: “Spirit of Sobriety: Of Non-Alcoholic Brews,” by Cameron Hubbard, Kanisha Desai, Hailey Tam, and Ethan Krouskup. Advisor: Jennifer Pascal. Sponsor: UConn College of Engineering.

2nd place: “Design And Optimization Of A Multi-Effect Desalination Unit Integrated With A Gas Turbine Plan,” by Wasif Zaman, Katelyn Honegger, Alanna Smith, and David Gan. Advisor: Burcu Beykal. Sponsor: UConn College of Engineering.

3rd place: “Redefining How to Process Body Wash: Creating A More Efficient and Agile Supply Chain,” by Aadil Shahzad, Samantha Miel, Megan Shiring, and Matthew Silver. Advisor: Anson Ma. Sponsor: Unilever.

Civil Engineering 1st place: “Blue Line Extension,” by Anson Lau, Yuanlong Dai, Helen Pruchniak, Nicholas Vestergaard. Advisor: Wei Zhang. Sponsor: Construction Industries of Massachusetts-Labor Relations Division (CIM-LRD).

2nd place: “Proposed College of Engineering Building at the University of Connecticut,” by Joshua Maccione, Christian Maignan, Connor Behuniak, Ryan Baj, and Darren Lin. Advisor: Shinae Jang. Sponsor: Slam Collaborative.

3rd place (tie): “Design of Pedestrian Walkway For The Gold Star Memorial,” by Shaun McGuire, Kayla Turner, Steven Anderson, Juan Javier Mejia. Advisor: Manish Roy. Sponsor: HNTB Corporation.

3rd place (tie): “Worcester Union Station Center Island Platform Project,” by Conor Murphy, Harley Jeanty, Jakub Patrosz, Benjamin Ragozzine. Advisor: Wei Zhang. Sponsor: HDR, Inc.

Environmental Engineering

1st place: “Remedial Design of a PFAS Contaminated Site in Connecticut,” by Valentine Falsetta, Wilmalis Rodriguez, and Nicola Bacon. Advisor: Alexander Agrios. Sponsor: Amine Dahmani.

2nd place: “Stormwater/Septic Design,” by Rory Cavicke, Kelsey DiCesare, and Alexander Brita. Advisor: Alexander Agrios. Sponsor: CHA Consulting, Inc.

3rd place: “Stones Ranch Road Drainage Upgrades and Erosion Control,” by Grace Carravone, Amanda Jacobson, Sara Makula, and Jason Contreras. Advisor: Manish Roy. Sponsor: Connecticut National Guard.

School of Computing 1st place: “Solubility Data Management,” by John Bogacz, Connor Brush, Maniza Shaikh, Jianhua Zhu, Walson Li, and Peter Filip. Advisor: Qian Yang. Sponsor: Boehringer Ingelheim.

2nd place: “Light Scattering Automation,” by Zachary Hall, Nikolas Anagnostou, Alden Dus, Jacob Montanez, Avaneesh Sathish, Zakarya Zahhal, and Nikolas Kallicharan. Advisor: Qian Yang. Sponsor: UConn School of Computing.

3rd place: “Responsive Multimodal Care Coordinator (MCC) Development,” by Randy Yu, James Frederick, Betul Agirman, Cameron Ky, Quincy Miller, and Mir Zaman. Advisor: Suining He. Sponsor: University of Connecticut and Bastion.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Projects 1st place: “Robotic Perception Sensor Characterization Platform,” by Hritish Bhargava and Samuel Gresh. Advisor: Shan Zuo. Sponsor: Draper Laboratory​.

2nd place: “Air Force Research Laboratory Software Defined Radio (SDR) University Challenge: Physical Layer Network Slicing,” by Spencer Albano, Matthew Silverman, and Nicholas Wycoff Advisor: Shengli Zhou. Sponsor: UConn Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

3rd place: “Automated Angle Table for AS5,” by Alexander ReCouper and Mitchell Bronson. Advisor: Liang Zhang. Sponsor: OEM Controls.

Materials Science and Engineering 1st place and Student Choice Award (tie): “Joint-On-A-Chip Osteoarthritis Disease Modeling for Evaluating Anti-Inflammatory Drug Performance,” by Charlotte Chen, Sanjana Nistala, Jenna Salvatore, and Allison Determan. Advisor: Fiona Leek. Sponsor: UConn Biomedical Engineering Department.

2nd place and Student Choice Award (tie): “Citric Acid Passivation Process Development,” by Kevin Li and Matthew Maramo. Advisor: Alexander Dupuy. Sponsor: ARKA.

3rd place: “Bio-Based Material Commercial Door Components Footprint,” by Yuexuan Gu and Jaclyn Grace. Advisor: Fiona Leek. Sponsor: ASSA ABLOY.

Management and Engineering for Manufacturing 1st place: “Enhancing Smartfood Popcorn Line Efficiency to Reduce Downtime And Boost Production Performance,” by Anna Lidsky, Valeria Nieto, Isabelle Bunosso, and Lauren Hart. Advisor: Craig Calvert. Sponsor: PepsiCo Frito-Lay.

2nd place: “Modernizing Raw Material Marking and Inventory System To Enhance Traceability,” by Nimai Browning, Quinn Reelitz, Steven Jaret, and Austin Muzzy. Advisors: Craig Calvert and Rajiv Naik. Sponsor: HORST Engineering.

3rd place: “Reliability Testing and Design Risk Assessment to Enhance Product Quality and Business Sustainability,” by Alex Domingo, Madeline Corbett, Brett Pierce, and Alexander Pearl. Advisor: Rajiv Naik. Sponsor: Belimo Americas.

School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering Professors Award: “Designing and Operating An Experimental Facility To Study Non-Premixed Flames Of Pre-Heated (And Pre-Vaporized) Reactants,” by Al-Yaman Zoghol and Tyler Dickey. Advisor: Francesco Carbone. Sponsor: UConn College of Engineering.

1st place: “Multifunctional Metamaterial to Attenuate Acoustic and Elastic Waves,” by Evan Kluge and Lindsey Japa. Advisor: Osama Bilal. Sponsor: ACC Masters.

2nd place (tie): “Improved Performance of Magnetic Speed Sensor Analyzer,” by Kristen Angeli and Emily Root. Advisor: Farhad Imani. Sponsor: AI-Tek Instruments.

2nd place (tie): “Belt Based Continuously Variable Automatic Transmission Prototype,” by Ajeeth Vellore, Luka Ligouri, Ethan Wicko, and Ryan Zwick. Advisor: David Pierce. Sponsor: Transcend Bicycle LLC.

3rd place: “Design and Development of PV/Thermal System for Greenhouses,” by Christian Bjork, Alanna Barzola, Nicholas Trottier, Patrick Place and River Granniss. Advisors: Wajid Chishty, Nathan Lehman, and Ravi Gorthala. Sponsor: Sonalysts, Inc.

Systems Engineering 1st place (tie): “Robotic Perception Sensor Characterization Platform,” by Isabella Fabrizi, Liam Mohan, Samuel Gresh, Aveline Mills, Gerardo Robles-Luna, and Hritish Bhargava. Advisor: Osama Bilal. Sponsor: Draper.

1st place (tie): “Design and Development of PV/Thermal System for Greenhouses,” by Christian Bjork, Alanna Barzola, Nicholas Trottier, Patrick Place and River Granniss. Advisors: Wajid Chishty, Nathan Lehman, and Ravi Gorthala. Sponsor: Sonalysts, Inc.

Multidisciplinary Engineering In addition to the Demo Day awards, six seniors were honored for being among UConn’s first multidisciplinary engineering majors: Edward Wilkinson, Matthew Koniecko, Sean Tan, Patricio Salomon-Mir, Josephine Luby, and Kelly Russell.

Distinguished Educator Engineering Award (nominated by students) Jasna Jankovic, associate professor of materials science and engineering, and Manish Roy, assistant professor in residence of civil and environmental engineering.

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Computer science professor David Bau is the lead principal investigator of National Deep Inference Fabric, a revolutionary new project involving industry and academic partners aimed at unlocking the secrets of AI.

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Groundbreaking research by Northeastern University will investigate how generative AI works and provide industry and the scientific community with unprecedented access to the inner workings of large language models.

Backed by a $9 million grant from the National Science Foundation , Northeastern will lead the National Deep Inference Fabric that will unlock the inner workings of large language models in the field of AI.

The project will create a computational infrastructure that will equip the scientific community with deep inferencing tools in order to develop innovative solutions across fields. An infrastructure with this capability does not currently exist.

At a fundamental level, large language models such as Open AI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini are considered to be “black boxes” which limits both researchers and companies across multiple sectors in leveraging large-scale AI.

Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the NSF, says the impact of NDIF will be far-reaching.

“Chatbots have transformed society’s relationship with AI, but how they operate is yet to be fully understood,” Panchanathan says. “With NDIF, U.S. researchers will be able peer inside the ‘black box’ of large language models, gaining new insights into how they operate and greater awareness of their potential impacts on society.”

Even the sharpest minds in artificial intelligence are still trying to wrap their heads around how these and other neural network-based tools reason and make decisions, explains David Bau, a computer science professor at Northeastern and the lead principal investigator for NDIF.

“We fundamentally don’t understand how these systems work, what they learned from the data, what their internal algorithms are,” Bau says. “I consider it one of the greatest mysteries facing scientists today — what is the basis for synthetic cognition?”

David Madigan, Northeastern’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, says the project will “help address one of the most pressing socio-technological problems of our time — how does AI work?”

“Progress toward solving this problem is clearly necessary before we can unlock the massive potential for AI to do good in a safe and trustworthy way,” Madigan says.

NDIF aims to democratize AI

In addition to establishing an infrastructure that will open up the inner workings of these AI models, NDIF aims to democratize AI, expanding access to large language models. 

Northeastern will be building an open software library of neural network tools that will enable researchers to conduct their experiments without having to bring their own resources, and sets of educational materials to teach them how to use NDIF. 

The project will build an AI-enabled workforce by training scientists and students to serve as networks of experts, who will train users across disciplines.

“There will be online and in-person educational workshops that we will be running, and we’re going to do this geographically dispersed at many locations taking advantage of Northeastern’s physical presence in a lot of parts of the country,” Bau says. 

Research emerging from the fabric could have worldwide implications outside of science and academia, Bau explains. It could help demystify the underlying mechanisms of how these systems work to policymakers, creatives and others. 

“The goal of understanding how these systems work is to equip humanity with a better understanding for how we could effectively use these systems,” Bau says. “What are their capabilities? What are their limitations? What are their biases? What are the potential safety issues we might face by using them?”   

Putting AI through an MRI machine 

Large language models like Chat GPT and Google’s Gemini are trained on huge amounts of data using deep learning techniques. Underlying these techniques are neural networks, synthetic processes that loosely mimic the activity of a human brain that enable these chatbots to make decisions. 

But when you use these services through a web browser or an app, you are interacting with them in a way that obscures these processes, Bau says. 

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“They give you the answers, but they don’t give you any insights as to what computation has happened in the middle,” Bau says. “Those computations are locked up inside the computer, and for efficiency reasons, they’re not exposed to the outside world. And so, the large commercial players are creating systems to run AIs in deployment, but they’re not suitable for answering the scientific questions of how they actually work.”  

At NDIF, researchers will be able to take a deeper look at the neural pathways these chatbots make, Bau says, allowing them to see what’s going on under the hood while these AI models actively respond to prompts and questions. 

Researchers won’t have direct access to Open AI’s Chat GPT or Google’s Gemini as the companies haven’t opened up their models for outside research. They will instead be able to access open source AI models from companies such as Mistral AI and Meta. 

“What we’re trying to do with NDIF is the equivalent of running an AI with its head stuck in an MRI machine, except the difference is the MRI is in full resolution. We can read every single neuron at every single moment,” Bau says.  

But how are they doing this? 

Significant computational power required

Such an operation requires significant computational power on the hardware front. As part of the undertaking, Northeastern has teamed up with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which is building data centers equipped with state-of-the-art graphics processing units (GPUs) at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. NDIF will leverage the resources of the NCSA DeltaAI project. 

NDIF will partner with New America’s Public Interest Technology University Network, a consortium of 63 universities and colleges, to ensure that the new NDIF research capabilities advance interdisciplinary research in the public interest.  

Northeastern is building the software layer of the project, Bau says. 

“The software layer is the thing that enables the scientists to customize these experiments and to share these very large neural networks that are running on this very fancy hardware,” he says. 

Northeastern professors Jonathan Bell, Carla Brodley, Bryon Wallace and Arjun Guha are co-PIs on the initiative.

Guha explains the barriers that have hindered research into the inner-workings of large generative AI models up to now. 

“Conducting research to crack open large neural networks poses significant engineering challenges,” he says. “First of all, large AI models require specialized hardware to run, which puts the cost out of reach of most labs. Second, scientific experiments that open up models require running the networks in ways that are very different from standard commercial operations. The infrastructure for conducting science on large-scale AI does not exist today.”

NDIF will have implications beyond the scientific community in academia. The social sciences and humanities, as well as neuroscience, medicine and patient care can benefit from the project.

“Understanding how large networks work, and especially what information informs their outputs, is critical if we are going to use such systems to inform patient care,” Wallace says. 

NDIF will also prioritize the ethical use of AI with a focus on social responsibility and transparency. The project will include collaboration with public interest technology organizations.

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