Science projects
Your Science Exhibition Guide
Choose a project, build it, present it and answer the judges with confidence
Science project idea finder
1029 science project ideas, from class 1 to college.
Find a project by class, subject and type. Every idea explains the science it shows, what you need, how long it takes and how to stay safe, with free ebooks and ready-made kits if you need them. 930 ideas have numbered steps and viva questions on their own page.
Want a complete build with diagrams? 16 free detailed project guides
- Class 1 to 5Simple, safe models made with help at home.224 ideas
- Class 6 to 8Working models of the science you learn in class.485 ideas
- Class 9 and 10Energy, electricity, light and first robots.467 ideas
- Class 11 and 12Investigatory projects for the practical exam.332 ideas
- College and diplomaArduino, IoT and sensor projects.119 ideas
Idea finder
Find your project
Choose your class and what interests you, or search for a word such as magnet, solar, heart or robot. Open any card for a summary, or its title for the full page with the science, the steps and the viva questions.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Hand-wave theremin: an ultrasonic sensor that plays higher notes as your hand nears
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The Arduino turns the distance of your hand into the frequency of a tone, so you can play music in the air. It shows how a sensor reading can be mapped to a sound.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or compatible board
- An HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor
- A small speaker (8 Ω) with a 100 Ω resistor in series, or a piezo buzzer
- A push button to switch the scale
- A breadboard and jumper wires
- A card tube to guide the sound
Safety: USB power only. Keep the sound level low for your ears.
Take it further: Add a second sensor to control the volume with another hand using a digital potentiometer or PWM.
Electronics and roboticsChallenging
Barometer and altimeter with a BMP280 that detects which floor you are on
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Air pressure falls with height, by about 12 pascals for each metre near the ground. A BMP280 sensor can measure this so precisely that it can tell one floor of a building from the next.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- A BMP280 pressure sensor module (check whether it is 3.3 V or has a 5 V regulator)
- A 0.96 inch OLED display (SSD1306, I2C)
- A power bank
- A breadboard and jumper wires
- A notebook, a tape measure
Safety: USB power only. Check the voltage rating of the BMP280 module: a bare 3.3 V chip is damaged by 5 V.
Take it further: Carry it in a bag to a hill station and compare the altitude reading with a map height.
Electronics and roboticsChallenging
Wi-Fi signal strength heat map of a room measured with an ESP32
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The strength of a radio signal, measured as RSSI in dBm, falls with distance and with obstacles like walls. Measuring it at grid points shows dead spots and where a router should be placed.
You will need
- An ESP32 development board
- A power bank and USB cable
- A 0.96 inch OLED display (optional)
- A tape measure and chalk or masking tape
- Squared paper or a spreadsheet
- Your own home or school Wi-Fi router (with permission)
Safety: USB power only. Only measure your own network or one you have permission to use. Do not try to connect to other people’s Wi-Fi.
Take it further: Add a distance-travelled estimate with an MPU6050 and walk the ESP32 around to draw the map automatically.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Internet clock showing Indian time on an OLED, set automatically by NTP
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Computers set their clocks by asking time servers over the internet using the Network Time Protocol. A NodeMCU can do the same and display accurate Indian Standard Time without a clock chip.
You will need
- A NodeMCU ESP8266 board with a micro USB cable
- A 0.96 inch SSD1306 I2C OLED display
- A breadboard and jumper wires
- A phone hotspot or home Wi-Fi with a known password
- A power bank
- A small box as case
Safety: USB power only. Do not share your Wi-Fi password in published code; keep it in the sketch only on your own computer.
Take it further: Add a buzzer alarm and a web page that lets you set the alarm time from your phone.
Electronics and roboticsChallenging
ESP32 sensor node publishing temperature and light over MQTT to a laptop broker
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MQTT is the light-weight messaging method behind many IoT systems. A sensor node publishes readings under named topics, and any subscriber, such as a laptop or a phone, receives them through a broker.
You will need
- An ESP32 development board
- A DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor
- An LDR and a 10 kΩ resistor
- A laptop running the free Mosquitto broker
- A home Wi-Fi network
- A breadboard and jumper wires
- The free MQTT Explorer app or mosquitto_sub
Safety: USB power only. Run the broker only on your home or school network and do not expose it to the internet. Do not publish your Wi-Fi password in shared code.
Take it further: Make a second ESP32 subscribe to the light topic and turn an LED on when the room gets dark.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Stepper motor turntable that turns a product by 10 degrees for 360 degree photos
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A stepper motor turns in exact small steps instead of spinning freely. The Arduino counts steps to rotate a platform through an exact angle, which is how 3D scanners, printers and camera sliders position things.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- A 28BYJ-48 5 V stepper motor with ULN2003 driver board
- A 5 V 1 A power bank or battery pack for the motor
- A push button
- A round card or plywood platform 12 cm across and a hub
- A small object to photograph, and a phone on a stand
Safety: Low voltage only. Keep hair and fingers away from the turning platform. The motor and driver chip get warm after long use; switch off when finished.
Take it further: Make the Arduino trigger the phone shutter through a Bluetooth remote so the full turn is automatic.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Medicine time reminder box with a DS3231 clock, buzzer and LCD
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A real time clock chip keeps time even when the board is off, using a coin cell. The Arduino compares it with set alarm times and sounds a buzzer until a button is pressed.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- A DS3231 real time clock module with a CR2032 cell
- A 16 x 2 I2C LCD
- A buzzer and a green LED with a 220 Ω resistor
- A push button to say the dose has been taken
- A box with three compartments and a power bank
Safety: USB power only. This is a reminder model for learning, not a medical device: a family member must always check the real doses. Do not rely on it for anyone’s health.
Take it further: Add a second button to snooze the alarm for ten minutes.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Touch-free soap dispenser with an ultrasonic sensor, relay and small pump
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When a hand comes within about 10 cm, the sensor detects it and the Arduino runs a small pump for a fraction of a second. It shows how sensors, relays and timers are combined in a hygiene device.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- An HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor
- A 5 V single-channel relay module
- A 3 to 6 V mini submersible pump with a short tube
- A 4 x AA battery holder (6 V) for the pump
- A 1N4007 diode
- A plastic bottle for soap solution and a tray
- A breadboard and jumper wires
Safety: Low voltage battery only. Use dilute liquid soap for testing, never alcohol sanitiser, as it is flammable. Keep the Arduino and relay away from liquid and use a tray to catch drips. An adult must help with drilling the bottle.
Take it further: Add a counter on an OLED that shows how many doses were given and a low-level warning.
Electronics and roboticsChallenging
Digital kitchen scale built from a load cell, an HX711 amplifier and an Arduino
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A load cell is a metal bar whose resistance changes by a tiny amount when it bends under a weight. The HX711 amplifies and digitises this change so the Arduino can show the mass in grams.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- A 5 kg bar load cell with an HX711 module
- Two plywood or acrylic plates about 12 cm square and four spacers (nuts and bolts)
- A 16 x 2 I2C LCD
- A push button for tare
- A known reference mass, such as a 500 g packet of sugar or 1 kg of packed rice
- Jumper wires
Safety: USB power only. Do not place more than 5 kg on the scale or the load cell is permanently damaged. Mount the plates so that the force acts at the free end of the bar.
Take it further: Add a price-per-kilogram keypad entry so the scale shows the cost of loose goods.
Electronics and roboticsChallenging
Colour sorter for beads or candies using a TCS3200 sensor and two servos
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The TCS3200 sensor measures how much red, green and blue light an object reflects. The Arduino classifies the colour and uses a servo to drop the object into the right bin, a small model of an industrial sorting line.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or compatible board
- A TCS3200 colour sensor module with built-in LEDs
- Two SG90 servos
- A 5 V 2 A power bank for the servos
- Coloured beads or candy-coated chocolates (red, green, yellow, blue)
- Card, paper cups and a plastic tube as a hopper, chute and bins
- A breadboard, wires, a black card hood to shut out stray light
Safety: Low voltage only. Do not eat any candies used in testing. Keep fingers clear of the moving servo arm.
Take it further: Add an LCD counter that shows how many beads of each colour were sorted.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Temperature-controlled 5 V fan with PWM speed steps and a logic-level MOSFET
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Pulse width modulation switches a fan on and off thousands of times a second; the fraction of time it is on sets the average power and speed. The Arduino raises the duty cycle as the temperature climbs, as a computer cooling fan does.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- An LM35 temperature sensor
- An IRLZ44N logic-level N-channel MOSFET
- A small 5 V DC fan drawing under 200 mA
- A 1N4007 diode, a 100 Ω resistor and a 10 kΩ resistor
- A breadboard and jumper wires
- A USB power bank
Safety: USB power only. Keep fingers out of the fan blades. The MOSFET can get warm if the fan current is too high.
Take it further: Add a second threshold that sounds a buzzer if the temperature passes 50 degrees.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Double-clap switch for a 5 V USB lamp with a sound sensor and relay module
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A sound sensor turns the loud burst of a clap into a signal. The Arduino counts claps within a time window and toggles a relay, which switches a small lamp on and off.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- A KY-038 or similar microphone sound sensor module with digital output
- A 5 V single-channel relay module
- A 5 V USB LED lamp (not a mains lamp) with a USB lead
- A power bank
- A breadboard and jumper wires
Safety: Use only a low-voltage 5 V USB lamp. Never connect a mains lamp or plug to this relay: leave that to a qualified electrician. Keep the relay contacts away from loose wires.
Take it further: Add a second relay and use three claps for a USB fan.
Electronics and roboticsChallenging
Cricket scoreboard with MAX7219 LED matrices, scoring buttons and over counter
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A MAX7219 chip drives a whole 8 x 8 LED matrix from three wires. The Arduino keeps the score, wickets and balls in variables and shows them as scrolling or fixed text, like a small scoreboard.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- A 4-in-1 MAX7219 8 x 8 LED matrix module (32 x 8 LEDs)
- Five push buttons for 1 run, 4, 6, wicket and undo
- A 5 V power bank or USB supply
- A breadboard and jumper wires
- A cardboard or wooden frame
Safety: USB power only. The matrix is bright, so do not stare at it from a short distance, and it may get warm; switch it off when not in use.
Take it further: Add a second Arduino and an nRF24L01 so the scorer can sit away from the board.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Old TV remote that switches three LEDs and a servo through an IR receiver
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A remote control flashes an invisible infrared LED in a coded pattern, and a receiver module decodes it into a number. The Arduino can read that number and act on it, so any old remote becomes a controller for your projects.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or compatible board
- A VS1838B or TSOP1738 infrared receiver module
- An old TV or set-top box remote with fresh cells
- Three LEDs with three 220 Ω resistors
- An SG90 micro servo
- A breadboard and jumper wires
Safety: USB power only. Do not use remote controls that have cracked battery cases or leaking cells.
Take it further: Control a 2WD robot from the remote, using four keys as forward, back, left and right.
Electronics and roboticsEasy
Coin-cell LED night lamp with an ice-cream stick switch
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A complete circuit of a cell, an LED and a switch lights the lamp. It shows that current flows only in a closed loop and that an LED works in one direction only.
You will need
- A 3 V coin cell (CR2032) from an old toy or remote
- A 5 mm LED
- An ice-cream stick
- Aluminium foil from chocolate wrappers
- A plastic jar or bottle as the shade
- Tape and a card base
Safety: Keep coin cells away from small children because they are dangerous if swallowed. Never use mains electricity. An adult must supervise.
Take it further: Add a second coin cell in series for a red LED pair and see how brightness changes.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Cardboard traffic signal with three LEDs and a rotary switch
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Each lamp has its own circuit with a cell and a switch path. The model shows red, yellow and green lights and teaches how a circuit is completed.
You will need
- A cardboard box painted as a signal post
- Three LEDs red, yellow and green
- Two 1.5 V AA cells in a holder
- Aluminium foil strips
- A cardboard disc with a foil contact as a rotary switch
- A 100 ohm resistor and copper wires
- Tape
Safety: Use only cells, never mains. An adult must supervise the wiring and cut the card.
Take it further: Use a 555 timer chip to change the lights automatically.
Electronics and roboticsEasy
555 monostable delay timer: calculated against measured pulse width
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Staircase and passage lights, bell pushes and sample-and-hold stages all need a pulse of fixed length after a single trigger. A 555 timer in monostable mode gives such a pulse, and its length is set by one resistor and one capacitor. The project tests how close the formula T = 1.1 RC is to what a stopwatch measures.
You will need
- A NE555 timer IC and an 8-pin socket
- Resistors 10 kΩ, 47 kΩ, 100 kΩ, 470 kΩ and a 100 kΩ preset
- Electrolytic capacitors 10 µF, 47 µF, 100 µF and a 10 nF ceramic
- A push button, one LED with a 470 Ω resistor
- A 9 V battery with clip or four AA cells
- A breadboard and wires, a multimeter, a phone stopwatch
Safety: Use a battery only. Connect the capacitor with the correct polarity, because a reversed electrolytic can heat up and burst. An adult must check the circuit before the first power-up.
Take it further: Make it retriggerable by adding a BC547 transistor that discharges the capacitor on every new press, and use it as a corridor timer.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
LM317 adjustable 1.25 to 12 V bench supply with a load regulation test
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Every student lab needs a variable DC supply, and shop-bought ones are costly. An LM317 regulator with two resistors gives an adjustable output. The project builds one from a 15 V adapter output and tests how much the output falls when the load current rises, which is the load regulation.
You will need
- An LM317 regulator with a small heat sink
- A ready-made 15 V DC, 1 A adapter output or a 12 V battery pack (not a mains-wired circuit built by you)
- A 5 kΩ preset or potentiometer, 240 Ω resistor, 1N4007 diodes (2)
- Capacitors 1000 µF 25 V, 10 µF 25 V and 0.1 µF
- Power resistors or a 10 Ω 5 W resistor and a rheostat as load
- A digital multimeter (two if possible), a DC jack and binding posts, a plastic box
Safety: Take power only from a sealed ready-made adapter or battery. Never open the adapter or build any mains-side circuit. The regulator and load resistors get hot: an adult must supervise, and let them cool before touching.
Take it further: Add a second LM317 as a current limiter with a sensing resistor so that the supply works as a constant-current LED tester.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
AA cell capacity tester with a constant-current load and Arduino logging
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Rechargeable and cheap zinc cells carry a printed capacity that is often much higher than the truth. A constant-current load with an Arduino logger finds the real milliamp-hours of a cell by recording voltage until the cell reaches its cut-off.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- An LM358 op-amp, a logic-level MOSFET such as IRLZ44N
- A 1 Ω 1 W resistor as current sense
- A 10 kΩ potentiometer and a 1 kΩ resistor
- A single AA cell holder
- AA cells to test: two brands of zinc-carbon, alkaline and Ni-MH
- A laptop with the serial plotter
Safety: Test only single AA or AAA cells at a current of 100 to 500 mA. Never test lithium cells this way, never short a cell and never leave the rig unattended near paper. An adult must be present.
Take it further: Test the same cell at 100, 300 and 500 mA and plot capacity against current to show the Peukert effect.
Electronics and roboticsEasy
Joule thief that lights an LED from a nearly flat 1.2 V cell
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A single cell below 1 V cannot light a white LED, which needs about 3 V. A joule thief is a tiny blocking oscillator that pumps energy from the cell in short bursts and steps the voltage up. The project builds it and measures the pulse frequency, the output voltage and the extra running time.
You will need
- A BC547 or 2N2222 transistor
- A small ferrite toroid core and 30 cm each of two colours of enamelled wire
- A 1 kΩ resistor
- A white LED
- A used AA cell that reads 0.9 to 1.2 V
- A cell holder, a breadboard, an oscilloscope or a phone oscilloscope app with a sound-card probe (optional)
Safety: An LED glowing at full brightness for long can be dazzling: do not stare at it. Use only a single AA cell. The enamelled wire ends must be scraped clean with sandpaper, which an adult may need to help with.
Take it further: Add a diode and a capacitor at the output to get a smoothed DC voltage and use it to charge a small capacitor.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
LM386 audio amplifier with measured gain and frequency response
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Small radios, intercoms and toy speakers use small audio power amplifiers. The LM386 gives gain of 20 or 200 with a few components. The project builds one and measures the voltage gain and how it changes with frequency, so that a student learns to read a Bode-style plot.
You will need
- An LM386N-1 amplifier IC
- An 8 Ω, 0.5 W speaker
- Capacitors 10 µF, 220 µF, 0.05 µF and 0.1 µF
- A 10 Ω resistor, a 10 kΩ volume pot
- A 9 V battery
- A signal generator app on a phone with a 3.5 mm cable and a 10 kΩ potential divider
- A multimeter with AC volts range, or a laptop sound card oscilloscope software
Safety: Keep the sound level low so that your ears are not damaged during test tones. Use only a battery. An adult must check the wiring before the first power-up.
Take it further: Add a TL072 op-amp as a microphone pre-amplifier in front of the LM386 and build a small intercom.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
TV remote code decoder with a TSOP1738 receiver and Arduino
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Infrared remotes talk to TVs and fans by sending pulses of 38 kHz light. An Arduino with a TSOP1738 receiver can decode the pulse train of each button, which teaches the idea of a protocol, and can then switch low-voltage loads from any old remote.
You will need
- An Arduino Uno or Nano
- A TSOP1738 IR receiver module
- An old TV, AC or set-top remote
- Three LEDs with 330 Ω resistors
- The IRremote library from the Arduino library manager
- A breadboard and wires
- A 5 V relay module and a 5 V small fan (optional)
Safety: Use USB power only. If you add the relay, switch only a 5 V fan or an LED strip. An adult must supervise any wiring beyond the receiver.
Take it further: Use the Arduino as a learning remote that stores codes in EEPROM and sends them back using an IR LED.
Electronics and roboticsChallenging
Thermistor thermometer calibrated with the Steinhart-Hart equation
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A thermistor is cheap and sensitive but its resistance is not linear with temperature. By measuring resistance at three known temperatures and fitting the Steinhart-Hart equation, you can build a digital thermometer more accurate than a basic LM35 and show how calibration removes error.
You will need
- A 10 kΩ NTC thermistor with a probe
- A 10 kΩ fixed resistor (1 percent if possible)
- An Arduino Uno and a 16x2 LCD or the serial monitor
- A laboratory or clinical thermometer
- A steel glass, ice, warm water in a mug
- A spreadsheet or Python for fitting
Safety: Use warm water only, not boiling. An adult must handle hot water and keep the electronics well away from it. Waterproof the thermistor joint with heat-shrink or tape.
Take it further: Log temperature every minute for a day into a CSV file and plot the day-night cycle inside a classroom.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
LM2596 buck converter module: efficiency against load current
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Phone chargers, LED drivers and solar chargers use switching converters because linear regulators waste power as heat. The project tests a ready-made LM2596 buck module and compares its efficiency with an LM7805 linear regulator at the same load.
You will need
- An LM2596 buck converter module with a display or preset
- An LM7805 regulator with a heat sink and two 100 nF capacitors
- A 12 V battery or 12 V, 2 A sealed adapter
- Power resistors or a rheostat as loads
- Two multimeters (current and voltage)
- A thermometer or IR thermometer
Safety: Use a sealed ready-made 12 V adapter or a battery. Resistors and regulators get very hot: an adult must supervise, and nothing flammable may be near the table.
Take it further: Measure the output ripple with an oscilloscope or sound-card scope, and add an LC filter to reduce it.
Before you start
How to choose a good project
Six things to think about before you decide. A project you understand and finish well beats a big one you rush.
Start with a question
Good projects answer a question you are curious about: why does iron rust, which fabric keeps tea hottest, how does a robot follow a line? A question gives your project a purpose.
Check what is asked
Find out whether your teacher wants a working model, a still model or an investigatory project, the size limits, the topic or theme, the date, and whether ready-made models are allowed.
Match your time and class
Each idea here shows a class band, a difficulty and a rough time. Choose something you can finish properly with time to test it, rather than something huge you have to rush.
Pick science you can explain
Judges and examiners ask how it works. Choose an idea whose science you understand, or can learn from your textbook and the free ebooks, and practise explaining it.
List materials and costs
Write down everything you need before you start. Many models use things from home; motors, LEDs, sensors and boards are easy to buy as spare parts or in a kit.
Make it your own
Change one thing and measure what happens, add a chart of your readings, or show a real-life use. Even a well-known model becomes yours when you add your own observations.
Plan your time
A four-week project timeline
Work backwards from the date of your exhibition or submission. Short of time? Do the same steps faster, but never skip testing.
- 4 weeks before
Choose and get it approved
- Shortlist two or three ideas
- Write your aim or question in one sentence
- Show your teacher and agree the idea
- 3 weeks before
Read and collect materials
- Read the science in your textbook and a free ebook
- Sketch the design with measurements
- Collect or buy the materials and spare parts
- 2 weeks before
Build and test
- Build one part at a time and test each part
- For an investigation, repeat each reading at least three times
- Write every observation in a notebook with the date
- 1 week before
Write the report and chart
- Aim, materials, method, observations, result and conclusion
- A neat table or graph of your readings
- A chart or poster with a labelled diagram
- Last 2 days
Rehearse
- Practise a one-minute explanation out loud
- Prepare answers to the questions below
- Pack spares: cells, wires, tape and glue
On the day
Present it with confidence
You will usually have a minute or two to explain your project, then questions. Practise both out loud at home.
A one-minute explanation
- 1Name and question“My project is a … It answers the question …”
- 2What it showsOne sentence of science, in your own words.
- 3How it worksPoint to each part as you explain it.
- 4What you foundYour readings or result, and what they mean.
- 5Real lifeWhere the same science is used every day.
Questions judges often ask
- What does your project show, in one sentence?
- How does it work? Which law or idea of science is behind it?
- What did you change, and what did you measure?
- What went wrong while you were making it, and how did you fix it?
- Where is this idea used in real life?
- What would you improve if you made it again?
What your project file needs
- Title page with your name, class and school
- Aim or question
- Introduction: the science behind it
- Materials list
- Method, step by step, with a diagram
- Observations in a table
- Result and conclusion
- Precautions and safety
- Sources: books and websites you used
Projects and kits
Ready-made projects, kits and spare parts
Need a working model, a kit to build yourself, or a motor, LED, battery or sensor to finish your own? Every idea card links to the matching section of the store.
School Projects, Class 1 to 9
Ready-made working models for class 1 to 9: science, maths, physics, chemistry and biology.Browse
School Projects, Class 10 to 12
Working models and investigatory projects for class 10, 11 and 12.Browse
Best Out of Waste
Models made from bottles, cardboard and old parts, for waste-management themes.Browse
Robotics and Coding
Robot kits, Arduino projects, line followers, obstacle avoiders and smart projects.Browse
DIY Kits
Kits with every part and step-by-step instructions, to build the model yourself.Browse
Components and Spares
Motors, LEDs, batteries, switches, wires, sensors and breadboards to build or repair.Browse
Engineering Projects
Minor and major projects for diploma and BTech students.Browse
Cannot find what you need? Ask the head office on WhatsApp.
Free ebooks
Free books for making projects
Step-by-step project books for every class, plus guides to exhibitions, project files and viva questions. Free to download, read and print.
Science projects
Writing a Science Project File
How to write the report, from the cover page to the bibliography
Science projects
Viva Questions for Science Projects
How to answer examiner questions, with sample questions for popular projects
Science projects
Easy Science Projects for Class 1 to 5
Simple, safe projects young children can make with a little help
Science projects
Science Projects for Class 6 to 8
Working models matched to middle-school science topics
Science projects
Investigatory Projects for Class 11 and 12
Topics, method and report structure for physics, chemistry and biology
Stay safe
Safety rules for every project
Read these with a parent before you start. Ideas that need extra care carry their own safety note on the card.
Never use mains electricity
Power your models with cells, batteries or a low-voltage adapter. Never connect anything home-made to a wall socket.
Adult help for sharp and hot tools
Cutters, blades, glue guns, soldering irons and drills need an adult beside you. Cut away from your body on a board.
Chemicals with care
Use only safe household materials at home. Acids, stains and other lab chemicals are for the school lab with your teacher. Wear goggles and never taste anything.
Flames only with an adult
Candles and burners only with an adult present and water nearby. Tie back long hair and keep paper away.
Look after batteries
Do not short-circuit a battery, mix old and new cells, or puncture or heat a lithium battery. Remove batteries when the model is stored.
Small parts away from little ones
Magnets, button cells and small parts can be swallowed. Keep them away from younger brothers and sisters, and wash your hands after making.
Questions about science projects
Still have a question?
Chat on WhatsAppWhat is the difference between a working model, a still model and an investigatory project?
A working model moves or works to show a principle, such as a windmill that lights an LED. A still model shows how something is built or arranged, such as the layers of the Earth. An investigatory project asks a question and answers it by experiment: you change one thing, measure the result and draw a conclusion from your readings.
Can I buy a ready-made project?
Check your school’s rules first: some competitions want models made by the student, and some allow ready-made ones. Either way, you must understand how it works and be able to explain it. A good approach is to build from a kit, or to add your own measurements and chart to a ready-made model.
How long does a school project take?
Each idea here shows a rough time for the making. Leave extra time for reading, testing, the report and practice: three to four weeks from choosing to presenting is comfortable for most school projects.
What should go in my project report or file?
A title page, your aim, the science behind it, the materials, the method with a diagram, your observations in a table, the result and conclusion, precautions, and the books and websites you used. The free ebook “Writing a Science Project File” explains each part.
What if my model stops working on the day?
Carry spare cells, wires and tape, and test everything when you arrive. Take a short video or photos of it working at home. If something still fails, explain calmly what should happen and what you would check: judges value understanding as much as a perfect model.
More help
Stuck on a project?
Read the student help pages, try the free calculators for circuits and units, or ask the head office on WhatsApp.