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.
PhysicsEasy
Balloon-powered car
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Air rushing backwards out of the balloon pushes the car forwards. This is Newton’s third law: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
You will need
- A balloon and a drinking straw
- A plastic bottle or stiff cardboard for the body
- Four bottle caps for wheels
- Two wooden skewers or straws for axles
- Tape and glue
Take it further: Try a bigger balloon or a wider straw, and measure how far the car travels each time.
Earth and spaceEasy
Water cycle in a bowl
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Warm water evaporates, the vapour condenses into drops on the cold cover, and the drops fall back like rain: the water cycle in miniature.
You will need
- A large glass bowl and a small cup
- Warm water
- Cling film
- Ice cubes in a small bag
Safety: An adult should pour the warm water.
Take it further: Add food colour to the water in the bowl. Is the "rain" that drips into the cup coloured? (It is not: evaporation leaves the colour behind.)
PhysicsEasy
Magnetic fishing game
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Magnets attract things made of iron and most kinds of steel, but not paper, plastic, wood, aluminium or copper.
You will need
- A small magnet tied to a string and a stick
- Paper fish with a paper clip on each
- Objects to test: coins, foil, keys, erasers
- A tray or box as the pond
Safety: Keep small magnets away from young children who might swallow them.
Take it further: Guess which of 15 objects are magnetic before testing, then count how many you got right.
PhysicsEasy
Paper cup telephone
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Sound is a vibration. Your voice makes the cup vibrate, the tight string carries the vibration, and the other cup turns it back into sound.
You will need
- Two paper cups
- 3 to 10 metres of string
- Two toothpicks or matchsticks
- A pencil to make the holes
Take it further: Does it still work when the string is slack or touching something? Try thread, wool and fishing line.
PhysicsEasy
Simple electric circuit with a switch
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Electricity flows only round a complete loop. The switch opens and closes the loop, turning the bulb off and on.
You will need
- Two AA cells in a holder
- A torch bulb in a holder, or an LED
- Insulated wires
- A switch, or one made from a drawing pin and a paper clip
- A cardboard base
Safety: Use cells only, never a mains socket. Do not join the two ends of a cell directly with a wire: it gets hot.
Take it further: Put different objects in the gap to find out which are conductors and which are insulators.
Earth and spaceEasy
Phases of the moon model
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Half of the Moon is always lit by the Sun. As the Moon travels round the Earth we see different amounts of that lit half, which gives the phases. They are not caused by the Earth’s shadow.
You will need
- A torch or lamp as the Sun
- A white ball on a stick as the Moon
- A darkened room
- Or a shoe box with eight viewing holes and a ball hung inside
ChemistryEasy
Erupting volcano model
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Vinegar (an acid) reacts with baking soda (a base) and gives off carbon dioxide gas, which pushes the foam out. Real volcanoes erupt molten rock, so the model shows the shape of a volcano, not its cause.
You will need
- A small bottle inside a clay or papier-mâché mountain
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- A drop of dishwash and red food colour
- A tray
Safety: Work on a tray or outdoors, and keep vinegar away from eyes.
Earth and spaceEasy
Rain gauge
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Rainfall is measured as the depth of water that would collect on flat ground, in millimetres. A straight-sided container gives a fair reading.
You will need
- A straight-sided clear jar or bottle
- A millimetre scale fixed to the side
- Stones to keep it steady
Take it further: Record the rainfall every day for a month and draw a bar chart.
PhysicsMedium
Hydraulic arm with syringes
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Pressure applied to a liquid in a closed system is passed on equally in every direction (Pascal’s law), so pushing one syringe moves its partner and lifts the arm.
You will need
- 4 to 8 plastic syringes without needles
- Plastic tubing to fit
- Water, coloured so it is easy to see
- Cardboard or ice-cream sticks
- Nuts, bolts or split pins for joints
- A glue gun
Safety: An adult should handle the glue gun.
Take it further: Fill one pair with air instead of water. Why does that joint feel springy?
PhysicsMedium
Simple electric motor
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
A coil carrying current in a magnetic field feels a force and turns. Scraping the insulation off only half of one end switches the current on and off at the right moments, so the coil keeps spinning.
You will need
- Enamelled copper wire
- A D-size or AA cell
- Two large safety pins
- A small strong magnet
- A rubber band
- Sandpaper
Safety: The wire gets hot if left connected: unhook it between runs.
EnvironmentMedium
Rainwater harvesting model
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Rain falling on a roof is collected by gutters and pipes, filtered, and either stored in a tank or sent down a recharge pit to refill the groundwater.
You will need
- A cardboard house with a sloping roof
- Straws or thin pipes as gutters
- A small container as the storage tank
- A recharge pit of sand and gravel layers in a cup
- A base board
BiologyEasy
Working lungs model
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Pulling the diaphragm (the stretched balloon) down makes more space in the chest, the air pressure inside drops, and air rushes into the lungs. Pushing it back up pushes the air out.
You will need
- A plastic bottle with the bottom cut off
- Two small balloons as lungs
- A Y-shaped connector or two straws
- A large balloon as the diaphragm
- Clay to seal the top
Safety: An adult should cut the bottle.
PhysicsMedium
Wind turbine that lights an LED
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
A small DC motor works as a generator when its shaft is turned: the spinning blades turn motion energy into electrical energy that lights the LED.
You will need
- A small DC motor
- Blades cut from a plastic bottle or card
- An LED
- Wires
- A stand of pipe or wood
Take it further: An LED lights only one way round, so if it stays dark swap its leads or spin faster. Then compare three blade shapes.
Earth and spaceEasy
Sundial
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
As the Earth turns, the Sun appears to move across the sky and the pointer’s shadow moves with it. For better readings, tilt the pointer towards the north at an angle equal to your latitude (about 28 to 29 degrees in Delhi).
You will need
- A cardboard or wooden base
- A stick or a triangle of card as the pointer
- A protractor and a compass
- A marker
Safety: Never look straight at the Sun.
PhysicsEasy
Pinhole camera
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Light travels in straight lines, so rays from the top of an object pass through the pinhole and land at the bottom of the screen. The image is upside down.
You will need
- A box or a tube
- Butter paper or tracing paper
- Aluminium foil and a pin
- Black paper and tape
Safety: Never point it at the Sun.
MathsEasy
Pythagoras theorem model
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
In a right-angled triangle, the square on the longest side has the same area as the squares on the other two sides together (a² + b² = c²). Cut the two smaller squares into pieces and they fit exactly into the big one.
You will need
- Chart paper and coloured paper
- A ruler, a set square and scissors
- Glue
- A triangle with sides 3, 4 and 5 units is the easiest to start with
MathsEasy
Area of a circle by cutting sectors
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Cut a circle into many equal sectors and arrange them top to tail: they form a shape close to a rectangle with sides πr and r, so the area is πr².
You will need
- Coloured paper circles
- A compass, ruler and protractor
- Scissors and glue
- A chart to mount the pieces
Earth and spaceMedium
Seismograph model
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
A heavy hanging pen tends to stay still (inertia) while the box and paper shake beneath it, so the pen draws the shaking as a wiggly line.
You will need
- A cardboard box frame
- A pen tied to a weight on a string
- A long paper strip pulled under the pen
- Tape
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Automatic street light with an LDR
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
A light dependent resistor (LDR) has a high resistance in the dark and a low resistance in light. A transistor uses that change to switch the LED on when it gets dark.
You will need
- An LDR
- A BC547 transistor
- Resistors, including a 10 kΩ variable resistor
- LEDs
- A 9 V battery and clip
- A breadboard and jumper wires
Safety: Battery power only.
Electronics and roboticsMedium
Water level indicator
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Tap water conducts a little electricity because of the salts dissolved in it. As the water rises it touches wires at different heights, and transistors light an LED or sound a buzzer for each level.
You will need
- Insulated wires with bare ends
- BC547 transistors
- LEDs, resistors and a buzzer
- A 9 V battery
- A container and a breadboard
Safety: Battery power only: never use the mains near water.
Earth and spaceMedium
Why we have seasons
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
The Earth’s axis is tilted by about 23.5 degrees. As the Earth goes round the Sun, each half spends part of the year tilted towards the Sun, with stronger and longer sunlight: that is its summer. Seasons are not caused by the Earth’s distance from the Sun.
You will need
- A lamp as the Sun
- A small globe or ball on a tilted stick
- A round board marked with four positions
Earth and spaceEasy
Anemometer and wind vane
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
Wind pushes the cups round, and the faster the wind the more turns per minute. The wind vane points into the wind and shows the direction it is blowing from.
You will need
- Four paper cups
- Two straws or sticks fixed in a cross
- A pencil with an eraser, and a pin
- Card for the vane arrow
- A compass to mark the directions
PhysicsChallenging
AC generator (electromagnetic induction)
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
When a coil turns in a magnetic field, the changing magnetic field through it induces a current (Faraday’s law). The current reverses every half turn, which is alternating current.
You will need
- Enamelled copper wire for the coil
- Strong magnets
- A wooden or plastic frame and an axle
- Slip rings and brushes
- An LED or a galvanometer
PhysicsMedium
Human eye and its defects
Show detailsHide detailsWhat it shows
The eye lens focuses light on the retina. In short sight the image forms in front of the retina and a concave lens corrects it; in long sight it forms behind the retina and a convex lens corrects it.
You will need
- A round-bottomed flask of water, or a ball model of the eye
- Convex and concave lenses
- A screen as the retina
- A torch
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.