Science projects
Your Science Exhibition Guide
Choose a project, build it, present it and answer the judges with confidence
Free detailed projects
Build a complete project for free.
Book-like guides for class 3 to 12, from household and waste materials: the science, the materials list, safety, numbered steps, complete diagrams, troubleshooting, a test table, viva questions and a report outline.
- 16complete guides
- 45labelled diagrams
- 8subjects
- 3 to 12classes covered
All the guides
Find your project
Choose your class, a subject and how hard you want it to be, or search for a word. Press Show projects to see the matches.
- PhysicsEasy
Balloon-powered car
Build a car from cardboard, bottle caps and a balloon that is pushed along by escaping air, and measure how far and how fast it goes. A free first lesson in Newton’s third law.
FreeRead the full guide - PhysicsEasy
Pinhole camera (camera obscura)
Make a camera with no lens, only a tiny hole in foil, that shows the world outside upside down on a paper screen. A free way to prove that light travels in straight lines and to test the image-size rule yourself.
FreeRead the full guide - PhysicsMedium
Electromagnet crane
Wind a coil of wire on an iron nail, power it with two cells, hang it from a cardboard crane and use it to lift steel paper clips. Then test how the number of turns changes the lifting power.
Under Rs 100Read the full guide - Electronics and roboticsMedium
Cardboard circuit board: series and parallel circuits
Build a cardboard board with two torch bulbs, a paper-clip switch, an LED and a resistor, and compare series and parallel circuits yourself. See why one is dim, one is bright, and what happens when a bulb goes out.
Under Rs 100Read the full guide - ChemistryMedium
Lemon battery: electricity from fruit
Push a zinc-coated nail and a copper strip into a lemon and measure the voltage. Join cells in series to make a faint LED glow or to run a small digital clock, then test which fruit gives the most voltage.
Under Rs 100Read the full guide - PhysicsMedium
Box solar cooker from a pizza box
Turn a pizza box, foil, black paper and cling film into a solar oven, then measure how hot it gets and test the effect of the reflector, the cover and the colour of the floor.
FreeRead the full guide - Earth and spaceEasy
Weather station: rain gauge and wind vane
Make a rain gauge from a plastic bottle and a wind vane from a straw and a pin, then record rain, wind direction and wind strength every day for two weeks and draw charts of your own weather.
FreeRead the full guide - BiologyEasy
Self-watering planter from a plastic bottle
Turn a plastic bottle and a strip of old cotton cloth into a planter that waters itself by capillary action. Grow seedlings in it, and compare their growth with plants that are watered by hand.
FreeRead the full guide - BiologyMedium
Plant maze: do plants grow towards light?
Build a dark box with shelves that form a maze and a single hole for light, plant a seedling at the bottom, and watch it twist its way up to the light. A classic biology investigation of phototropism, with controls.
FreeRead the full guide - EnvironmentEasy
Layered water filter from a plastic bottle
Build a filter from gravel, sand, charcoal and cotton in a cut bottle, clean a sample of muddy water, and measure how much clearer it becomes. Learn what filtration can and cannot do, and why the water is still not safe to drink.
FreeRead the full guide - EnvironmentEasy
Make recycled paper from waste paper
Turn old newspaper and used sheets into new paper with a home-made frame, a bowl of pulp and a sponge. Test its strength and thickness, and learn how paper is made and why recycling matters.
FreeRead the full guide - MathsMedium
Pythagoras theorem: a cardboard puzzle model
Make a cardboard tray with four triangles and three squares that fit together in two different ways, and prove for yourself that the square on the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares on the other two sides.
FreeRead the full guide - Electronics and roboticsMedium
Hydraulic robotic arm from syringes
Build a cardboard robot arm that is lifted and gripped by water pushed through tubes from syringes on a control panel. A hands-on introduction to Pascal’s law, force, pressure and simple robotics, with no electricity at all.
Under Rs 100Read the full guide - Electronics and roboticsEasy
Bristlebot: a toothbrush robot that walks
Make a tiny robot from an old toothbrush head, a small motor with an off-centre weight and one AAA cell. It vibrates and creeps across the table. Then race it, steer it and test what makes it faster.
FreeRead the full guide - PhysicsChallenging
Mini wind turbine that lights an LED
Build a small wind turbine with blades cut from a plastic bottle and a toy motor used as a generator, light an LED, and measure how the voltage changes with the wind speed and with the number of blades.
Under Rs 100Read the full guide - Computer and codingMedium
Build a science quiz game in Python
Write a complete quiz program with Python: a list of questions, a score, shuffling, a fact after each answer, a timer and a saved best score. No extra parts needed, only a computer and free software.
FreeRead the full guide
Inside every guide
Nine things in every guide
Each guide is written like a chapter of a book, so you can build the project, test it and explain it without needing anything else.
The science, explained
What the project shows and why it works, with the correct science, formulas and units, in a few short paragraphs.
Materials with free substitutes
Every item with a quantity and a household or waste substitute, and an honest note when something small has to be bought.
Safety first
When you need an adult, what never to connect, and which materials to avoid. No mains electricity and no unsafe chemicals.
8 to 15 numbered steps
Each step has a tip or a common mistake, so you can build it without guessing.
Complete diagrams
A labelled parts view and a working, circuit or flow diagram, drawn as clean line drawings that also print well.
Troubleshooting table
What is wrong, the likely cause and the fix, for the problems that nearly everyone meets.
Test and record
A blank observation table to fill in as you test, ready for your report and graph.
Viva questions and answers
Eight questions with short answers, so you can explain your project to a teacher or a judge.
Report outline
Aim, apparatus, procedure, observation, result and conclusion, with what to write under each.
How to use a guide
From idea to viva in four steps
Pick a guide
Filter by your class, subject and difficulty, or search for a word such as magnet, plant or robot.
Read it through first
Read the science, the materials and the safety section before you cut or connect anything.
Build step by step
Follow the numbered steps and the diagrams. Test each part before going on to the next.
Test, record and explain
Fill in the observation table, then write your report and practise the viva questions in your own words.
Always work with an adult for cutting, hot glue, heating and soldering. None of these projects uses mains electricity.
Free ebooks
Books to go with your project
Free PDF books on choosing a project, writing the file, answering viva questions and working safely with tools and materials.
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
Best Out of Waste Science Projects
Working models from bottles, cardboard, CDs and old parts
Science projects
Physics Working Models Explained
Twenty classic models, how each works and how to make it
Science projects
Tools, Materials and Safety for Model Making
Everything you need to build neat, strong and safe science models
Questions about the free projects
Still have a question?
Chat on WhatsAppAre these projects really free?
The guides are free to read and print, and the projects are designed to use things you already have at home, such as cardboard, bottles, straws, balloons, paper and old cells. Each guide has a cost note that says honestly whether it is free, or needs a few rupees for a small part such as an LED or a length of wire. Nothing has to be bought from us.
Can I use a guide for my school project or exhibition?
Yes, as a starting point. Build it yourself, add your own measurements and observations, write the report in your own words and practise the viva questions. Your school may have its own rules about topics and format, so check them with your teacher.
Do I need an adult to help?
For cutting with a knife, hot glue, soldering, and any heating, yes. Each guide says in its safety section where an adult must help. None of the projects uses mains electricity: they run on one or two small cells, or on muscle, wind, water or sunlight.
What if I cannot find a material?
Every material in a guide has a free substitute listed beside it. If you still cannot find something, ask the head office on WhatsApp for a suggestion, or look at the ready-made kits and spare parts in the store.
Can I print a guide?
Yes. Each guide has a Print button (or use Ctrl+P on a computer). The printed version drops the menus and keeps the diagrams, steps and tables, with the observation table left blank to fill in by hand.