Hands-on, real-life learning can make science come to life for secondary students. Gone are the days of assigned Science Fair projects. These 8 projects for teen scientists will bring inquiry and project-based learning home! With any of these projects, make sure younger students have adult supervision as some use chemicals and electricity.
8 Great Science Projects for Teens
There are several different methods that allow you to create your own beautiful bouquets, just like the ones you see at floral shops or the supermarkets. Carnations are a perfect choice for this process. Because flowers absorb water and nutrients through their stems, by using food coloring in this simple experiment, you can produce gorgeous hues to adorn your home with this easy floral art and science project!
Using simple, affordable materials you can find at home or in your local hardware store, you can test the conductivity of certain solutions. The site above gives you step-by-step instructions on how to build your device as well as different solutions to try!
Keep your notes private, turn off the texting, and write in invisible ink! This is a simple experiment that requires only a lemon, paint brush (or cotton swab), and a white piece of paper. Write a message with lemon juice, hold up to a heat source, and ta-da! Your words are revealed. Just don’t let everyone in on the secret!
Explore dozens of ways to learn physics concepts through simulations and tutorials for physical projects. One of my favorites is the Roller Coaster Model that help bring Newton’s Laws to life with an interactive model to help understand velocity and force.
Learn the types of clouds and create your own. You may have seen the cloud in the bottle experiment, but what about making a cloud in your mouth?! Learn the physics behind it, and give it a try!
Practical science experiments are the best! Figure out how the fastest way to cool a can of soda (or flavored sparkling water in a can) with this experiment you can complete with objects in your home then take your icy cold beverage to the pool, on a walk, or just pop the tab at home!
Make Your Own Smart Phone Projector
The big bonus to this project is watching your favorite Netflix series or YouTube videos on your wall! Learn about convex lenses (like the human eye), and build your own projector with cardboard, magnifying glass (or camera lens), and a smartphone!
Learn about osmosis and diffusion and watch your gummy bears grow in this experiment! (Just make sure not to eat all the goodies before you get started!)
Want to try some more awesome experiments? Here are a few sites to check out with dozens of ideas to bring out the scientist in you!
Home Experiments on scifun.org
Backyard Brains (some experiments require additional equipment for purchase)
Also published on Medium.
Interesting ideas! This also makes me excited for spring and exploring the natural world (fun for adults too).
We homeschool and love science. Rosa will love some of these. Her fav. thing to do is explore and experiment. Thanks for the fresh ideas.
These all sound like a ton of fun. My daughter would probably love them.
Those sound like a good time – the kids won’t even realize they’re studying science! Hahaha… Thanks for sharing!
my little cousins would love all of these ideas! My favorite is making your own cloud… I need to try that!
All great ideas. Kids will surely love all of these. Amazing indeed!
I need to build my own smart phone projector so I can watch movies on the garage door this summer!