25+ Totally Awesome Science Fair Project Ideas For Kids
‘Tis the season for science fair projects! We had our first science fair experience last year when my oldest son was in kindergarten. I was truly amazed (and overwhelmed) at the complexity of some of the kindergarten science fair projects. As a former teacher, I wanted to make sure that my son wasn’t just showing off a cool science experiment…I wanted him to do it himself and be able to understand and explain the science behind it!
One of my biggest pet peeves (as a teacher and now as a parent) is when I see parents doing projects for the kids and then try to bring them up to speed. Kids are more than capable of doing most of the work themselves…even kindergartners (with some guidance)!
How To Choose A Science Fair Project
My #1 tip for science fair projects for kids is to go try to answer a question surrounding something your child is interested in! This will ensure that it is child-led and that your child will want to find the answer to his/her question!
Example of Our Kindergarten Science Project
Big brother was very interested in space and so we attempted to answer a question regarding craters on the moon for his science fair project last year.
As you can see, he did most of his project on his own…including asking Siri to find out the answer! Haha! :)
25+ Awesome Science Fair Ideas for Kids
I’ve broken the following science fair projects for kids appropriate for primary students (K-2) and elementary students (3-5). Since I am a firm believer in kids taking the lead, the ideas for younger kids are simpler and easier to understand. The ideas for older kids tend to take more knowledge about the scientific process.
Science Projects for Primary Students:
Simple Science Experiment: Why Are there Craters on the Moon?
What is Blood Made Of? A hands-on model of the parts of blood!
Why the Human Body Needs both Muscles and Bones: A simple explanation
How Do Arctic Animals Stay Warm in Icy Water? (use two zip-top bags instead of the gloves so that the whole class can try it out).
Can You Blow Up a Balloon in a Bottle?:
The “Why Do I Need Sunscreen?” Experiment
More Science Project Ideas from our blogger friends:
Bicolor Flowers :: Playdough to Plato
Simple Circuits (First Grade Science) :: What Do We Do All Day
Water Cycle in a Bag :: Playdough to Plato
Make a Penny Turn Green :: Buggy and Buddy
Make a Balloon Rocket :: Paging Fun Mums
Build, Paint, and Erupt Foaming Volcano :: Fun at Home with Kids
Elementary Science Fair Projects:
These science projects are slightly more complicated and require a more thorough understanding of the scientific process.
Ocean Zones in a Jar: Exploring Liquid Density and the Layers of the Ocean
(the pouring of the liquids requires a steady hand)
Make Your Own Lava Lamp: Watch what happens when oil, water, and food coloring get mixed with a tab of Alka Seltzer!
Here are more great Elementary Science Projects from our blogger friends:
Walking Water (exploring capillary action) :: Coffee Cups and Crayons
Build an Electro-Magnetic Train :: Frugal Fun for Boys
Egg Geodes :: Tinkerlab
Walking on Eggs (this would be awesome) :: Playdough to Plato
Make Magnetic Mud (Ferrofluid) :: Kids Activities Blog
Make a Lemon Battery :: Kids Activities Blog
The Science Behind Slime :: Fun at Home with Kids
Simple Slime Recipe :: Little Bins for Little Hands
Leak-Proof Bag :: Paging Fun Mums
DIY Glowing Flowers :: Fun at Home with Kids
And if it is gross science experiments, you are looking for…check these out:
Check out more Science Fun on our Pinterest board!
This post was first published April 2015. Last updated 2018.
WOW!! these were awesome..cant wait to try them on my own..i tried a few of them in this awesome app..: http://goo.gl/VIvSVg
This was a waste of time, it’s only elementary projects. My teacher wouldn’t allow this
This did not help at all, these are only for elementary students. A waste of my time!
I was trying to find a challenging science project for school but none of these teach you anything I need 1 really badly waste of my time to
yep same
So what about other people can need it more than you
Exactly. I didn’t even know elementary did the science fair.
I love the cool ideas it looks so fun do do
ugh ok, this was really bad, I’m doing a exhibition that we do when we go to secondary we get 4 weeks to produce 2 or 3 questions that make sense, and are very deep, then we have to think of inquiry points by ourselves, we had to do this in 10 minutes, this is very hard for some 10 and 11 year olds, after this we have to present our work and we have to make our try and be the best, yeah this is kinda like a science fair, but its NOT fun, if we make a bad decision on what we are doing it about, we CANT change, tough luck, deal with it, this was horrible, the ideas where ok but i can find a way better site DONT WASTE YOUR TIME PPL
oh did i mention we have to make at least 5 pieces of work!? AT LEAST!
Not something what I wanted by good for small kids☺☺
I like the info that is here if you want help to get more people to read your stuff give me an email
Wow a waste of my time, i AM in collage, and i have a chemistry project, this is good for 3 year olds, though.
Wow, did you really need to make a comment about how it wasted your time? You sound like a petty twelve year old. Also, if you are in COLLEGE, you should probably know how to spell it correctly. “College”, not “Collage”….and learn to capitalize your “I”s or I suspect you won’t do too well on that Chemistry project.
People in college should be able to come up with their own science project ideas. Just my opinion, but I have a Bachelor of SCIENCE, so I guess I should know…
If you really were in college, than you would at least know how to spell correctly. Not just that, but this website is called I can teach my child. Not I can teach college students.
It is so nice to see guys/girls sharing science fair projects for kids. Balloon, lava, baking soda, and other materials are common in science projects. Keep sharing the good ones.
Umm, did you read. They start out saying about helping a kindergarter, plus the pictures show small children. I would of and did take it they were projects for small children.
this does not help like how do you make this stuff and if you click on it it shows the same thing come on teachers really.
this stuff is not cool but ugh no body would make these if there dumb enagh the will lol this stuff is dumb
Your comment states ‘this stuff is not cool but ugh no body would make these if there dumb enagh the will lol this stuff is dumb’. I would like to point out, you call several innocent small children ‘dumb’. Yet you cannot capitalize, do not know grammatical laws, spell multiple things incorrectly, and your comment makes no sense in general. Also, inanimate projects do not have an intelligience. If you mean that in your opinion it is displeasing, then stop polluting the chat with hate comments that nobody cares about.
This should provide hours of endless fun and education . Thanks!