Science Projects That Can Be Done at Home
Children of all ages and levels enjoy creating simple science projects at home. Science projects strengthen skills in observation, prediction and experimentation about the physical world. The best home science projects use household items and are fun. Science projects performed at home may differ according to your child's age, but all children will learn the science afterward.
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Elementary School
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Young children learn best from tactile, hands-on projects. Home projects for younger elementary school students would be ones using the simplest of scientific concepts. For example, a rocket made from recycled household materials is suitable for young children. Growing plants from seeds is an elementary age biology project for home. Measuring the daily temperature outside on a thermometer and graphing the data is another good science project for home.
Middle School
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Older children benefit from simple home science projects and building more complex models. Animal and plant cell models made from play dough teach children about the basic components of life. Building simple rockets from film canisters, which are fueled by baking soda and vinegar, is a fun project about physics and chemistry for middle school students. Earth science home projects include measuring rainfall on graphs and making a hurricane in a soda bottle.
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High School
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Simple science projects for high school encourage students to use critical thinking skills while learning real world science concepts. Experimenting with organic and inorganic fertilizers for growing vegetables would work for teenagers interested in biology. Designing and building a bridge from plastic straws and tape and testing its strength is an engineering project for home. Learn about the science of sound by constructing an instrument made from glass bottles and water. High school student will benefit from analysis made before and after finishing projects.
Considerations
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Parents should guide their children in home science projects. Ask your child what science projects she is interested in building or working on and help her with her endeavors. Be sure to choose projects that are appropriate for the age and level of your child. Focus on projects that correlate to curriculum taught in the classroom, and take a more in-depth look with these projects. Also, use field trips to science museums or science organizations, such as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to give your children a real look into what scientists do. Movies and documentaries may be used if field trips are not possible.
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