Science Fair Project Ideas for Junior High Schools
There are numerous interesting science fair projects for junior high school children that demonstrate anything from chemical reactions to psychological profiles. Many of these experiments and projects are safe and inexpensive, and you can perform them with ordinary items, products or foods that are found around the home or garage. Others may require a visit to your local park or forest preserve, but whatever area of science you are exploring, there are wide varieties of science fair projects for junior high school students to perform.
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Personality Indicator
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Are you what you eat? A tasty and fun experiment for seventh and eighth graders is performing a personality indicator test using a variety of snack foods. This science project is based on a book written by Dr. Alan Hirsch, "What Flavor is Your Personality? Discover Who You Are by Looking at What You Eat." Offer your subject matter a choice of eight different snacks, such as popcorn, pretzels, chips or cheese, and record data about which person chose which snacks. Participants will then complete a survey outlining certain personality traits. Compare the results of the survey against the snack data from the book to see if they correspond.
Acid and Base Reactions
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Make a volcano with baking soda. A simple and educational science project for middle school kids is making a volcano from baking soda and vinegar. Children discover the reaction that occurs when bases and acids come in contact with each other. To create a volcanic eruption, take a small plastic bottle, and fill it about halfway with vinegar. Have the students make a tea-bag-like "bomb" by wrapping 1 tsp. of baking soda in a tissue and securing it with a piece of string or thread. Drop the baking soda bag into the bottle to watch the eruption.
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Pollutants and Aquatic Life
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Kids can test pollutants on aquatic life. An interesting experiment for junior high school-aged kids is measuring the types and amounts of pollutants that are hazardous to aquatic life. Using common water fleas that you can capture in most lakes, ponds or streams, students can determine how much milk, motor oil, lignin sulfonate or antifreeze will affect the fleas and which will do the most severe or fatal damage. By adding varied measurements of the pollutants to numerous test dishes, children will compare and record findings to conclude results.
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- Photo Credit science image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com snacks image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com eruption image by YvesBonnet from Fotolia.com tropical fish image by kenny woodruff from Fotolia.com
