[For 4th Graders] Fun Independent Research Ideas You Can Do With Everyday Materials
Many fourth graders are probably struggling to choose a summer break independent research topic that’s “fun but not too difficult.” In fact, you can create a project that makes your friends say “Wow!” using simple experiments and crafts with everyday materials.
Here, independent research pros introduce exciting ideas you can dive into, like a shiny coin experiment with 10-yen pieces, making kohakutou (amber sugar candy), and crafting hydrangeas.
Plus, everything from preparation to record-keeping is explained carefully, so you can take on the challenge with confidence.
Find a special independent research project that will become a lasting summer vacation memory!
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[4th Grade] Fun Independent Research Ideas You Can Do with Everyday Materials (91–100)
Let’s make glowing balloon slime
An irresistibly tactile slime with a one-of-a-kind feel.
This experiment features that slime glowing in the dark.
You can get the slime ingredients at a drugstore, but using a kit makes it easier and more convenient.
Best of all, it includes phosphorescent powder—the glowing agent—so it’s fancier than ordinary slime and perfect for a science project topic.
Inflate the finished slime with a straw to make it balloon-like and watch it glow.
Even if it doesn’t inflate well, you can try again as many times as you like.
To make it glow, be sure to expose the slime to plenty of light beforehand!
Stargazing with a handmade telescope
How about doing astronomical observations with a telescope and turning that into your independent research project? You might think it sounds a bit boring, but here’s an idea: why not make the telescope yourself! It’s surprising, but you can build one using materials like a cylindrical empty snack box, black construction paper, reading glasses, a magnifying glass, and black vinyl tape—basically recycled items and supplies from a 100-yen shop.
Use your original telescope to observe the Moon and stars.
Hopefully, there will be a lunar eclipse or a meteor shower during summer vacation for an extra celestial show!
[4th Grade] Fun Independent Research Ideas You Can Do With Everyday Materials (101–110)
Let’s make kohakutou (amber sugar)
How about choosing kohakutou—beautiful and cute to look at, and delicious to eat—as the theme for your independent research project? It takes time, but you can summarize the changes over that period as your research findings.
Kohakutou is easy to make: dissolve sugar and agar in water, transfer the mixture to a container, add color with food coloring or shaved ice syrup, then once it sets, cut it and let it dry.
Depending on how much it dries, the texture will range from bouncy and soft to crisp.
You can record which number of drying days you found the most delicious and summarize your results.
Let’s make instruments with plastic bottles
Making instruments out of plastic bottles is an eco-friendly, creativity-sparking idea! You can turn a bottle into a shaker by filling it with sand, or transform it into an instrument with a unique tone just by sending in air pressure.
By combining experiments with crafts, you nurture scientific thinking and creativity at the same time, and it also creates opportunities to enjoy fun moments with family and friends.
Trying your hand at making your own original instrument would be interesting, too.
It would be exciting to make them with friends and hold a little concert together!
Observation Diary of Rice Fish
Haven’t you ever seen tanks or bowls with medaka fish set out under the eaves of houses in your neighborhood? How about keeping an observation journal of those medaka? Just watching the tiny fish is cute enough, but if possible, try recording them from the egg stage through hatching and then their growth afterward.
Keeping medaka doesn’t require a large space like a yard—you can observe them by placing a plastic container or an aquarium on a balcony.
Watching them grow is so adorable, you might just get hooked on medaka!
seaweed specimen
This is an idea to make specimens using seaweed, similar to the ones often made with flowers and plants.
When you think of seaweed specimens, you might imagine they’d get brittle and crack, or that it would be hard to remove the moisture since they’re from the water.
First, wash the seaweed thoroughly and carefully to remove the salt.
Then place it on a plastic base, arrange it into shape, and dry it thoroughly.
The trick is not to let it dry as-is, but to press it with cardboard or blotting paper, changing the paper frequently, and dry it while blowing air from the side.
Let’s look into money!
By the time they’re in 4th grade, kids are using money more often—buying things with their allowance or running errands to the store.
How about taking a closer look at money, which we usually handle without thinking, as a theme for an independent research project? You could trace the history of money, summarizing how it has been used from ancient times to today and how its forms have changed.
You might also create a summary of the historical figures printed on banknotes.
In addition, consider including topics like the banknote manufacturing process and the measures used to prevent counterfeiting.
In conclusion
As a theme for fourth-grade independent research, we introduced many experiments and crafts using familiar materials.
From tasty, enjoyable experiments like making paper or rock candy to hands-on projects like a marble coaster, these themes can be approached from many angles.
Be sure to observe and record carefully, and discover findings that are uniquely your own.