Recommended for 6th graders! A collection of easy self-study ideas you can enjoy while learning

Blacklight Experiment

[Dark Chemistry] Reveal Everyday Fluorescent Substances with a Blacklight! An Introduction to the Principles and Experiments of Fluorescent Materials!

A blacklight experiment, which lets you enjoy a treasure-hunt-like atmosphere, is also perfect for an independent research project.

In a blacklight experiment, you find substances that glow under a blacklight and investigate them.

Common glow-in-the-dark items include Pine Ame candies, tonic water, and spinach.

Once prepared, put them into test tubes and shine the blacklight on them again.

You should be able to clearly see the colors change.

This is also a great opportunity to learn about ultraviolet light and fluorescent substances.

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yamamoto

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Programming

Introduction to Scratch Programming for Beginners | Scratch Basics and How to Use It [Even Elementary School Students Can Do It! Create Games and Learn Programming with Scratch]

How about making “programming,” which has been a required subject in elementary schools since 2020, the theme of a free research project? When you hear programming, you might think of memorizing special command code and feel it’s difficult, but there are free tools that even children can learn with easily.

For example, Scratch, which is also popular as teaching material.

It’s free to use, and since you don’t have to type code, it’s fine even if you’re not good at typing.

You can program simply by selecting and stacking blocks that replace code from categories like “Events” and “Motion”! For junior high school students, after creating a program in Scratch, it might be a good idea to research and summarize what actual code would look like.

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sasashina

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plastic bottle rocket

[Summer Vacation] A University of Tokyo Student Tried Launching a Plastic Bottle Rocket [Independent Research]

Another classic for independent research projects is the plastic bottle rocket, which I highly recommend.

Not only is the building process fun, but launching it is thrilling, too.

By the way, there are craft kits for plastic bottle rockets available for purchase, so you can make one easily.

After you finish, try thinking creatively about how to make it fly farther.

One of the appeals of plastic bottle rockets is that you can experiment freely.

Try various methods, like using carbonated water instead of regular water.

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yamamoto

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PET bottle water purifier

How to make the ultimate simple filtration device

Many people are looking for simple science projects.

In such cases, a PET-bottle water purifier is recommended.

In this experiment, you create a purifier by filling a plastic bottle with materials like charcoal, gravel, and cloth.

You can test the purifier’s effectiveness and explore how it works, or focus your study on themes like designing a water purifier that’s easy to make during disasters.

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Saitō Ayumu

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Mysterious Ramen

Make mysterious ramen! It's also great for a summer vacation independent research project!

Let’s make a magical ramen! First, simmer some red cabbage as a topping.

The color from the cabbage will leach out, turning the broth purple.

Now add the ramen noodles.

This time, the broth changes to blue.

Then, mix in some vinegar, and the broth returns to purple.

It’s a fun experiment to watch!

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sasashina

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