For 6th Graders: Unique and Fun Ideas for Independent Research Projects
We’ve gathered recommended ideas for anyone looking for interesting summer independent study themes perfect for 6th graders! From “Let’s research the SDGs” to “Let’s make original Jomon-style pottery,” these topics showcase the creativity and ingenuity fitting for upper elementary students.
They’re full of unique ideas that will set you apart from your friends.
From projects you can start with familiar materials to more advanced experiments, you’re sure to find the perfect theme.
Kick off a fun and fitting independent study for your 6th-grade summer vacation!
For 6th Graders: Unique and Fun Science Project Ideas (1–10)
Making salt crystals
A science project that amazes you with “I can’t believe something this beautiful can come from something you eat,” thanks to its jewel-like appearance, is making salt crystals.
You add a large amount of salt to hot water, and as you keep adding it, the salt eventually stops dissolving.
Let that saturated solution cool, filter it, and leave it for a while—salt crystals will form.
By the way, if you make saltwater the same way and place the formed crystals back into it, you can grow them larger.
Why not try and see how big you can make them?
autonomous self-driving robot car
Make and play! Here are some ideas for an autonomous robot car.
Many of you have probably played by moving toy vehicles like cars or trains by hand.
This time, let’s try building a robot car that moves on its own.
In the video, they use tools and kits.
The completed self-driving robot car runs along a course drawn with a black pen on paper.
When using tools, be sure to work together with a teacher or guardian.
Give it a try!
Filtration experiment
Murky water turns clear! Let’s keep a record of our filtration experiment.
Prepare a plastic bottle by cutting off the bottom and turning it upside down.
First, make a small hole in the cap and pack it with cotton.
Then add the materials in this order: charcoal, gauze, gravel, gauze, and sand—the filter is complete.
Next, add baking soda solution and alum solution to the cloudy water to separate the impurities.
Pour the clarified supernatant into the plastic-bottle filter, and clear water will come out from the bottom.
It’s fascinating that ordinary sand and charcoal you can find around you can make water so clean.
Survey on vehicle stopping rates
This independent research project is perfect for when you want to boost awareness of everyday traffic rules and safety.
The activity involves standing by a crosswalk and recording whether cars stop for you.
By checking with your own eyes, you can directly experience and better understand social and traffic rules as they are in real life.
Collecting data and summarizing it in graphs also helps develop analytical and communication skills.
It could be interesting to examine various perspectives, such as the type of car or the driver’s gender and age.
Please be careful to avoid heatstroke while conducting the survey.
Surprisingly addictive study of shapes
Here’s a great recommendation for anyone looking for an independent research project that blends learning with fun! How about studying shapes? Shapes are everywhere in daily life—origami, buildings, even sweets—so they feel familiar, and engaging with them in a playful way can help overcome anxiety about math and build confidence.
In your research, it’s important to narrow down your theme and explore it in depth, and to actually see, touch, and experience things firsthand.
Use the videos as a reference, find a topic that interests you, and give it a try!
Research brimming with love for Dragon Ball
I think it would be fun to choose Dragon Ball, an anime that’s extremely popular with kids, as the theme for an independent research project! Dragon Ball is loved by a wide range of generations, from children to adults.
You could count the sound effects that appear in the manga, present them with graphs and numbers, and note how many times the same sounds are used.
It might also be enjoyable to think about how powerful the Kamehameha is, or to research how nutritious senzu beans are.
Over the long summer vacation, incorporating something you’re interested in into your independent research could help deepen your knowledge.
[Oven-Bake Clay] Let’s Make Jomon Pottery
![[Oven-Bake Clay] Let’s Make Jomon Pottery](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ekutbek-myw/sddefault.jpg)
Jomon pottery, said to have been used by people in the Jomon period for cooking and other purposes, has an impressive, uniquely shaped design.
This craft project involves making Jomon-style pottery out of clay, and it can also serve as a history lesson.
You’ll use oven-bake clay, which you can find at 100-yen shops, and form a pot sized to fit in your oven by adding torn-off pieces of clay onto one another.
It’s recommended to first create a central cylinder and then attach decorative parts onto it; smooth the seams to create a unified look.
While referring to textbooks and other materials, it could be fun to try your own original patterns as well.
