Recommended for high school students! A collection of easy one-day science project ideas

Trying to refine salt from seawater

How to Make Salt: Easy Handmade Salt from Seawater – Light Pink Salt Containing Nigari | Coris Cooking

How about trying to make salt from seawater? If you bring some seawater back when you go to the beach during summer vacation, it’s easy! All you have to do is strain the seawater with a coffee filter and then boil it down.

Little by little, the water will evaporate and you’ll be left with just the salt.

It could also be interesting to record how much salt you can produce from a certain amount of seawater and calculate the salinity from that! If you put the steps together in a notebook with photos and compile the data, it would make a perfect independent research project!

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Hane Keisuke

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Handmade planetarium

DAISO Science [100-yen shop] DAISO Science: “Let’s Make a Planetarium”

Let’s try making your own planetarium where all kinds of stars shine beautifully! Take a sheet of paper shaped into a black tube or dome, poke small holes in it, put a light bulb inside, and turn off the lights—your mini planetarium is complete.

When making the holes, use a star chart as a reference and arrange them to match real constellations for an authentic look! You can also draw your favorite stars and create a one-of-a-kind planetarium.

You can find dedicated kits for making this mini planetarium at 100-yen shops, so be sure to take advantage of them.

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SAKI

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dilatancy phenomenon

[Experiment 163] Running on Water! / Dilatancy / Denjiro Yonemura [Official] / Science Experiments

The dilatancy phenomenon is known as a scientific effect in which a substance behaves like a solid under rapid stimulation but like a liquid when touched gently.

Because it makes a strong visual impression, it’s highly recommended as a topic for independent research.

Recreating it is surprisingly simple: just mix potato starch and water in a 2:1 ratio.

Using video will make it even more impactful.

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Saitō Ayumu

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[Handmade Camera] Let’s Take Photos with Sunlight

[Learn pro photographers’ simple tips] Lighting basics! Plus, in addition to daylight— the standard for white balance— we’ll teach lighting techniques using small tools like reflectors.

Why not try taking photos with a handmade camera? The camera is made by combining three parts: an outer tube with a lens, an inner tube with a screen, and a mounting board.

Basically, you cut black cardstock to form the tubes and simply attach the lens and tracing paper at the designated spots, so a high school student could probably make it in about an hour.

After that, just load photosensitive paper into the camera, focus, and wait! On a sunny day, wait about 20 minutes and then take out the photosensitive paper.

If you apply heat with something like an iron, an image should appear on the paper!

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sasashina

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Making resin accessories

[UV Resin] How to Make Glass-like Teardrop Earrings | Resin Recipe DIY

How about making your own original accessories using resin—a liquid that hardens into something as clear as glass? All you need are resin, a mold, and motifs like flowers.

Here’s the best part: you can get most of the materials at 100-yen shops, so it’s budget-friendly.

A UV light is handy for curing, but you can manage without one.

It’s a great independent research project, especially recommended for women.

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Araki Jakkan

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handheld vacuum cleaner

[At-Home Independent Study Dojo] “The Handy Vacuum Cleaner” Edition (How to Make a Handy Vacuum Cleaner)

A perfect handy vacuum cleaner for anyone who wants to clean easily.

You’ve probably seen various types of handheld vacuums in stores.

But actually, you can make one surprisingly easily! The materials are: a plastic bottle, a cup holder, corrugated plastic board, thick paper, soundproofing tape, a motor, batteries, a battery box, and vinyl tape.

The main body is made from the plastic bottle and cup holder, and the propeller is made from thick paper.

Since it uses a motor, it has strong suction, and after you submit it at school, it’ll be a big help for cleaning your room!

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sasashina

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Let’s dye white flowers with food coloring

[Independent Research] Verifying the Appropriate Amount of Food Coloring for Dyeing Flowers [Experiment]

You’ve probably seen colored flowers used for ikebana arrangements or when making dried flower swags.

Those flowers are colored by letting them absorb dye.

An easy method is to place the stems in water mixed with food coloring, which will stain them.

Try comparing how the color takes under different conditions: the amount of food coloring, how the stems are cut, flowers taken out of the water immediately versus after some time, and so on.

Then summarize why the flowers become colored, how the results differ under each condition, and why.

The flowers you dye in the experiment can be displayed in your room, which is nice!

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Hane Keisuke

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