[Middle School Students] Easy One-Day Science Projects and Crafts Ideas
Have you already decided on your summer vacation independent research project? It’s easy to panic when you feel you have to do it but don’t have much time.
For junior high school students like that, here are some simple research and craft ideas you can complete in a day.
Once you gather the necessary materials, you can start right away! For example, there are experiments using everyday items and fun crafts you can make.
If you enjoy it, you’ll finish in no time.
After the experiment, write up your summary and reflections in a report.
That’s the most important part of the project.
Start thinking about it early so you can enjoy your summer vacation!
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[For Middle Schoolers] Simple One-Day Science Projects and Crafts (11–20)
Felt Humidifier
In winter, the air gets dry and it’s easy to strain your throat.
To get ready for the cold season, why not make your own personal humidifier that you can keep in your room as a summer vacation project? By simply changing the felt piece on top, you can enjoy different styles of humidifiers.
The basic structure is a felt craft placed on top of a ceramic vessel filled with water.
Felt absorbs water well, providing a gentle humidifying effect.
You can crochet the felt into flower shapes or make cute animals—both are great! It’s also fun to do felt crafts with friends.
If you add a few drops of essential oil to the water, everyone might feel a bit more luxurious.
Be sure to change the water frequently to prevent mold!
Making insect repellent spray
When playing outside in the summer, insect repellent spray is just as important as sunscreen.
It’s an essential item to avoid discomfort later! Here, we’re introducing a DIY insect repellent spray you can make with just three ingredients.
It only takes about 10 minutes to make, so it’s an easy science project even for lower elementary grades.
The ingredients are peppermint oil, water, and rubbing alcohol (ethanol).
Put the peppermint oil and ethanol into a container and shake well to mix.
Then add the water and shake again in the same way, and you’re done! Please summarize the steps and key points, such as the order in which to add the ingredients, when you write it up.
Investigate how color-changing drinks work
Lemonade and tea that change color when you add a liquid—the kind you often see in stylish cafes—are super photogenic and cute, aren’t they? Let’s explore how these adorable, trendy drinks work! First, look up a recipe and try making one yourself.
Then, if you investigate the properties of the ingredients you used, you’re sure to discover all sorts of things!
How mold grows
This is a study to understand the mechanisms of mold, which occurs frequently during the humid summer season.
By understanding the environments and situations in which it develops, we can apply that knowledge to prevent mold in daily life.
The experiment procedure is simple: place cut pieces of bread indoors under various conditions and monitor the mold.
By testing combinations such as pairing with wasabi or mustard, or changing the placement location, you can observe differences in mold growth.
Understanding how household environments relate to mold can help determine where to store items and set cleaning guidelines.
Animal sound cup
This is a simple craft where you attach a piece of twine to the bottom of a paper cup and stick on the parts of each animal.
By skillfully rubbing the twine installed at the bottom, the goal is to reproduce animal calls.
It’s important—and fun—to experiment with the material used to rub the twine and the rubbing technique to find sounds that are closer to the real thing.
It might also be interesting to modify the base paper cup to experiment with changing the resonance.
As you test different sounds, let’s discover new kinds of calls.
Making Fizzy Ramune
If you’re looking to make something a bit unusual, fizzy ramune candies are a great option.
These are the kind of candies that dissolve with a fizzy sensation as soon as they hit your mouth, and you can make them yourself.
It might sound difficult, but the process is actually quite simple.
The ingredients—like powdered sugar and citric acid—are easy to find.
You could document the process as you make them, or delve into the mechanism of why they fizz.
[Middle School] Easy One-Day Independent Research and Craft Ideas (21–30)
Make compost from kitchen waste
It’s an easy project you can do in a day, but with a change in angle it could turn into a grand investigation: “Making compost from kitchen scraps.” Basically, you just put soil in a storage bin, mix in food waste, and leave it.
You can add an extra step like pouring in rice-washing water or adding natto, but most of the time it’s just left alone.
If you want to make it a proper study, there are plenty of variables to test: swap rice-washing water for other liquids, replace natto with yogurt, and so on.
Exploring fermentation times also seems quite deep.
It’s a great science project for a passionate middle schooler who doesn’t want to settle for an ordinary summer!