Stand out with your junior high school independent research! A collection of fun experiment and craft ideas
To all middle schoolers who want to wow teachers and friends with a “That’s awesome!” in your independent research project! There are tons of experiments in science and crafts that lead to surprising discoveries—even with simple materials.
Make a train run with copper wire and a battery, pop a balloon with an orange peel…
The real charm is getting to witness strange phenomena you’d never notice in everyday life with your own eyes.
Here, we’ll introduce fun experiments and crafts that can spark ideas for your project.
Whether you love science or not, you’re sure to find discoveries that make you go, “Aha!”
Stand Out in Your Middle School Independent Research! A Collection of Fun Experiment and Craft Ideas (1–10)
dilatancy
Do you know about a substance called dilatant fluid? A dilatant fluid is a curious material that hardens when you squeeze it strongly and turns runny when you release the force.
You can make this kind of dilatant fluid with potato starch.
It’s even used as a trick in the anime Detective Conan, so if you like Conan, I hope you’ll give it a try.
Vibrations of sound
Do you know what sound really is? Sound is produced by vibrations in the air.
We can’t usually see sound with our eyes, but if we study it as vibrations, we can make surprisingly many discoveries.
The world is full of music, and it might be interesting to research how it travels before it reaches our ears.
Water You Can Grab
When I first heard about “water you can grab,” I was like, “What is that?” It’s a very popular research topic, and you’ll always see kits for it in the “summer vacation crafts and science projects” section at bookstores.
The powders used for grab-able water are sodium alginate and calcium lactate.
These two powders react to form a slime-like gel.
For middle schoolers, just making “grab-able water” might not be enough, so it’s a good idea to investigate things like: Does it freeze like water? Does it conduct electricity? Does it contain oxygen?
Liquefaction Experiment
Liquefaction refers to the phenomenon in which the ground behaves like a liquid when an earthquake occurs.
In fact, there have been cases where this liquefaction has caused significant damage during earthquakes.
Let’s build a model that reproduces this phenomenon to examine what conditions arise, and also consider ways to prevent it.
Galileo thermometer
Do you know the Galileo thermometer? It uses the principle of buoyancy: by observing how objects inside a liquid float or sink as the temperature changes, you can determine the actual temperature.
It’s easy to make in a short time if you have a glass container and small beads, so I recommend it.
It might also be interesting to present it together with the history of science.
How to prevent a mirror from fogging up
When you take a bath, no matter how much you run the shower, the mirror still fogs up—let’s investigate why it fogs so much and what you can apply to prevent it.
Hold a mirror over a basin filled with hot water, observe how it fogs, then try applying shampoo, detergent, oil, and so on.
Compare these with the state when nothing is applied, and think about what is needed to prevent fogging.
Make plastic from milk
A slightly unconventional type of independent research project is “making plastic from milk.” Milk? Plastic?? Just hearing it leaves an impression, doesn’t it? Plastics are made of polymers—structures with repeating units.
By adding vinegar to milk, you create a substance called casein, then dry it to form that polymer.
Basically, all you need is milk and vinegar; it’s easier than you might think—even for middle schoolers! Many people are trying different approaches to making plastic, so try searching the internet or video sites.
I think it’s a study that also connects to natural and environmental issues.