Stand out with your junior high school independent research! A collection of fun experiment and craft ideas

On the vascular bundles of vegetables

Vascular bundles and xylem/phloem

Vascular bundles are the tubes through which water and nutrients travel in plants.

Let’s investigate what these vascular bundles look like in vegetables.

Slice your favorite vegetable into cross-sections, soak it in water colored red, and leave it for a while.

Then cut slightly above the cut surface and examine the parts that have turned red.

Based on the red-stained areas, you can classify the plant as a monocot or a dicot, so try examining various vegetables.

supercooled water

[Independent Research] Supercooling Experiment [I Tried Making It]

Phase changes in water require a shock or impurities.

Therefore, if you store water in a very stable state in a clean container in the freezer, you can obtain water colder than 0°C—supercooled water.

When you take it out and give it an external shock, such as shaking it, it begins to freeze instantly.

It’s a simple experiment—why not consider it as a research topic?

Make instant cup ramen in record time

[Invention] I tried making cup ramen in the shortest time ever!!

Instant cup noodles usually require a 3-minute wait.

But is there a way to enjoy them deliciously in under three minutes? It might be good to use this video as a reference and think about alternative methods.

Also, being able to eat cup noodles sooner means you can boil water faster.

Let’s simultaneously consider whether that principle can be applied to other things as well.

Considerations on friction in hovercrafts

[Independent Research] Easy Hovercraft 🎈

A great recommendation for a craft-based science project is a handmade hovercraft.

A hovercraft is an amphibious vehicle that floats using air, and this project recreates it with a plastic bottle and a balloon.

It can hover on a desk or on water, which makes it really fun.

Its curious appearance means you can submit it as a finished piece as is, and it’s also recommended to analyze principles like friction and summarize your findings in writing.

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Make disposable hand warmers

[Experiment] Make a bunch of homemade pocket warmers!

Warm hand warmers and cold cold packs are made by using the heat released or absorbed during chemical reactions.

Middle schoolers can definitely make their own original hand warmer! All you need are salt, activated charcoal, and iron powder, so gathering the materials shouldn’t be too hard.

Popular YouTubers have made them too, so be sure to use those as references.

Up until around the Edo period, people would roast a mixture of salt and rice bran, wrap it in cloth, and use it as a warmer.

Adding a bit of historical context like this can give your project much more depth!

Cyclone vacuum cleaner made from plastic bottles

[Summer Vacation Independent Research] I tried making a cyclone vacuum cleaner with plastic bottles!

You can make a popular cyclone vacuum cleaner out of plastic bottles.

It really sucks up debris in a swirling motion.

The quality is so good you wouldn’t believe it’s made from plastic bottles and paper.

It’s perfect for cleaning eraser shavings off your desk.

Temperature at which an onsen egg is made

“Onsen Tamago (Temperature Egg)” ... Yamato’s Japanese dish: “Temperature Egg”

This is a delightful experiment to try making delicious onsen tamago (hot spring eggs).

Eggs are a remarkably deep ingredient: the temperatures at which the yolk and the white set are different, and the way they set changes with temperature.

Let’s consider various temperatures, predict how set they will become, and then run the experiment!