Recommended for elementary school students! Science fair topics & craft ideas

Boomerang made from paper cups

Throw and catch! A boomerang with paper cups? A fun toy for 1st and 2nd graders. “Paper Cup Boomerang” (takes about 10 minutes to make) #craft #handmadetoy #papercup

Let me introduce a unique boomerang that might boost kids’ reflexes.

This boomerang is made from paper cups, but it’s apparently hard to catch when it returns—so it could help train reflexes.

Fix and connect the bottoms of two paper cups with cellophane tape.

Insert a bent paper clip into the joined section.

Set the paper-cup boomerang onto a launcher made from a chopstick with a rubber band fixed to it, and then just launch it.

It takes some technique to throw and catch, but mastering it might be part of the fun.

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Nakajima Junko

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Crafts you can play with

9 Playable Crafts for Elementary School Kids: Cardboard, Toilet Paper Rolls, and Straws – Easy 2021 DIYs for Moms, Dads, and Childcare Workers

In this Reiwa era, where digital devices have surrounded us since the day we were born, it’s nice to enjoy some analog play from time to time.

So here’s a summer craft you can make and play with right away: the “Wobbly Tree.” Glue a branching tree onto half of a toy capsule.

Hang rubber bands from the branches one by one, and the person who knocks the tree over loses.

If you substitute the toy capsule base with something else, you can make an even bigger tree.

There are also videos introducing other playable crafts, so if you’re interested, be sure to check them out.

Let’s investigate how the daruma falls!

[Independent Research] Let's investigate how a daruma falls!

This is an easy-to-understand experiment for uniform linear motion.

First, prepare a balloon, a daruma-otoshi (stacked daruma toy), helium gas, kite string, scissors, and cellophane tape.

Next, inflate the balloon, attach it to the daruma with the kite string, and briskly knock the bottom layer away.

When the daruma drops, the balloon attached to it will move as if it’s bouncing.

This happens because even if the daruma falls one layer and stops, the balloon has a tendency to keep moving.

This also explains why, when you’re in a vehicle and it brakes suddenly, your body lurches forward in the direction of motion, and when it accelerates suddenly, you feel pulled backward: objects have the property that “things at rest tend to remain at rest” and “things in motion tend to remain in motion.”

Fingerprint detection using eyeshadow

Independent Research: Lifting Fingerprints with Eyeshadow! Who’s the Culprit? Easy Experiment!

Fingerprint detection you’ve probably seen at least once in detective stories or police dramas.

You can experience that cool, admirable fingerprint detection using eyeshadow.

There are many types of fingerprints, so it should be fun to take prints from different people and compare their shapes and patterns.

Observation diary

Hirarin’s Green Curtain Observation Diary 2014: Summer Vacation Edition

When it comes to independent research projects, this is the classic choice.

Thanks to its versatility, which allows it to be applied to plants, animals, and many other subjects, this style of project has long been popular among elementary school students.

Since it’s a “journal,” though, the drawback is that it takes a certain number of days to complete.

Let’s try putting ice in various liquids

[Independent Project] Let's put ice in various liquids!

How about trying to put ice cubes into various liquids? The results can be surprising, so both adults and children can enjoy it together with excitement.

First, prepare several plastic cups and fill each one with a different liquid.

Water, salad oil, milk, and alcohol-water mixtures work well.

Next, drop an ice cube into each cup.

You should see that some ice floats while others sink.

Think together about why that happens.

Also, you might make some discoveries by measuring how fast the ice melts in each liquid.

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yamamoto

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Let’s make candy

[Independent Research] Easy and Delicious! Let's Make Candy~

Actors like Takuya Kimura and Yuichi Kimura—men who can cook are really cool, aren’t they? If you’re a boy who can cook, why not try making candy! For basic candy, all you need is 250 g of sugar and 80 mL of water.

Put the ingredients in a pot and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

When the color starts to change slightly, remove the pot from the heat and slowly stir with a spatula.

Before it hardens, divide the mixture into small portions in aluminum cups or any molds you like.

Once cooled, remove from the cups and it’s done.

You can make various flavors by adding fruit jam or matcha.

Take photos of each step and include them in your report.

If you’re just making candy, an hour should be enough.

Since you’ll be using heat, be sure to try this with an adult!