Recommended for elementary school students! Science fair topics & craft ideas
Speaking of summer vacation, choosing a topic for the independent research project can often be tough.
Science experiments and crafts are both fun! If your child is good at crafts, we recommend crafts because they can enjoy the process as they go.
When they get absorbed in it, they might even finish in just a few days.
Here, we’ll introduce a variety of ideas for independent research and crafts! If you’re struggling to pick a theme, please use these as a reference.
To create fun summer memories, make a one-of-a-kind project of your own!
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- Recommended for lower elementary school students! A collection of plastic bottle craft ideas made with everyday materials.
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- [Middle School Students] Easy One-Day Science Projects and Crafts Ideas
- Toys you can make from cardboard crafts! Authentic ideas you can build and play with
- Simple but awesome! Craft ideas for upper-grade girls
- Crafts parents and kids can enjoy together. Recommended craft ideas to keep children entertained.
For lower grades (101–110)
Boomerang made from paper cups
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.
Crafts you can play with
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.
Magic hand
A magic hand is a device where you use a mechanism to move a hand motif that’s larger than a real hand.
The unique mechanism gives it a slightly awkward motion, which is fun to watch on its own.
To make one, cut construction paper into the shape of a hand, leave openings at the finger joints and apply double-sided tape, then create the “bones” with short pieces of straw.
After that, thread string through the straws and you’re done—when you pull the strings, the fingers curl at the joints.
To make it easy to tell which string controls which finger, it’s recommended to use different-colored straws and match the color at the end of each string to the straw it runs through.
Melon cream soda
Melon cream soda is also appealing for its vibrant appearance—the green color topped with ice gives a refreshing feel, doesn’t it? This is about trying to recreate that beautiful, summery look of melon soda.
The steps are simple: put jelly clay into a plastic cup, insert a straw, and place a scoop of white clay “ice cream” on top.
Combine elements like jewel stones and glitter to make the most of the light and finish it with a sparkling look.
The closer it looks to the real thing, the more you might feel disappointed when you remember you can’t actually drink it.
Let’s investigate how the 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.”
For lower grades (111–120)
Fingerprint detection using eyeshadow
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
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.