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

Big soap bubble

Giant Soap Bubbles (Summer Vacation Independent Research)

Prepare a large bathtub or washbasin, a wire hanger bent into a circular shape, a cup, dishwashing detergent with about 40% surfactants, and laundry starch that contains polyvinyl alcohol.

Next, put the ingredients into the cup in the ratio of dishwashing detergent: 1 / laundry starch: 5 / water: 8, and mix well without creating foam.

Soak the wire hanger in the soap solution and slowly lift it up, and it’s ready.

electric jellyfish

[Independent Research] Let's make a flying electric jellyfish!

This is a simple experiment that often appears on TV.

Prepare vinyl string, a PVC pipe (or a long balloon), tissue paper, scissors, and a comb.

Cut the vinyl string into pieces about 10 cm long, spread one piece flat, and split it lengthwise into thin strands about 1 mm wide.

Bundle several strands together and tie them with a rubber band.

Hold the knot in your hand and rub it several times with tissue paper; it will fluff out like a jellyfish.

Next, rub the PVC pipe with tissue in the same way.

Then toss the vinyl-string “jellyfish” into the air and bring the balloon up from below; it will float and drift away as if it’s being controlled by the balloon.

This happens because rubbing with tissue builds up the same negative static charge on both the vinyl string and the PVC pipe, causing them to repel each other.

It’s easy, fun, and highly recommended.

Let’s make a mysterious postcard with grape juice

Color-changing!? Let's make a magical postcard with grape juice [Anthocyanin pigment/indicator/acidic and alkaline]

Introducing a grape-juice postcard you can enjoy not only while making it, but also afterward.

Let’s start with the craft part.

Pour grape juice into a tray and soak a sheet of construction paper in it.

That alone creates a mysterious postcard.

Next, prepare a plastic cup with lemon juice and another with soapy water, plus a brush.

Dip the brush into either one and have fun drawing illustrations.

You can enjoy the curious sensation of the paper changing color as you draw.

It’s also a good idea to look up the reason behind the color change later.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

yamamoto

Report a problem

Playing with wine glasses

Glass harp Harry Potter

This is a science project that uses the phenomenon where tracing the rim of a water-filled glass with a finger produces a high-pitched “ringing” sound.

By varying the amount of water in identical glasses, you can use multiple glasses to perform music.

Filming an actual performance would likely make for an interesting presentation.

Let’s make salt crystals

An easy way to make table salt crystals

This is an easy science project you can do with common table salt and water found at home.

Just add more table salt than can dissolve into a glass of water and stir.

Then carefully transfer a little of the water from the upper part into another container, making sure not to include the undissolved salt settled at the bottom, and simply wait for the water to evaporate naturally.

It takes several days, but I think it will make for a substantial science project.

Let’s make a magnetic board that also works as a blackboard.

DIY [Summer Vacation Craft] Make a Mini Blackboard – Great for Independent Research, too!

Did you know you can easily make a chalkboard? When we think of chalkboards, we picture the big ones in schools, but these days you can buy small sheet-type ones at 100-yen shops, so you can make a chalkboard incredibly easily.

You can also get chalk and erasers at 100-yen shops.

Just prepare a board of the same size and stick the sheet on, and you’ve got a small chalkboard! Having one at home is practical and useful, isn’t it? If you want to make a larger chalkboard, you can find chalkboard paint and the like at home improvement stores, too.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

utatane

Report a problem

Let’s try making a yokai picture book.

Yo-kai Watch: Yokai Exercise No. 1

When it comes to characters that are hugely popular with kids, “Yo-kai Watch” is a prime example.

So, let’s look into yokai that have been passed down in Japan since ancient times.

Essentially, yokai are easily understandable embodiments of moral views and admonitions.

Researching them is fascinating, so I recommend it as a niche field of study.

If you want to stand out from other kids, this is the way to go.