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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Upper grades (71–80)
Dinosaur Snow Globe
Many children love dinosaurs, don’t they? Some probably have lots of dinosaur merchandise, too.
So let’s make a summer vacation project using dinosaurs: a snow globe in a glass container filled with liquid laundry starch (or school glue) and purified water.
Use a hot glue gun to attach a dinosaur figurine to the inside of the glass lid.
Be careful when using the glue gun, as it gets very hot.
Pour the laundry starch (or glue) and purified water into the container, then tint it with paint in your favorite color.
If you add glitter, you’ll get a sparkly, authentic-looking snow globe.
Close the lid and turn it upside down, and you’ll have a beautiful snow globe with a dinosaur inside.
Handmade shaker coaster
Introducing original handmade “shaker” coasters that capture the feel of the seasons.
Gather styrofoam board, background design paper, a clear file, plastic sheet, double-sided tape, beads or seashells, and sand, and let’s get started.
First, decide what kind of coaster you want to make.
Cut the styrofoam board to create the coaster base.
Attach the base pieces together for the bottom section.
Apply masking tape around the edges, add seashells and sand inside, then seal it with the lid using double-sided tape—and you’re done! Give it a try!
Portable water experiment
Some kids might be struggling to come up with an independent research project for their summer vacation homework.
How about making portable water with a bit of experimentation? You might be thinking, “Portable water?” It’s true that if you put water in your palm, it just spills out.
But if you add a certain ingredient, it turns jelly-like.
The ingredients are food-grade calcium lactate and food-grade alginic acid (sodium alginate).
Because alginic acid readily bonds with calcium ions, the water solidifies into a gel.
It’s a fun experiment where water becomes a wobbly jelly, so give it a try!
Insect interior
This is an idea for turning insect specimens into stylish interior decor.
When you think of specimens, you might picture them in a box, but what we’re introducing here uses a jar.
You’ll need a jar with a cork lid, an acrylic sheet, and an insect specimen.
The process is simple: first, cut the acrylic sheet to a size that fits inside the jar.
Next, make a slit in the cork lid, insert the cut acrylic sheet, and secure it with adhesive.
Finally, attach the insect specimen to the acrylic sheet and close the lid to finish.
Using a clear acrylic sheet makes it look as if the insect is floating inside the jar, creating a very chic look.
Sea memo stand
Some families may go swimming at the beach during summer vacation, right? When we think of the hot summer, many children surely picture the sea.
So why not make a memo stand using resin with an ocean theme? Prepare parts to embed in the resin, such as seashells, sea creatures, and clear or blue stones.
Of course, it’s also nice to include shells you picked up at the beach.
Place your favorite parts and the memo stand into a container, then pour in the resin.
After that, leave it undisturbed for the specified time.
At this stage, the key is to prevent dust and debris from getting in—for example, by placing the piece in a box.
If you include seashells you collected at the beach, you can create a lovely piece that captures your summer memories.
Creeper made from a milk carton
Minecraft is a hugely popular game among kids.
Creepers are characters that appear in Minecraft and explode when they get close to the player.
Let’s make a craft that captures that feature using an empty milk carton.
Besides a milk carton, prepare green plastic bottle caps, bamboo skewers, and oil-based clay as well.
Cut the milk carton and wrap it with green vinyl tape to make the Creeper’s body.
Then cut the body section further and attach parts.
Use another milk carton for the head along with vinyl string or rubber bands to create a mechanism that “explodes.” Because kids use fine motor skills to build it, it helps improve their concentration.
Once it’s finished and displayed at school, you can almost hear friends saying, “Wow, that’s awesome!”
Eyeball Tile Coaster
Here’s an idea where you use cork coasters sold at 100-yen shops as a base and decorate them with stickers and more.
Lately, tile stickers that were popular in the Heisei era have been making a comeback, and you can find a variety of patterns at 100-yen shops as well.
Decorations using remake sheets—those you stick on furniture or walls—are also recommended.
With a bit of creativity, the possibilities are endless, so go ahead and make coasters full of originality!