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!
- For summer vacation homework! Simple and amazing crafts for elementary school students that you’ll want to make after seeing them
- Simple yet amazing crafts: craft ideas that elementary school students will want to make
- Elementary School Students: Simple One-Day Science Project and Craft Ideas
- DIY science projects that elementary school boys will love: ideas you can make with everyday materials
- [For Upper Elementary Students] Simple but Awesome! A Collection of Summer Vacation Craft Ideas
- For upper-grade boys! Simple yet awesome craft project [Don’t call it lazy]
- Fun crafts using straws
- Recommended for lower elementary school students! A collection of plastic bottle craft ideas made with everyday materials.
- Simple and cute summer project crafts! A collection of ideas for girls that will make you want to create
- [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 upper grades (121–130)
Paper cup fireworks
Fireworks burst out of a paper cup! How about enjoying a bright, summery craft? First, prepare some copy paper and draw any patterns you like.
Crayons or pens with vivid colors are recommended.
Next, cut the paper in half, accordion-fold each piece, then fold them in half again.
Make a hole in the center of the bottom of a paper cup and insert a chopstick.
Finally, attach the accordion-folded pieces to both sides of the chopstick, and fix their ends to both sides of the cup to finish.
You’ll love the satisfying pop as the fireworks open! It’s easy to make, so give it a try.
The mechanism of sound! Paper cup crow
How about using a paper cup to mimic the sound of a crow? It’s very easy to make! First, poke a hole in the bottom of a paper cup with a toothpick.
Next, thread a piece of string through the cup.
Finally, tie a toothpick to the end of the string inside the cup so it won’t slip out—that’s it! If you pinch and move the string sticking out from the bottom while gripping it with a piece of wet kitchen paper, it will produce a sound just like a crow’s call! The volume and pitch change depending on how you move and shake your fingers, so try out different techniques and see what kinds of sounds you can make.
Experiment of the Rainbow Flower
This is an experiment where you dye white flowers using a coloring agent.
If you place the flowers in colored liquid, they absorb the colored water and gradually become dyed.
There’s a Rainbow Flower Kit that includes the dye and the tools needed for the experiment, so it’s easy to try.
The dyed flowers are beautiful, making this a recommended independent study project for people who love flowers.
It also allows for solid exploration of how plants work.
Research on familiar/local Shinto shrines
Let’s research a local Shinto shrine—the kind you’re likely to find in any area.
When was it built? Which deity is enshrined? What blessings is it believed to bestow? By looking into these questions, your respect for a shrine you may have only thought of as “the place where the summer festival is held” can deepen, and so can your understanding of—and attachment to—the community where you live.
For upper grades (131–140)
A toy that uses a lid
@n.annlee321 Usable... lid!!!TranslationHaagen-Dazs hand-made toy 100-yen shop DIY#KindergartenMom#Kindergartentranslation#ElementarySchoolMom
♬ Double Double FIGHT! – Intro ver. – CANDY TUNE
Haagen-Dazs is hugely popular for its ice cream.
How about turning the lid—something you’d usually throw away—into a cute science project? In this video, they put sequins inside to make a shaker-style lid, and they also poke in pipe-cleaner flowers to create a little trinket box.
With a bit of creativity, you can use lids from other ice creams to make all kinds of toys.
For example, how about making menko (slap-battle cards)? The weight and thickness seem just right.
With bottle-milk caps, you could make character medals.
If you coat them with gold or silver paper, you’ll get super cool-looking medals.
Cute herbarium
Why not try making a herbarium, a popular interior decoration? Prepare a container, your favorite flowers and beads, and baby oil.
First, place the flowers and beads into the container, being careful not to overfill it.
Also, if anything tends to float when put in liquid, soak it in the liquid beforehand.
Once you’ve added all the parts, slowly pour in the baby oil, close the container lid, and it’s done.
You can also focus on choosing a stylish container and decorate it with stickers or washi tape to make it extra cute.
Cute goldfish scooping
When you think of summer, you think of festivals—and goldfish scooping, right? Let’s make a cute, handmade goldfish scooping game and have some fun! Prepare a cardboard box as the base and cut several slits into the sides.
Thread a thick blue string across the slits to represent water and create an aquarium.
Next, cut a paper cup to make a ring from the rim.
Attach a popsicle stick as the handle, and glue tissue paper to the inside of the ring to complete the poi (scooper).
Finally, tie individually wrapped candies with rubber bands, add eyes to make goldfish, and you’re done.
Arrange the goldfish in the aquarium and try scooping them up with the poi!