All Science Fair Projects

Build a model to demonstrate how earthquakes are caused
The apparatus consists of a heavy object that is dragged steadily with an elastic cord. Although pulled with a constant velocity, the heavy object repeatedly slides and then stops. A small vibration sensor, attached to a computer display, graphically monitors this intermittent motion.

Does the number of turns of wire in an electromagnet affect its strength?
The purpose of this experiment was to find out if the number of wire wraps will effect the amount of iron filings an electromagnet picks up.

How to build a levitating train using magnets
This is a great demonstration of like poles repelling each other. We have a platform which floats above a pair of magnetic tracks, and can be gently pushed to one end or the other. This is similar in concept to the MAGLEV trains which are being worked on in Germany, Japan and France

How does a bar magnet's field interact with the earth's magnetic field?
The magnetic field around a permanent magnet, like the gravitational field around a massive object, is not only invisible, but hard for students to comprehend. With no concrete experience to draw from, they tend to ignore this basic concept, or at best, memorize facts about it. This activity shows how to map a magnetic field, and to find how a bar magnet's field combines with the Earth's magnetic

How to build a simple electric generator
This is an AC electric generator which is capable of lighting up a tiny incandescent light bulb. The generator is made up of a hollow-ended cardboard box with a nail through the center, many turns of copper wire wound around the box, and four larger magnets clamped around the nail. When the nail and magnets are spun fast by hand, the little light bulb lights up dimly.

How to build a wind turbine generator
These plans are for the construction of a machine called a Savonius wind turbine. Wind turbines come in two general types, those whose main turning shaft is horizontal and points into the wind, and those with a vertical shaft that points up. The Savonius is an example of the vertical axis type. It consists of two simple scoops that catch the wind and cause the shaft to turn.

How to build a magnetic linear accelerator
This very simple toy uses a magnetic chain reaction to launch a steel marble at a target at high speed. The toy is very simple to build, going together in minutes, and is very simple to understand and explain, and yet fascinating to watch and to use.

How to create a heat engine with the help of magnetism
I originally built this toy using a Canadian nickel coin. Canadian nickels are made of pure nickel, unlike U.S. nickels, which contain so much copper that they are not magnetic. You can build the toy with the nickel or with the Radio Shack rare-earth magnet.

Construct a model of a magnetically levitated train
I'm a science hobbyist and occasional exhibit designer for science museums. The devices shown here were part of a prototype "room-temperature superconductive table" which never made it to a museum. I thought I'd place it here so students and hobbyists could experiment with this strange maglev effect.

What effect do magnets have on the growth of seedlings?
The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether magnets have an effect on the growth of radish seedlings. I became interested in the study of the effect magnets, when I discovered that magnets could make you heal faster. Later I decided that that it would be a better idea to study the effect of magnets on plants to keep it a safe experiment.