Science Project Ideas

The Science of Making Butter

Bread and butter go together naturally (especially freshly made bread still warm from the oven). There are records of butter making from around 4000 years ago. Butter usually comes from…

Cleaning Tarnish Off Silver: Bicarbonate and Aluminium

After a while, even the best and most carefully polished silver becomes dull and tarnished, and needs to be cleaned again. Why does it tarnish, and how can it be…

Make a Vacuum Cleaner

Originally, carpets and rugs were cleaned by lifting them, taking them outside, hanging them over a line and beating them with a carpet beater (a very dusty job), or by…

Seeing Ultraviolet Light: Tonic Water in Sunlight

Ultraviolet (UV) light is an invisible part of light. It has a shorter wavelength than violet light (see ‘Making a Rainbow: Breaking Light Into Colour’), and its name means ‘beyond…

Growing Stalactites and Stalagmites

Stalactites and stalagmites are formations of rock in underground caves. They are formed when calcium carbonate and other minerals dissolve in water running through the soil and rocks. As the…

Encouraging Kids Who Don’t Like Science

Some children take to science likes ducks to water, but others seem to just decide that they ‘don’t like science’, which might be because they are scared off by the…

The Effect of Smell on Taste

Think about the best food ever – perhaps a really good piece of chocolate cake – and remember what it tastes like and what it smells like. And then imagine…

The Effect of Colour on Taste and Appetite

The colour of food is important – if an apple or a strawberry is red, it’s likely to be ripe, sweet and good to eat, and if a piece of…

The Effect of Colour on Memory

People seem to remember many things by their colour – a red bus, their blue car, a friend’s house with a yellow door. An image in colour seems more vivid…

DISCOVERY, INFORMATION & GUIDANCE for Kids