What are some "last-minute" science project ideas?
Sometimes kids have to do a science project and it's due tomorrow. Or it's Friday and it's due on Monday and you don't have time to grow plants or grow mould or grow anything, so there are a couple of things. Magnetism is really easy. You do it right then. So, do magnets go through plastic? Do they go through glass? Do they go through hands? You get some magnets and you can see if magnets will pick up paper clips through your hand, through a piece of board, or through whatever. You can do little electric circuits. What conducts electricity? You need a battery. You need a light-bulb. You hook them up with wire, and the light bulb goes on. You hook them up with string, and light bulb doesn't go on. What if you hook them up with tin foil? What if you hook them up with pennies? All these are different things you can try. Ice; does ice melt faster in red cups or blue cups? Put them out there. It will melt certainly in less than a few minutes. So, you can take pictures and record it all right then and there. Then there are social experiments. Sometimes, I'll have kids do things aren't actually a physical science but really a social science. So, sit by the corner at a stop sign. How many cars make a complete stop? How many cars roll through? Are red cars more likely than white cars to stop or roll through? You can look at people in the grocery store. Are women more likely to buy fruit than men are? There are all these kinds of questions that you can ask. You just need to find a place to where you can go and watch, take notes, make your little tally marks, and put together a report.
