Grade 2 Lab / experiment
Ashfield's Cold Pipe Wrap: A Grade 2 Insulation Test
A two-session grade 2 investigation comparing a paper towel wrap and a felt wrap on cups of ice, then refreezing the melted water to show the change reverses.
Science fair ideas
Every investigation on this page poses a testable question that a student can pursue and present independently. Each one includes the full materials list, step-by-step instructions, an explanation of the science involved, and notes on variables, fair testing, and how to present results. Water makes a strong science fair subject because the experiments use inexpensive materials and connect to systems students can see in their own town.
31 investigations · filter them in the catalog
Grade 2
Grade 2 Lesson plan
Sparrowfield's Fish Tank Water Line: A Cover Design Lesson
A two-session grade 2 lesson in which students design jar covers that slow evaporation, test three setups, and argue which cover the class fish tank needs.
Grade 3
Grade 3 Lab / experiment
The Settling Jar Test at Cloverstock Creek: A Grade 3 Lab
A grade 3 lab in which teams shake three jars holding sand, garden soil, and potting mix, then score how fast each one clears at five, ten, and twenty minutes.
Grade 3 Lab / experiment
Lumbry Bend's Water Wheel: A Grade 3 Pour-Height Fair Test
A grade 3 lab in which teams build a cork water wheel and test whether pouring one liter from a greater height makes the wheel spin more times in ten seconds.
Grade 3 Classroom activity
Build a Mini Model of an Underground Water Supply: A Grade 3 Activity
Grade 3 teams pack two soil cups differently, pour equal water on each, and time which soil lets the water soak in faster in a fair test.
Grade 5
Grades 5–6 Lab / experiment
Gravel, Sand, and Charcoal: Building a Column Water Filter
Teams build two column water filters in different layer orders, pour standardized muddy water through each, and compare clarity data in a fair, science-fair-ready test.
Grade 5 Classroom activity
Lifting Water Uphill: A Grade 5 Timber Ridge Hand-Crank Lift Challenge
A grade 5 build activity in which groups lift a cup of water uphill on a narrow pencil axle and a wide tube axle, then compare turns and spills.
Grade 6
Grade 6 Lab / experiment
Choosing a Weir Notch Shape for Wilmot Brook
Students build three weir plates, read the water height at a slow and a fast flow, and pick the notch shape that meets a fictional gauge's three rules.
Grade 6 Lab / experiment
Testing Three Pipe Bedding Materials for Oskett Lane
Students load a model pipe on soil, sand, and pea gravel, then measure settling, drainage, and soil movement to pick the bedding a fictional water main job needs.
Grade 6 Lab / experiment
Pellham Flats Well Screen Gravel Pack Design Lab
Students build three model well screens with different gravel pack depths, time how fast each drains, and measure how much sand each lets through before choosing one.
Grade 6 Lab / experiment
Amberton's Cloudy Water: Building and Testing a Sand Filter
A grade 6 science lab where students build a layered bottle filter, run muddy water through it, rate cloudiness on a 0-to-10 scale, and calculate the percent removed.
Grade 6 Project
Surface Area and Evaporation: A Science Fair Investigation
A five-session, two-week grade 6 science fair project testing whether container opening size changes evaporation rate, with data logging and graphing.
Grade 7
Grade 7 Lab / experiment
Braycott Basin Baffles: Testing Three Layouts for Clearer Water
A grade 7 lab where teams test three baffle layouts in a model settling basin, then build a fourth that combines features from their best layout and a partner team's.
Grade 7 Project
Ravensgill Creek Shade Structures: Cooling a Trout Reach
A five-session grade 7 build-and-test project where teams design bank shade structures on a model reach, run three timed heat trials, and combine the best features.
Grade 7 Project
Waverton Creek Temperature Study: Runoff From the Parking Lot
A five-session grade 7 science project on whether parking lot runoff warms a creek, ending in a report and one affordable fix for a fictional public works office.
Grade 7 Lab / experiment
Kirkstall Park Splash Pad: A Water Turnover Dilution Test
Groups model a splash pad's water turnovers with food coloring, rate the fading color, and calculate why fresh water alone cannot clean up a contamination event.
Grade 7 Lab / experiment
Lake Tamsett Beach Clarity: A Lifeguard Visibility Test
Students cloud water with measured soil, record the depth where a marked disk disappears, and use the data to judge when a lake beach is too murky to guard.
Grade 7 Lab / experiment
Ashford Mills Filter Trade-Off: Flow Rate Versus Clarity
Students build three filter designs, time how fast each runs, rate how clear the water is, and find the trade-off between speed and clarity.
Grade 7 Lab / experiment
Saltcrest Ridge Fog Catcher: Testing Mesh Panels for Water Capture
A grade 7 lab where students build three mesh panels, spray them under identical conditions, and use the collected volumes to design a better fog-catching panel.
Grade 8
Grade 8 Project
Hollins Row Rain Gauge Network: How Rain Varies by Block
A five-session grade 8 science project in which students build and site rain gauges, log two weeks of storms, and report findings to a fictional stormwater board.
Grade 8 Lab / experiment
Ashen Ford Grit Channel: Testing Settling Speed to Set Length
A grade 8 lab where teams time sand, silt, and coffee grounds settling through three water depths, then use the speed to size a wastewater grit channel.
Grade 8 Lab / experiment
The Three-Bag Transpiration Test: Leaves, Stems, and Air
A two-session grade 8 science lab in which students bag a leafy shoot, a stripped stem, and empty air, then graph class data on leaf count against water collected.
Grade 9
Grade 9 Lab / experiment
Ivelstone Storm Kit: How Stored Tap Water Loses Its Chlorine
Students store tap water four ways, track free and total chlorine with test strips for two days, and turn the results into storage rules for a storm kit.
Grade 9 Project
The Aldwinter High Water Audit: Finding the Standing Leak
A four-session grade 9 project where students meter their school's overnight water use, test one low-cost fix, and propose retrofits to a fictional facilities director.
Grade 9 Lab / experiment
Nethercote Service Lines: A Bench Test of Length and Flow
A grade 9 lab where students hold head constant and measure how tubing length and inner diameter change delivered flow, then apply the result to a fictional town.
Grade 10
Grade 10 Lab / experiment
Brackenholt Heat Stroke Plan: A Lab Comparing Four Cooling Methods
Students cool bottles of warm water four ways, from still air to an ice-water tub, calculate cooling rates, and advise a fictional school on heat stroke first aid.
Grade 10 Lab / experiment
Comparing Column Filter Media: A Grade 10 Turbidity Design Lab
A grade 10 engineering lab where students build column filters, change the media, and test which design clears cloudy water best while keeping an acceptable flow rate.
Grade 11
Grade 11 Lab / experiment
After the Ellisfield Burst Pipe: A Mold-Prevention Drying Lab
Groups dry wet cloths in a fan draft, in still air, and under cover, then model drying with ratios and logarithms to explain why hidden wet materials grow mold.
Grade 11 Project
Umberly Reservoir: Testing Covers Against Evaporation
A five-session grade 11 investigation where teams run a randomized evaporation-pan experiment, test it with a simulation, and scale the result to a fictional reservoir.
Grade 11 Project
Does Turbidity Predict Bacteria? A Creek Monitoring Regression Project
A grade 11 investigation pairing turbidity and bacteria readings from a fictional creek to fit a regression, assess the fit, and evaluate a data-based safety claim.
Grade 12
Grade 12 Project
Road Salt and the Chloride Pulse in Havering Creek
A seven-session grade 12 field investigation measuring conductivity above and below salted roads, then evaluating a fictional town's winter salting practice.