This is a selection of middle school science projects. Each entry has a brief description and guidelines for further investigation. We strove to pick samples that are interesting but still fairly easy to do.

If you don't find exactly what you're looking for, don't despair - think about these examples and use your imagination - you might get a great idea quite different from what you see here.  You can jump to: physics, chemistry or biology.

In addition to these middle school science projects we also have 6th grade science project and 8th grade science fair project specific information.

Physics

Egg Experiments	Music and Science	Simple Machines
Volcano Project

More Ideas

Physics

• Physical characteristics of eggs.
  • Remember the egg example? The discussion of the egg science project? Eggs are very strong vessels, but are they equally strong in all directions? From the sides and top and bottom?
• Music or Noise?
  • Like music? Don't like noise? What's the difference? Why is one kind of sound music and another just ...noise?
• Why do gasoline engines work?
  • Now before you think about all that stuff under the hood of car, consider the primary component - the engine itself. The theory behind it all is not all that complicated, but very interesting none the less - and definitely a worthy middle school science project.
• What is heat?
  • You know that you feel heat from a fire, or an incandescent light bulb - but what is it exactly? The answer may surprise you.
• Why does a prism create a rainbow pattern of light?
  • If you haven't tried this, go to a science supply shop or your school science lab and experiment with it. Does the color of the incoming light affect the pattern?

Chemistry

• UV rays and everyday objects
  • You know that you should wear sunscreen when outdoors because of the UV rays. So what would these rays do to rubber, or ink or paper? What about photographs or documents?
• Vinaigrette V. S. Coca Cola
  • If you have watched someone make an oil and vinegar salad dressing, you will have undoubtedly noticed that the oil and vinegar separate after a while. Does this happen to some other liquid made up of different substances? How about Coca cola - would it ever separate into it's constituent parts?
• Surface Tension
  • Different liquids have different surfaces tensions. Does the tension of water go up or down when soap is added? How might this affect certain insects that run on the surface of ponds?
• Fire and Foam
  • Why do firefighters sometimes use a fire-retardant foam to fight fires instead of water? Why don't they always use foam (or water?)
• Desalinization
  • Can you get pure water from salt water? How would you do it? Why don't we get all of our fresh water from the ocean?  This is a good middle school science project with plenty of room for personalization.

Biology

• Sweat And Heat
  • Why does your body secrete sweat when you get hot? What is the basis for this behavior? Is the sweat almost pure water or is it salty? Why would it matter?
• Camouflage
  • There are certain creatures like squid that can change their coloration to hide from predators - finding out how is a great middle school science project.
• The effect of differing kinds of light upon plant growth.
  • The fact that plants need light to live and thrive is common knowledge. But what about the qualities of that light? Could plants fair better or worse with light that was a particular color? What about the intensity of that light?

If you cant find a middle school science project here, try the idea pages from the other grade categories - and if you find something you like but it seems too hard or not challenging enough, talk to a friend or teacher to see how it could be adjusted to suit your needs.

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