Good Science Projects for Grade 6

For your classroom, try science projects that have real-world implications. Your students will gain more from projects that touch their everyday lives. Instead of having them read from a book or grow fruit flies, try doing science projects with a little pizazz.

Diet Versus Regular

One would not think a can of diet soda and a can of regular soda are so different. However, challenge the class to predict which will float and which will sink. Or will they both float? Your brain wants to believe that, because of all of the carbonation in the drinks, they will float. To test the theory, fill a few large containers with water; an empty fish tank works best. Then, split the class up into three or four groups and have each group slowly place each can into the water and wait. What they will find is that the regular soda sinks like a rock while the diet soda floats lazily at the top. Why? The amount of sugar in regular soda makes it more dense. It is a good thing to think about the next time you are reaching for a can of your favorite fizzy drink.

Flaming Bottle

This one requires care, caution, adults and the outdoors. You will need an empty 2-liter bottle, rubbing alcohol and a match. Take your supplies outside, away from anything flammable. Pour a few drops of rubbing alcohol into the empty bottle and spin the bottle around to coat all of the edges. Place the bottle on a table right side up. Then, take your match and secure it to a long pole. A metal coat hanger works perfectly. Touch the match to the inside of the bottle and stand back. A blue ring will race down the length of the bottle, burning up all of the alcohol coating the inside. As the grand finale, the remaining energy from the heat will shoot out of the top of the bottle in the form of a blue flame.

School Germs

Show your students why you tell them to wash their hands. Assign groups of students different areas of the classroom to swab and give them five to seven petri dishes and lots of clean cotton swabs. One group might get the desks and chairs, another the pens, pencils and art supplies, while another gets the door and chalkboard. Instruct each group to label its petri dishes with the area swabbed. When the swabbing and labeling is complete, seal each dish with a piece of tape and set them out on a display table. After a few days, students will see various types and colors of bacteria growing and be begging for hall passes to go wash their hands.