Ideas for Engineering Science Fair Projects

Engineering science fair projects can involve designing, building, analyzing, modeling, or improving a device. You can also test or create materials. Here are some specific ideas for engineering science fair projects.

• What is the best material to put in a sandbag to block water, such as during a flood?
• How tall can you build a tower using only a sheet of ​paper? You can cut it, fold it, crumple it, but only use that single material. What works best?
• Compare the characteristics of a structure that is made using different materials. You can compare strength, corrosion resistance, and elasticity. Be creative. The trick is to make certain your measurements are truly comparable to each other.
• What can you do with a swim cap to optimize its ability to decrease drag in water? Can you alter the shape? Does one material work substantially better than another?
• Which type of paper towel absorbs the most water? Which brand absorbs the most oil? Are they the same brand?
• What differences do you note in the ability of different soils to support a structure?
• What type of paper airplane flies the furthest and stays aloft the longest?
• How can you map a magnetic field? Can you construct a device, using iron filings, that can be reused for field mapping?
• Construct a Lego building. Now try to make the same building on an incline, such as a 30-degree slope. What changes do you need to make in order to make it stable?
• How does a change in the construction of a parachute affect flight? Parameters you could examine include size, shape, material, and/or method of attachment.