Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Measuring Height or Distances With a Camera
If you know or calculate the field of view for your camera, you can use it to measure distances and the height of almost anything. It's all a matter of basic trigonometry.
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Science Buddies: What a Drag!
What makes some objects more streamlined than others? Find out which ordinary objects around your house are made to move smoothly through the water in this easy experiment. Which objects will produce the most drag when pulled through the...
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Science Buddies: Bridges That Can Take a Shake!
Building a bridge in San Francisco has to take into account the possibilites of earthquakes. This Science Buddies science project asks that you use different virtual bridge designs to withstand virtual earthquakes. The Science Buddies...
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Science Buddies: Molecular Scissors
Ever used a pair of molecular scissors? Restriction enzymes are molecular scissors that cut DNA into pieces. Find out which enzymes will cut, and where by making a restriction map. Then you can figure out what will happen if you change...
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Science Buddies: Locating the Epicenter of an Earthquake
When an earthquake happens, how are scientists able to determine the original location of the quake? In this project, you'll use archived data from a network of seismometers to find out for yourself. You'll create your own seismograms...
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Science Buddies: Does Chemical Lightening Affect the Structure of Human Hair?
Hair strands can be used as the basis for a hygrometer, a device which measures the humidity level in the air. The goal of this project is to determine whether chemical lightening treatments affect the natural elasticity of human hair.
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Science Buddies: Only if They Think They Can Get Away With It?
How many times have you noticed someone who looks perfectly healthy using a parking space reserved for the handicapped at a busy shopping center? If this behavior gets you steamed, you might be interested in studying how to discourage...
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Science Buddies: Make a Hygrometer With Strands of Hair
Does your hair go crazy when the weather turns damp? Did you know that strands of hair can relax and lengthen when the humidity increases and then contract again when the humidity decreases? In fact, hair strands can be used as the basis...
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Science Buddies: Make Your Own Psychrometer
From the name, you might guess that a psychrometer is an instrument designed to measure your thoughts. Actually, it is an instrument that can help you forecast the weather. Read more to find out how it works.
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Science Buddies: Measuring Surface Tension of Water With a Penny
Have you ever wondered what makes water 'bead' up on a freshly waxed car? In this project you'll investigate the chemistry of surface tension by measuring how many drops of water a penny can hold.
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Science Buddies: Computer Sleuth: Identification by Text Analysis
Here's a project where you can try your hand at being a detective with your computer. In this project you'll write a program to do some basic analysis of features of written text (for example, counting the length of each word in the...
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Science Buddies: Program to Check a Sudoku Solution
Sudoku puzzles have become extremely popular over the past couple of years. You can find books of puzzles for beginners to experts, and many newspapers print Sudoku puzzles daily. This project challenges you to write a computer program...
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Science Buddies: Gears Go Round!
Music boxes, bicycles, and clocks all have one thing in common: GEARS. You might say that gears make the world turn, since they are in so many mechanical instruments. How do they work and how do you know which gears to use? Find out in...
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Science Buddies: Rubber Bands for Energy
If you've ever been shot with a rubber band then you know it has energy in it, enough energy to smack you in the arm and cause a sting. How can the energy of a rubber band be put to work? In this experiment you will find out how the...
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Science Buddies: Which Simple Machines Do I Use the Most?
When you think of a machine, you probably think of computers or robots. Try this experiment to see how simple machines are used everyday around your house.
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Science Buddies: How Does Color Affect Heating by Absorption of Light?
Light is an example of an electromagnetic wave. Electromagnetic waves can travel through the vacuum of interstellar space. They do not depend on an external medium-unlike a mechanical wave such as a sound wave which must travel through...
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Science Buddies: Digital Photos and Dynamic Range
Digital cameras can be a great way to learn about photography. Most digital cameras today have LCD screens, so you get instant feedback on your photo. If you make a mistake, no problem, you just delete the picture. It's nice that you...
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Science Buddies: Using a Digital Camera to Measure Skyglow
This is a great project for someone that is interested in both stargazing and photography. Bright city lights and even the light of the full moon obscure the dimmest stars, which can make identifying constellations more difficult. This...
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Science Buddies: Gigantic Triangles: Measuring Altitude (Inclinometer)
If you've ever wondered how tall that bridge is, or how high your kite was, then this could be a good project for you. You'll learn how you can use the mathematics of right triangles to measure the height of an object with two...
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Science Buddies:brain Body Connection: Can Exercise Make Our Brains Work Better?
We all know physical exercise is important to keeping our bodies fit. But how important is physical exercise to your brain? In other words, is there any connection between an active body and increased brain power? This is an easy project...
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Science Buddies: Measuring Light Intensity Using the Inverse Square Law
You've probably heard that compact fluorescent light bulbs are more efficient than incandescent bulbs. More of the electricity they use goes into producing light, and less into producing heat than with incandescent bulbs. How much more...
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Science Buddies: Ring of Fire 1: What Volcanoes Tell Us About Plate Tectonics
The Ring of Fire is a region of volcanic and earthquake activity that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. In this project you can explore the connection between plate tectonics and volcanic activity by mapping historical data.
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Science Buddies: Do It Yourself Dna
All living things have DNA inside their cells. In this experiment you can make your own DNA extraction kit from household chemicals and use it to extract DNA from strawberries.
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Science Buddies: What Makes a Dna Fingerprint Unique?
Do you like solving mysteries? In this experiment, you can find out how a DNA fingerprint can help you figure out whodunit. The answer might just be in the "sequence" of events.