I’m really excited about this brilliant collection of science experiments for teens! My eldest son is 14, so I’ve tried to choose activities that I know he has enjoyed recently and some to challenge even older children as well!
If you have an older child with younger siblings one idea is to ask them to create an activity for the younger ones or even set up their own science lesson with a plan and resources.
Science projects for teens using technology
Homemade Phone Speaker
This homemade iPhone speaker has been a huge hit in our house. We experimented with different types of cups and changing the length of the cardboard tube to see how the sound changed. It’s a great science investigation and practical too!
Makey Makey Projects
I bought a MakeyMakey several years ago and the children have all enjoyed creating simple projects for it.
Our latest one was a homemade operation game, it was much easier than I thought to put together and has been used over and over again!
A banana piano is another fun project using a Makey Makey and works really well as a science demonstration for a school open day or science fair!
Electricity Projects for Teens
Electricity projects are great for older children as they generally work first time and the end result is obvious, satisfying and sometimes useful too!
Babble Dabble Do has some fantastic salty circuits! We haven’t tried these yet, but they are on my list.
Make your own torch with a Pringles tube. The purple one in the photo is a head torch made by my daughter who wanted to make something slightly unusual.
We’ve also got some spooky light up houses with switches made from a paperclip and paper! These are great for Halloween, but could also be turned into beach huts or a Santa’s grotto.
Our scribble bots are brilliant fun, but do need a few supplies, such as a motor, battery and wires. They are definitely worth the effort though and can be kept and used over and over again.
Space Projects
Our bottle rocket is always popular and can be easily extended by designing and building a launch pad, decorating it, adding extra weight or even a toy passenger.
This baking soda rocket is easy enough for teens to make, but do take care as it shoots up very quickly.
I love the look of Childhood101’s stomp rocket too!
Chemistry Projects for Teens
Removing the shell from an egg is always fun! Once the shell is gone the naked egg is perfect for learning about osmosis! If you place the egg in water for a few hours it will expand as water moves through the membrane into the egg. If you put it in a solution of sugar and water it will shrink as water moves from the egg into the sugar solution.
Blow up a balloon with lemon juice, or yeast and warm water. This is a great activity for learning about respiration ( yeast and water ) or chemical reactions.
Make a density column. This can be very simple ( just oil and water ) or more complicated with lots of layers. The trick is to gently pour each new layer down the side of the container so it rests on the layer below.
Coke and Mento explosions are always fantastic fun! Definitely do this one outdoors though!
Fun Science Tricks
Pushing a skewer through a balloon without it popping never fails to impress people!
An inertia experiment is very easy to set up and looks impressive too! Simply pull the cardboard sheet out from under the tube and watch as the lemon ( or small ball ) drops straight into the glass.
These toothpick stars from The STEM Laboratory are brilliant as well!
Human Body Experiments for Teens
Investigate the effect of exercise on heart rate with and easy investigation where you measure pulse rate before and after exercise.
This pumping heart model is a great way to learn how the heart works and very easy to make.
These sporty science ideas will keep kids busy for weeks! Test reaction times, find out why balls bounce and lots more sport themed science activities!
Kitchen Science Experiments for teens
Create a whole meal of science experiments including a starter, main meal, dessert and even drinks!
Our favourite is the plant cell pizza, followed by baked alaska!
Making slushy drinks with ice and salt is great fun, you can also use the same method to make ice cream or frozen yoghurt.
A red cabbage indicator is a brilliant home chemistry experiment and can be used for testing the pH of kitchen ingredients, making colour changing potions or even finding out whether the air you breathe out is acidic or alkaline!
Honeycomb is delicious and easy to make too. Kids can add their own twist by adding chocolate or sprinkles to the top!
Organise a Science Bake Off with friends and discover chemistry in the kitchen!
Sugar crystals are great fun to grow and perfect for learning about concentrations and saturated solutions.
Plant Experiments for teens
Make a delicious edible model of a plant cell. This one doesn’t keep very well, but I also have a modroc version if you need a longer lasting cell model.
Make plain white flowers colourful using the power of transpiration. We’ve found that natural food colours don’t work for this so you’ll need to find non natural colours.
This pasta plant cell model is amazing too!
Finally, if you’re looking for something super simple, try one of our science experiments using only paper.
You might also like one of my science books! Snackable Science is full of edible experiments, This IS Rocket Science is great for learning about space and the forces involved in space travel and Reach for the Stars is a new science story book with activities at the end of each chapter.
Finally, travel around the world with my Around the World in 50 Experiments series!
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Last Updated on May 26, 2022 by Emma Vanstone
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