You've probably often seen planes flying and boats in the water, but have you really thought about what's involved in their operation? There is a lot of interesting science that goes into how they work. Here are a few of the topics covered in the Project Ideas below to help you investigate the science of air- and watercraft:
Parachutes: Does Size Matter?
How does a parachute work? Do bigger parachutes work better than smaller parachutes? Find out in this experiment if the size of the parachute matters.
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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 water?
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Rocking the Boat
When a ship rocks back and forth, it can make people seasick. Even worse, it can make it dangerous for jets to land on aircraft carriers. For these reasons and many others, it's important for engineers to design bilge keels (or fins) to keep boats from rolling back and forth. Become an engineer for a day and discover the best way to keep from rocking the boat in this engineering science fair project!
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Do Submarines Need Fins?
What keeps a submarine from spinning out of control? In this science project, you can investigate how
submarines use stabilizing fins to move forward. You might even figure out the secrets to maneuvering a submarine!
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Bottled-up Buoyancy
Do you dream about making deep, undersea voyages? Let this project take you 20,000 leagues under the sea! Investigate how submarines dive and surface by changing their buoyancy in this fun project.
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How Much Weight Can Your Boat Float?
Have you ever wondered how a ship made of steel can float? In this project you'll investigate how much weight boat hulls of various shapes and sizes can support without sinking.
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The Paper Plate Hovercraft
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You can make a very simple hovercraft with a stiff, disposable plate—a pie plate should work well—and a balloon. Glue a square of cardboard in the center of the bottom of the plate. Make a...
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Make the Wind Work for You!
Alternative energy sources are a big deal these days. One such source is the wind. Find out how a wind turbine can use the power of the wind to generate energy in this science fair engineering project. You'll design various blades to find out which produces the most energy, and put the wind to work for you!
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What Makes a Good Aerodynamic Design? Test Your Ideas with High-Performance Paper Gliders
A great way to get started in exploring aerodynamics is by building high-performance paper gliders. We're not talking folded pieces of copier paper here. These gliders are built using laminated construction methods, so they look and fly much more like the real thing. The materials are inexpensive, and the building techniques are easy to learn. You can easily turn out several planes, which makes it possible to test the effects of design changes on flight performance.
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Rocket Aerodynamics
Have you ever heard the expression, "Well, it's not exactly rocket science…" ? For your science fair project, you can
be a rocket scientist. Here's how.
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Index of Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics Project Ideas |
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