10 Winning Science Fair Projects For High School

If you are looking to find amazing ideas for your next science project then read our list of 10 winning science fair projects for high school.

Children are under a lot of pressure nowadays, especially at school. They need to keep up with other students, to try hard and put a lot of effort into being a good student in order to secure a good future. They struggle to get good grades and make their parents proud of them or they strive to compete with others in the classroom. Anyway, the pressure on them is pretty big and we get that. It’s not always easy to understand why we need to try so hard.

However, we all had that one subject at school which we liked best and which we actually enjoyed. For some that is literature while others are talented for maths, and some are great at science. While science is confusing to some people, to others it is exciting and logical. Have you ever enjoyed science activities where you can learn while having fun? Then you might be interested in our list of 6 Biggest Science Festivals Around the World.

If you are a high school student who loves science, then you probably have experience with science fair projects. If you don’t, then take a look at this post on Thought Co. Finding an idea for the science fair project can be quite a task. The pressure is even bigger now because, at a science fair, you need to showcase your work and thus compete with other participants. You must think of a problem or a question that you wish to find an answer to. Of course, you must use a scientific method to obtain that answer and that’s what makes the projects hard. To be successful at science fair projects, you must be good at asking questions. They will help you on your way to find a solution to a problem. You also need to plan your experiment carefully and then perform it while observing what happens. Finally, you analyze the results and you have your answer. Although it sounds simple enough, it often isn’t, so, many times students are frustrated and need help. That’s what we are going to do exactly. We understand the struggle of finding a good idea for the project so we did a little research. In order to come up with this list, we searched for the award-winning science fair projects and best ideas that we can find, and we selected those that are most likely to inspire you to to be great! We found amazing projects on Education and  Google Science Fair. Take a look at our list of 10 winning science fair projects for high school.

10. Resistivity: Which Metal is The Best Conductor?

Electrical resistance is the total opposition to the passage of electric current, and it depends on the material and length of what the current is passing through. Therefore, the number varies depending on where is resistance measured. In this experiment, you can calculate resistivity and conductivity of the materials you choose, for example, copper, and you can do that by applying Ohm’s law. The goal is to calculate which material is more resistive and conductive and for this project, you will need lots of wires, copper, and iron. You will also need a ruler, a voltmeter, and ammeter as well as wire cutters. Next, you need to attach the positive lead of the ammeter to the negative terminal of the battery, and the negative lead of the ammeter should be attached to the end of one of the wires. You can take a look at to find details of the procedure.

9. Choice Blindness: What do we Really Want?

We are continuing our list of winning science fair projects for high school with this experiment that is very interesting as it deals with the phenomenon that is choice blindness or situations where people are blind to their own choices and they can actually confirm decisions they didn’t make. This experiment’s goal is to determine whether choice blindness occurs more often with men or women. For this science project, it is necessary to find 30 people to participate in the experiment and to have about 20 photos of non-famous male persons, and 20 photos of non-famous female persons. Two photos should be presented to a female subject asking her which one does she find more attractive. Then show her the photos he has chosen and ask her why did she choose that one. After repeating these steps several times, in three of the trials, you need to show a different photo to the subject and not the one she actually chose. Ask her why did she choose that one and observe whether she notices that she actually didn’t. Repeat the same process with male subjects and pay attention to how they react when you show them a photo they didn’t choose. Do they notice it’s a different person? Analyze how many times did you manage to fool female subjects, and then the male subjects.

8. How do Changes in Acidity Affect Survival?

In this project number 8 on our list of winning science fair projects for high school, your aim is to determine how does a change in acidity affect the survival of an invertebrate population, or in this case, shrimps. First, you need to do a background research and determine the average pH of groundwater in various areas in your country. Analyze how acid rain forms, what is being done to reduce it, and what are the possible reasons for failing in this attempt. Then you need some shrimp eggs in a glass container with saltwater solution and to adjust the pH to about 7.5. You can use baking soda for this and a pH meter. Next, you need to divide shrimps eggs into several groups, making sure that you leave the control group at the same pH level, 7.5. Add a few drops of vinegar every day, but slowly adjusting the pH level until it’s equal to the pH levels of water in various areas of your country. Make sure you feed each group the exact same amount (a few grains of yeast). Now observe the effects of acidity and which group manages to survive the longest.

7. How to Build a Simple Magnetic Accelerator?

How do roller coasters work? They work thanks to magnetism and energy conservation, so a series of electromagnets push and pull on the rollercoaster. This idea is very interesting to engineers who imagined launching objects into space using the same method. The aim of this project is to build a simple magnetic accelerator using a wooden ruler and four small magnets. You will also need tape and small steel balls (9 balls). Placing the ruler down, lay one magnet in the ruler groove using a tape to attach it. Do the same thing with 3 other magnets with the same distance between the magnets. Then place two steel balls to the right of each magnet, set a target near, and place the last ball in the groove on the far left, opposite of the target. Then let the ball go and observe what happens. Attracted by the first magnet, the ball should set a chain reaction of balls firing between the magnets until the last one hits the target thanks to the energy of conservation.And now, let’s see what else we have on our list of winning science fair projects for high school.

6. Which Fruit is Healthier?

Not all fruits and vegetables contain the same nutritional value. This experiment aims to determine whether the density of fruit and vegetables indicates it’s nutritional value. For this experiment, you will need various fruits and vegetables, a scale, water, and a 500-1000mL cylinder. After choosing samples, it is necessary to create a chart of each sample’s nutritional value and then weigh each of them. Then fill the cylinder with water and record the volume so you can submerge a sample in the water and measure the volume again. Repeat the process with every sample and finally, calculate volume, mass, and density using the weight and displacement measurement. Compare the densities to the nutritional content from the chart.

5. How Nanotechnologies Influence Nature?

Laura’s project that’s up next on our list of winning science fair projects for high school deals with the possible effects of nanotechnologies, or nanoparticles more specifically, on nature as well as humans. The initial belief was that nanoparticles have a hazardous effect not only on particular organisms but on their surroundings, too. She conducted an experiment with beans watered with only water as opposed to beans watered with colloidal nanogold solutions. The latter ones grew much faster than beans watered with water. She then took samples of the dehydrated soil where the beans grew and examined them. She concluded that nanoparticles were digested by plants. Laura was one of the finalists at Google Science Fair in 2015.

4. Solar-Powered Solution For Providing Potable Water

Up next on our list of winning science fair projects for high school is this project that is about extracting clean water from the air where a solar still distil water using the heat of the Sun to evaporate, cool and then collect water. A novel solar still passively purifies water which is not suitable for use. Design features include a high capacity condenser and a modular system of evaporation basins. The still purifies water and removes bacteria, sediment, and chemical contamination, and turn non-potable water into potable water. Project No.4 on our list of 10 winning science fair projects, was a finalist at Google Science Fair in 2015.

3. Novel Photocatalytic Pervious Composites: Removing Toxins From Water

This project that ranks third on our list of winning science fair projects for high school was aimed at developing a green and sustainable technique for purifying water. The innovative methodology used in this project involves filtration with an enhanced photocatalytic oxidation process. To synthesize novel silver (Ag) doped photocatalytic pervious composites, Deepika Kurup used uniformly graded sand, titanium dioxide, Portland cement, and silver nitrate. Ag-doped photocatalytic pervious composite showed a 98% reduction in bacteria right after filtration. Further exposure of the filtered water to sunlight inside a beaker containing an Ag-doped photocatalytic composite disc showed 100% reduction of bacteria in only 15 minutes. Deepika Kurup was a finalist at Google Science Fair in 2015.

2. Eco-Friendly Active Refrigeration System

Based on his early-childhood experience, Anurudh Ganesan was inspired to find a better way of transporting vaccines to distant locations. Since vaccines often arrive either too hot or too cold due to dependence on ice and electricity, he found a way to create a refrigeration system that does not depend on either of the two factors. His simple vapor compression refrigeration system uses a phase change material (PCM) to prevent overheating or overcooling by releasing or absorbing the heat of fusion. You can view the full project details here. And now, let’s see the number one on our list of winning science fair projects for high school.

1. Perpetual Motion Machines

Perpetual motion is motion which continues indefinitely without any external source of energy and in this experiment, the aim is to determine whether energy could be created out of nothing using a perpetual motion machine. Material necessary includes pop bottle, plastic tubing, plumbers fitting, computer fan, fridge magnets, neodymium magnets, a 9-volt battery for the first and the second experiment. For the third experiment, you need a motor, a car battery, car alternator, a lightbulb, and power inverter. Three different systems need to be built in order to answer the initial question. First, a Boyle’s self-flowing flask is tested, and then a permanent magnet motor with an old computer fan. The aim is to try to make it run forever using the force of magnetism. The third test is based on the idea that a rotating machine will re-charge the battery it is running off of. The last one among our winning science fair projects for high school won the 1st place at Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair.