We all know that eating too much fat is bad for us. How does one know how much fat is actually there in a pound of meat? Try out this kitchen based science experiment to find out. You may be surprised with the results.

You will need a pound of ground beef. A non stick skillet, a fine mesh strainer and a wooden spoon. A plastic cup and a kitchen scale. A heat source like a hot plate or a stove. Make sure you have an adult supervise your moves.

What you need to do is make two equal portions of the ground beef. Weigh them on the kitchen scales to ensure they are the same weight. Record the weight on paper. Now keep one portion away while you add the second portion to the skillet. Put this on the heat source and use the wooden spoon to cook it evenly.

Break up the meat and you will soon see some bubbles oozing out. This liquid is the fat contained in the meat. As the liquid begins to boil, strain it out of the meat containing skillet  into the plastic cup. Use the fine mesh strainer so that you get just the liquid fat and none of the meat.

Now weight the fat in the cup and the cooked meat separately. The meat usually contains between 7 to 22 percent fat. You can repeat the process with the raw meat to see if you get the same results. Try out more science projects here.

We as a society are very dependent on energy. Many science projects Sometimes this need for energy puts the environment around us at risk. This is exactly what happened in the Gulf of Mexico. While drilling for oil deep under water is quite common practice the risks were brought out by the explosion which occurred in April this year.

The whole oil rig sank and the oil well started spewing oil into the waters of the gulf. It is now considered one of the largest environmental disasters in terms of oil spills to have ever hit the coast of the United States. The company responsible for the spill is BP and it is now launching a massive clean up operation.

Maybe this economic and environmental disaster has brought home the need to have alternative fuel and energy sources even more into the lime light. Harnessing green energy or renewable energy sources has never been as big a priority as it is today.

Many science projects use solar cells and may seem like fun, but now its time to get serious about actually using the solar energy in ways so that you no longer need an electrical connection from a power plant using coal or thermal fuel to generate that power.

While fermentation is a process which denatures food to make a new substance, pickling is a process where certain foods are soaked in a solution to avoid getting spoilt. A science project could be made out of using the two processes on the same food to see what the end result of both the processes would be on the said food.

Pickling is an ancient cooking technique and is common in most global cuisine. There are a whole variety of pickles available across the globe from America to Australia. However the basic principle stays the same. When it comes down to the nitty gritty there are just two kinds of pickles. Those made in vinegar and those made in brine, that’s salt water.

The strong liquids do not allow most bacteria to flourish effectively ending the chance of the food spoiling. However as the liquids have a distinctive taste of their own they will influence the taste of the food being pickled.

For our experiment with pickling we are going to make sauerkraut, a kind of fermented cabbage which originates from Germany. It is the easiest pickle to make. You get a head of cabbage. Cut strips of the cabbage and wash well. Now dry them up with some kitchen tissues and keep aside. In a glass bottle with a wide neck toss in the cabbage. Now cover it with vinegar and leave for a couple of days. Take it out and eat pickled cabbage! For more fun science experiments check here.

Would you consider taking some grapes and turning them into wine a science project? It may seem like wine making but it is essentially a scientific process called fermentation at play. You can see the products of fermentation in any kitchen. It can include bread, yogurt, wine, beer, pickles and cheese.

During the process of fermentation you encourage the growth of microscopic organisms which can quite literally change the look and taste of the food product that you started out with. Grapes to wine for instance or milk to cheese. By encouraging the right kind of micro organism, often a bacteria, to grow you can manipulate the taste of the final food.

This is why a cheese maker is particular about the quality of rennet added to curdle the milk. And also about the time before he removes the whey from the bowl to compact the curd. This curd will then evolve into a distinctive cheese. Similarly wine makers can add yeast or not when they make wine from a particular kind of fruit.

It is possible to make wine out of rose petals with out adding any yeast to aid the fermentation. Why not try it out yourself? Take a bowl of grapes and crush them with your fingers to let the juices run. Now add a bowl of sugar to a container and the crushed grapes and juice. Mix well and seal up the container for a month. When you open the container after a month fermentation should have caused the sugar and grapes to make wine. Try out more science projects here.

Have you been to a planetarium and been fascinated by the stars? Did the whole experience leave you wishing that you could head out on the next space mission? And are you too young to be eligible for the said mission? Well there is something that you can do about getting the same experience.

Build your own planetarium. A simple science project that can be used at will to escape into the vast expanses of space. Here is how you can do it. Get a cylindrical cardboard box. Take a few sheets of thin paper and punch out the different constellations that you know onto them.

Now dim the lights, face the wall and grab your flashlight. Just place the thin paper with the star shapes  face down on the outside of the bottom of the cylindrical box. From the other end end insert the flashlight into the cylindrical box. Shine the light in the box and not on the paper directly.

Hold the box up so that the light from the holes shines on the wall lighting up the constellation that you have punched into the paper. Make sure that the room is dark enough for the star like effect to come through on the wall. Change the paper for the next constellation that you want to show in your planetarium. Have more fun with the stars here.

Some Science experiments are so much fun that we can also disguise them as party games. Don’t believe me? Here are a couple of examples. Have you ever challenged a person to pick up an ice cube out of his glass without touching it with his hands or using a spoon or fork? If you have not, you can try it out now.

The trick is to carry a piece of string and use the salt shaker on the dining table. When the ice cube is floating in the glass place the string on top of it and then sprinkle some salt on it. This will make the ice melt and then refreeze over the string. Now gently lift the string and the ice cube will come right out with it!

If you enjoyed that, try asking them to open a bottle of beer without a bottle opener. There is more than one way to get that bottle open and using a door stopper is just one of them. Or how about asking them to balance two forks on a glass edge using a coin? This one works on the principle of shifting the center of gravity. Check out more fun science experiments here.

Have you ever wondered at the big science project that an aircraft is? Imagine taking some stuff that is all heavier than air and then making it actually fly in the sky. It is indeed a miracle of sorts.

When a tribal from an undeveloped region sees these flying machines, it can be scary to say the least. We may find the reactions comical, but we do understand their fear as well. So how does one go about taking a whole lot of unrelated things and making them fly?

You don’t have to be an aeronautical engineer to design your own flying machine. All you need is the right set of raw material and some know how to get started. Think of this as a learning challenge as you get a piece of wood to fly.

You can get more details for your aerodynamics experiment in this article. I have a feeling that you will enjoy making your own little glider with some balsa wood. Once you get the basics you can move onto something more complicated.

The science of bubblology may not be quite as serious a science as that which goes with the image of a researcher, but bubbles can be great fun. And they can make interesting science projects for the day. There are a number of things that you can experiment with.

You can take different types of soap solutions to see which ones give you the largest bubbles with the most tensile strength. The same soap with a stronger solution makes different sized bubbles as compared to with a weaker solution. And of course what you use to blow the bubbles will also make a difference.

What are you using to blow the bubbles? A wire, a plastic ring, a water bottle, a closet hanger? The size, shape and life of a bubble may depend on the implement you use to blow it up. So it is actually a science to get the soap solution right and blow lasting bubbles.

Some people have used straws and soap solution to make bubble castles as well. Learn more about bubbles and how to blow them in this article. It is a great home school science project to involve home schooling kids in. Also you learn a lot of science.

This is a simple experiment to do. The science project is based on the simple biological principle of growth. We are trying to find the better growth conditions for a couple of identical plants. So you will need two different plants of the same type. Make sure that they are the same age and size.

You can germinate some beans so that you have the ideal candidates for your experiment. Once you have transplanted them to a pot and they have taken root you are ready to subject them to your experiment. The hypothesis that we are hoping to test is “Do plants grow better with sunlight exposure”.

This means that one of the plants must receive proper sunlight and the other plant must be exposed only to artificial light. Label the pots of the plants with “sunlight” and “artificial light” so that you don’t confuse them. Now record the height of both the plants in a notebook.

You must now record the growth of both the plants at intervals of five days to see how they are progressing. At the end of the month or 30 days you can compare the two plants to see which one has grown more. Results may be surprising. Check out more science projects here.

Are you the kind of person who believes that unless you have spent a great deal of money to make the science project it can possibly not be good? Nothing can be further than the truth. You need to change your attitude to look at the simple science projects which cost very little and can be very educative.

Tell me what pencil cells do you use in your flash light? The simple battery powered torch can become the base of an interesting and educative science experiment. Answer the simple question, “Which brand of battery will last the longest.”

Make a guess about the one you think is the longest lasting battery and that becomes your hypothesis. Use at least three different brands so that you can compare the test results. Now test the hypothesis with a simple experiment. See how long a pair of batteries lights up the torch.

Record the number of hours each battery runs the flash light. Now check the records to see which brand battery set lasted the longest. Was it the one that you predicted? Or was it some other brand? Now you will know which the best brand of batteries to buy is. Look up more ideas for interesting projects here.