Summer learning
Summer Solo-Science
A finite summer of hands-on science your middle-schooler can mostly run on their own—built from things already in your kitchen, recycling bin, and craft drawer. Every project has a kid-friendly guide and a parent panel so you can hand it off with confidence.
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Paper helicopter drop test
Cut and fold a spinning paper 'helicopter,' then time how changes to the blades change its fall. A first taste of running a fair test.
Balancing sculpture
Make a shape balance on a single fingertip by hiding weight in the right place. Find the secret point every object balances around.
Saltwater battery that lights an LED
Turn coins, foil, and salty paper towel into a tiny battery — stack enough cells and you can light a small LED.
Grow yogurt and watch microbes work
Use a spoon of store yogurt to turn warm milk into new yogurt overnight — proof that living microbes are doing the work.
See strawberry DNA
Mash a strawberry with soapy salt water and lift out a cloudy clump you can actually see — its DNA.
Pizza-box solar oven
Turn a cardboard box into a sun-powered oven and melt a s'more — then test what makes it heat up fastest.
Blow up a balloon with a reaction
Mix baking soda and vinegar inside a bottle and let the gas inflate a balloon — then find the mix that blows it up biggest.
Cardboard marble run
Build a track that carries a marble as SLOWLY as possible without stopping — a design challenge you'll rebuild several times.
Dirty-water filter challenge
Layer sand, gravel, and cloth in a bottle to clean up muddy water — then redesign your filter to do better.
Paper bridge load test
The season finale: design a paper bridge that holds the most coins, using shape — not extra material — to make it strong.
Bonus: cloud in a jar
A rainy-day quickie — make a real cloud appear inside a jar and watch how clouds actually form.
Bonus: debug it
A rainy-day brain workout — fix a 'broken' marble run or circuit by hunting down the one thing that's wrong.