d of briney. Put a lid on the jar and let it cool to room temperature (about 20 C). Once it's cooled to room temperature, lightly tap the side of the jar with a spoon. What happened? Look up why it happened (Here's a hint:

Search for "supersaturated solutions"). Now, carefully, fish out the large strings of crystals

Middle school science fair projects have to be fairly simple science, and if you're a parent on a budget, you may not be able to afford $35 or $50 or $200 for a kit.

Here's a classic experiment that can be done as a middle school science fair project, with some adult supervision, and that can be done with things around the home, often times for free.

This experiment, if documented carefully, can make for an excellent middle school science fair project. Each experiment emphasizes that science is about the measurement and the data collection, which is valuable knowledge to have before your child gets on to high school.

It may also teach your child some proper skepticism about claims that don't give the data for its examination and evaluation. All of these are important aspects of learning the scientific method.

Supersaturated Solutions

You may need your parent's help with this one; you're going to need to get a pot of water boiling, and you're going to want a clear glass jar – a small one, about a liter, so you don't run the risk of hurting yourself.

Pour the boiling water in with your parent's help, and stir in 300 grams of salt or 300 grams of sugar – something that's crystalline.

Stir it well, until it's all dissolved, and the water is looking kind of briney. Put a lid on the jar and let it cool to room temperature (about 20 C). Once it's cooled to room temperature, lightly tap the side of the jar with a spoon. What happened? Look up why it happened (Here's a hint:

Search for "supersaturated solutions"). Now, carefully, fish out the large strings of crystals

he home, often times for free.

This experiment, if documented carefully, can make for an excellent middle school science fair project. Each experiment emphasizes that science is about the measurement and the data collection, which is valuable knowledge to have before your child gets on to high school.

It may also teach your child some proper skepticism about claims that don't give the data for its examination and evaluation. All of these are important aspects of learning the scientific method.

Supersaturated Solutions

You may need your parent's help with this one; you're going to need to get a pot of water boiling, and you're going to want a clear glass jar – a small one, about a liter, so you don't run the risk of hurting yourself.

Pour the boiling water in with your parent's help, and stir in 300 grams of salt or 300 grams of sugar – something that's crystalline.

Stir it well, until it's all dissolved, and the water is looking kind of briney. Put a lid on the jar and let it cool to room temperature (about 20 C). Once it's cooled to room temperature, lightly tap the side of the jar with a spoon. What happened? Look up why it happened (Here's a hint:

Search for "supersaturated solutions"). Now, carefully, fish out the large strings of crystals

teach your child some proper skepticism about claims that don't give the data for its examination and evaluation. All of these are important aspects of learning the scientific method.

Supersaturated Solutions

You may need your parent's help with this one; you're going to need to get a pot of water boiling, and you're going to want a clear glass jar – a small one, about a liter, so you don't run the risk of hurting yourself.

Pour the boiling water in with your parent's help, and stir in 300 grams of salt or 300 grams of sugar – something that's crystalline.

Stir it well, until it's all dissolved, and the water is looking kind of briney. Put a lid on the jar and let it cool to room temperature (about 20 C). Once it's cooled to room temperature, lightly tap the side of the jar with a spoon. What happened? Look up why it happened (Here's a hint:

Search for "supersaturated solutions"). Now, carefully, fish out the large strings of crystals

're going to want a clear glass jar – a small one, about a liter, so you don't run the risk of hurting yourself.

Pour the boiling water in with your parent's help, and stir in 300 grams of salt or 300 grams of sugar – something that's crystalline.

Stir it well, until it's all dissolved, and the water is looking kind of briney. Put a lid on the jar and let it cool to room temperature (about 20 C). Once it's cooled to room temperature, lightly tap the side of the jar with a spoon. What happened? Look up why it happened (Here's a hint:

Search for "supersaturated solutions"). Now, carefully, fish out the large strings of crystals

d of briney. Put a lid on the jar and let it cool to room temperature (about 20 C). Once it's cooled to room temperature, lightly tap the side of the jar with a spoon. What happened? Look up why it happened (Here's a hint:

Search for "supersaturated solutions"). Now, carefully, fish out the large strings of crystals that formed – how much of the 300 grams did you fish out?

If you repeat this experiment more than once, keep the amount of sugar or salt the same, but make the "cold side" of the experiment where the water cools down colder.

Try putting the solution into the refrigerator (make sure you have a good temperature of the refrigerator first!), and let it cool off even further. Does the amount of crystal that you can salvage from tapping the side of the jar increase or decrease with the temperature of the cold side of the experiment? Why? (Again, look up "supersaturated solutions")

This experiment has a lot of showmanship value to it – with some preparation before hand (and carrying the solution carefully, or preparing it in the class room with a coffee pot), it makes for an excellent middle school science fair project.

With a lot of repetition, and carefully measuring temperatures, you'll be able to develop a correlation between the coldness of the temperature and how much material crystallizes out of the supersaturated solution.