Backyard Science Project Ideas

If you are looking for those perfect science project ideas, look no further than your own backyard! There are many fun and exciting science project ideas that can be performed with little to no materials and occur organically in nature.

Fossil finding is a great way to explore prehistoric concepts, as well as get some aerobic exercise. Fossils can be found pretty much anywhere there are rocks and cliff sides. Just by carrying a piece of paper and a pencil, simple rubbings can be created without disturbing the natural environment the fossil was created in.

Other natural science project ideas could come purely from observation. If you have a beehive in your backyard, or perhaps a birdfeeder or stream close by, you can keep a journal of what you see and hear each day for a predetermined amount of time. You could measure changes in weather and season, and how it affects the types of animals in a certain habitat.

Another discipline of the natural sciences from which many science project ideas can evolve is ecology. You can collect stones, gems, crystals, and rocks and classify them according to their shape, color, hardness, and whether they break, chip, or cleave.

Conservation is another discipline in which many science project ideas can be gathered. Being environmentally savvy is a great way to study our ecosystem. You could study how materials biodegrade, perish, and recycle themselves in the environment. A great way to study this is to create your own organic compost from food scraps, newspapers, and earthworms. This process is a little stinky and dirty, but it is well worth it.

You can use the compost that you made to start another experiment. Put plants in pots with your compost, and pots in plants with regular soil taken directly from the ground. Study the plants to see which ones grow faster and healthier.