Some of the best projects come from everyday objects--like the bathtub.
When most people think of science fair projects, the last thing they probably think of is a bathtub. But your bathtub can be a useful place to create a project. Bathtub science fair projects tend to be relatively simple and use basic materials that most students should have little trouble finding and using.
Bath or Shower?
People who want to conserve water may try to take the fastest showers possible. It could be, however, that taking a long bath saves more water than taking even a short shower. To find out, spend several weeks taking fast showers (if you'd like, you can even time yourself), but keep the drain plugged, so you can measure the water level at the end of each shower. Write the water level in a notebook. Then spend the next few weeks taking baths and again mark the water level in your notebook. Find the level for the days you took fast showers, as well as the average water level for the days you took baths, and compare the two. This science project will help you figure out which of the two uses, on average, less water.
Tin Foil Boats
A ball of tin foil will sink, while a boat made of tin foil will float. This is because the boat's bottom is pushing on more water than the ball's bottom, so the weight of the water under the boat is heavier than the weight of the tin foil. You can find out more about this concept with a simple experiment. Make several small tin boats, using the same folding methods but different sizes of tin foil. Then place a grain of rice (or beans) on each boat, one at a time, and write down how many of them it takes until the boat sinks. Did the smaller boats need more or less weight to sink? Think about why this might be true, and build your science project from it.
Best Bathtub Cleaner
Bathtubs can get dirty, with soap scum building up around the edges. If your bathtub is looking gross, this science fair project is the perfect way to find out clean it effectively. Choose three possible bathtub cleaners you'd like to test against each other. Use waterproof bathtub crayons to draw vertical lines every 6 inches around the edge of the bathtub. You can then label each 6-inch section of the bathtub with the name of one of the three cleaners. (To get the most reliable results, you should have multiple sections to test each cleaner.) Spray each cleaner on the appropriately labeled sites and wipe carefully, making sure not to spread the cleaner from one section to another. Then examine each set of three sections and rank them in cleanliness from 1 to 3. Analyze your data to decide which cleaner is most effective on the soap scum in bathtubs to complete your project.
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