Since medieval times students have wished that it was easier to learn their lessons. There have been all kinds of memory cramming gimmicks that they have used to do their home work. Yet science projects to date have yet to come up with the ideal memory booster.

The Germans were keen on mastering the concept of the “Nuremberg Funnel”, by which the teacher could literally pour knowledge into the brain of a student. This would need little or no effort on the part of the student, but he would be able to use the knowledge on his own.

The Indians speak of “Yognindra” where in the student is made to hear an audio version of whatever lesson it is that he needs to learn, just as he falls asleep at night. It is believed that knowledge that is gained at this point of time gets embedded permanently in the brain.

And if all that fails, put your trust in the researchers of the University of California who want to bring in knowledge direct to the brain by implanting microchips there. Of course as of now the chips are being put into the brains of mice that are part of the science experiment and it will be a while before students can give up their books.

Based on basic principles of science we expect everything that flies in the skies to eventually come down to earth. However the new science project called the Albatross may be trying to defy this assumption. Australian scientists are trying to work on a glider which can stay in the air for as long as you need without landing.

At the Australian Center for Field Robotics in Sydney, Salah Sukkarieh is part of the project. The device is to use sensors to tell its auto pilot about changes in the wind speed and direction so that the best possible path can be worked out for the glider.

The glider can also alternate between the high speed air currents above and the slower winds below to generate kinetic energy which will increase its lift. A working prototype of the device is already in existence and improvements are being constantly made and tested on the glider.

Soon it may be possible for the glider to stay in the air for as long as possible. Probably stay in the sky for ever. It may seem like an impossible dream, or some kind of science fiction gadget, but it is in truth just another interesting science project.

With the fast depleting fossil fuels the scientific minds in the world are turning to generating alternative means of energy. However when we say alternative energy we think of things like solar energy, wind energy and water turbine energy. Rarely, if at all do we think of tapping into the ever present gravitational energy present all over the earth.

So how can we use gravity, which is the pull that physical objects have between them, as a source of energy to run simple devices? The answer may be as simple as the hourglass that the Swizz designed to keep time, or as complex as the gravity powered motors that scientists are experimenting with these days.

One of the most enthralling uses of gravitational power was envisioned by Clay Moulton, a graduate student at Virginia Tech. He came up with a Gravity lamp which was powered by a series of weights that slid down to the floor and had to be replaced at the top again. The pull of gravity is endless and as long as the human element keeps placing the specific weights on top.

While the gravity based lamp is not yet ready for mass production, the technology can definitely be improved upon. So what are you waiting for? Get going on your own version of a gravity powered device for your science fair project today.

What goes up must come down. That we know is the power of gravity. Gravitational pull is the force that the planet exerts upon all the objects that are in its vicinity. This pull extends from the surface, where it is the strongest, to some distance in the atmosphere, where it becomes weaker as you go higher.

The force was first noticed by Newton who fell asleep under an apple tree and was rudely awoken when an apple fell on his head. That is when he began thinking about why things always fall downwards. This eventually led to his tabulating the laws of gravity.

There are many fascinating questions that you can come up with about gravity. These can lead to equally interesting science projects and experiments. There is of course the famous experiment about a feather and a brick being dropped from a great height to check which comes down faster.

In addition to this experiment you can come up with others of your own. Newton and Einstein may have done their bit but it is by no means the end of the topic. You can still come up with a great many different ways to test gravity and make it an interesting science project.

The best kinds of science fair projects are the ones which are interactive. This is one such science project which utilizes the principle of magnetism. It is easy to make and fun to use. Here is how we will make a magnet cars racing track.

Things you will need include two toy cars, four magnets and one cardboard sheet for the track. Now attach one magnet to the back of each toy car. Remember to use light weight cars that move well without much friction. That way when you bring the magnet in your hand close to the car it will repel against the magnet in the car and move forward.

Now design your race track on the cardboard sheet. Use your imagination and art supplies to create the track and its surroundings. Put up trees, tyre stacks and other buildings on the track.You can even make an area for spectators and populate it with action figures.

Color it up in the manner that you like and leave it to dry. Once the track is ready put the two race cars on to it and have a race with your friend.This is a simple to make science project that can spell lots of hours of fun.

The whole purpose behind creating a robot is to help a human being do his chores easily. They are created to help us. However not all the science projects dedicated to robotics deal with helping normal healthy human beings with specialized tasks.

In fact more and more robotics engineers are now designing robots that help old, infirm, or unhealthy people with regular day to day tasks. Things like  going shopping, putting away the groceries, helping a person get from the bedroom to the bathroom, and similar tasks are becoming more and more common.

Why do we need robots to help us in such tasks? Though the human touch of a caregiver is always much better, the common and repetitive tasks can prove quite taxing for the caregiver. This is where a robot helper can become invaluable.

The robot does not tire easily, is able to perform the same task again and again no matter how often you ask it to, without getting bored or complaining about it. This may make them better suited to such tasks than human beings are. Of course the robot can never replace the human caregiver, but as successful science experiments have shown, it can be a major help.

At times the simplest science projects can be the best. This is proved true by the blue goo which is currently being used to clean up radioactive toxic waste. The simple working blue goo needs to be poured over the affected area where it will absorb the nuclear waste and then peeled off.

Nothing could be simpler as per its creators CBI Polymers. The Hawaii based company said that the superabsorbent goo tends to act like a sponge which binds up the hazardous material. The radioactive waste is now in the form of an easy to roll sheet which can be more easily diposed off than vats of toxic water.

The blue goo even made a trip to Japan to help in the nuclear clean up process there in the aftermath of the tsunami. The blue goo works well on walls, sidewalks and playgrounds. It can clear PCBs, asbestos, heavy metals and non industrial messes.

It may not look very high tech or sound like much of a science project, but the labor involved in cleaning up toxic wastes can be cut by 70% by using this special blue goo. And guess what, for a more humble application? It can clean germs from your keyboard too.

We use maps to get us to places that we have not been to before. They help us to reach an unseen area in ease. One of the most unexplored areas would have to be the moon. Not that we will be driving the family car to the moon very soon, but it could come to that sooner than you think. The map of the moon is an unfinished business and could make an ideal science fair project.

Of course counting all the lunar craters would be a very time consuming project so it would make sense to narrow down the scope of the project somewhat. There are two options here that you can use. In the first case you can count the lunar craters in a specific section of the moon. In the second case you can stick to counting lunar craters of a certain fixed diameter on the moon.

In either case you would have to get a number of lunar surface photographs to complete the science fair project. The Consolidated Lunar Atlas is a good source of such photos and a lot more useful information. If you look at the NASA images provided on their website online, you will be able to get some good data.

Once you collect all the data you will need to design histograms to display your findings. These will be the crux of your science fair project and must be drawn well. Certain sites would be able to help you create professional looking graphs for charts. Have fun counting the craters.

If you have done the science project in the last blog post you already have the ideal location for star gazing all mapped out for the project. For an unusual science fair project you could elect to look for the dimmest star that you can find. The usual rule is that the brighter a star appears the larger it is and the closer it will be to the planet Earth.

To hunt for the star that is the most far away can be a real challenge as the dim star light is usually the most difficult to measure in terms of apparent magnitude. That is the measurement used to showcase the brightness of a star. This would not be a science project for beginners as some  detailed calculations will be part of the project.

Also there will be a need to utilize a digital camera to take photographs of different sections of the night sky to find the dimmest stars. Then these specific stars would have their brightness measured to determine which amongst them is the one that you seek. Histograms of the snapshots taken would also have to be created to show the magnitude of the star.

The project would involve careful record keeping and a great deal of dedication. There is also a pre requisite to have a fairly good idea about what the night sky actually looks like. It would be a great science fair project if all aspects were taken care of.

Any number of interesting science fair projects can be based on astronomy. The main challenge to students based in urban areas is the fact that it is difficult to spot the stars at night due to the city lights in the night time. There was an interesting project undertaken worldwide some years ago when everyone on the planet switched off their lights at the same time to counteract this light pollution.

The correct term for this light pollution is skyglow.  For any star based project to be successful you need to find the right place for observation to counteract this skyglow. In some areas the stars can be seen but not too clearly. This is not the best location to base a science experiment where you are trying to measure the intensity of light from different stars.

In such a case you could scope out other locations which would be more ideal. If your town has a telescope in the local observatory which is powerful enough, you could seek permission to make use of it for your project. Or you could modify your project by trying to find out which locations in the city you can view the maximum stars from.

You can pick five spots that are distributed all over the city and now map the most stars in each location. Stick with identifying about ten to fifteen constellations so that it does not get too complicated. Now base the science fair project on which is the ideal location for star gazing based on the place where the maximum constellations are visible easily.