8 of Bill Nye's Best & Simplest Science Fair Exhibit Ideas

Bill Nye is a mechanical engineer who has been educating kids since the 1993 debut of his famous "Bill Nye the Science Guy" show. He has since gone on to produce science shows on Netflix, Peacock and more. Here are 8 of his easy experiments that make great science fair projects:

1) Temperature Time Warp - Catch 2 live flies and put them each in a jar, sealed with a napkin and rubber band. Place one jar under a heat lamp (or room temp) and place one jar in a cooler with ice. Notice how flies are slower in the cold because they're cold-blooded.

2) Float Your Metal Boat - Create a small boat out of aluminum foil and float it on a tub of water. Add a few drops of liquid dish soap behind the boat and watch it move the boat forward. This is because soap breaks up the surface tension of water, so it easily slides.

3) Penny Droplets - Set up 2 pennies, 2 cups of water - one mixed with 1 Tbs of dish soap, and a dropper. Have students count how many water droplets fit on the surface of a penny. Compare to how many more of the soap water droplets fit. This is due to the soap reducing cohesion.

4) Mirror Mirror - Set up a handheld mirror across from a simple drawing of a horizontal S or curvy line. Have students place a thin sheet of paper over the mirror and trace the reflection of the curvy line. Compare it to the original drawing and point out that it's backwards!

5) Symmetry Sampler - Setup a handheld mirror and a large photo (or more!) of your face (and/or other faces). Hold the mirror on its side down the middle of a face so it looks like just 1 image. Is it recognizable? This shows how most faces actually aren't symmetrical.

6) A Wing and Some Air - Fold a piece of paper into a u shape and stand it on a table. Have students get level with the table and blow under the paper. It flattens! This shows the power of invisible air molecules. Moving the molecules below allow those from above to push it down.

7) Twistin Tornado - Get 2 large, empty plastic soda bottles and fill one 3/4 full with water and a few drops of any food coloring. Place the empty bottle upside down and affix it to the the filled one by duct taping the openings together. Swirl the bottles and watch the tornado!

8) Acid Attack - Place 3 pieces of plain white chalk 3/4 way into 3 cups. Each should have a different liquid - water, lemon juice and vinegar. After a few days, notice the erosion power of the 2 acids compared to water. Acids react quickly breaking calcium in limestone.

Bill Nye has been a trusted voice in the scientific community for over 30 years because he makes science simple and entertaining enough for anyone to enjoy. Have fun learning with these experiments!

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