Hot Science Experiments How-Tos

How To: The Best Investigatory Projects in Science: 16 Fun & Easy Ideas to Kickstart Your Project

Most of us have conducted an investigatory science project without even knowing it, or at least without knowing that's what it was called. Most science experiments performed, from elementary to high school students and all the way up to professional scientists, are investigatory projects.

Make Slime Without Borax: 5 Easy Recipes for Gooey Homemade Ooze

One of the only things I remember from watching Nickelodeon as a kid is the epic green slime. Looking back, I don't know what was so great about it, but every kid my age thought that being drenched in slime would be the coolest thing on earth.

How To: Build a Simple Paper Bridge as a Science Experiment

Every day we pass bridges, whether it's a foot bridge, a highway overpass, a span over water, or a viaduct over a valley. We pass on these structures without even thinking of the engineering genius that went into their design and construction, let alone the science behind their strength.

How To: Make freaky cornstarch monsters dance on speakers

How to make a cornstarch monster in your own home. This non Newtonian fluid will dance on a speaker, creating wild little monsters. The goopy liquid should then be dumped into the speaker head. The wave form you need is a pure Sin wave at 120 hertz.

How To: Make Soap Out of Guava Leaf Extract for a Science Investigatory Project

Unless you're a high-schooler building a nuclear fusion reactor, the hardest part of a science investigatory project often is coming up with a good idea. You want it to be cool yet feasible, novel but still useful.

How To: Make Black Snake Fireworks With & Without Fire

In this video, I'll be showing you how classic black snakes work and how to make them at home. There are actually two methods covered in the video — one that uses fire and one that does not. So just choose the one that fits best for your situation.

How To: Draw the Lewis dot structure for sulfate

TTUchme1010 teaches viewers how to draw the lewis dot structure for sulfate. The formula for this is SO4^2-. 2- means we will have to add 2 electrons into the lewis dot structure. First, we will have Sulfur in the middle with Oxygen surrounding it. Sulfur is in group 6A so it have 6 valence electrons and oxygen has six, so fill this all in around the elements. Now, you have to add in the 2 extra electrons onto the most electronegative atom. This will be oxygen. Now, you should start bonding t...

How To: Make potassium nitrate at home

Believe it or not, there are cheap ways to make potassium nitrate for your chemistry experiments. And the key ingredient… "sodium-free" salt.

How to Be Your Own SpaceX: Design, Build & Test Liquid-Fueled Rocket Engines

Move over NASA— SpaceX is taking over. Well, not really. But today, the privately funded spacecraft company broke all expectations when their Dragon capsule fell to a soft landing in the Pacific Ocean, completing an undoubtedly successful demo flight of nearly two full trips around Earth. It was the first re-entry of a commercial spacecraft ever, bringing commercial space transportation closer to reality.

How To: Make potassium nitrate from instant cold packs

Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make potassium nitrate from instant cold packs and potassium hydroxide.

How To: Curdle milk with a battery and salt

Don't just drink your milk... have fun with it! Check out this science experiment video to see how to curdle milk with a battery and salt. This experiment can be done by anyone with a few simple materials... milk, a 9-volt battery, a small glass or plastic cup, salt and a stirring rod.

How To: Make hydrochloric acid from salt

In this tutorial, we learn how to make hydrochloric acid from salt. First, you will pour some salt into a distil flask. After this, you will add in some concentrated sulfuric acid to the salt. Next, you will let these react with each other. You will start to see gasses bubble up and the excess hydrogen chloride gas come out through the top of the tube. To create a stronger reaction, you can add heat underneath the reaction. Then, test this by exposing it to ammonium chloride. If it's the righ...

How To: Make a crazy foam explosion science experiment

Check out this video to see our Fantastic Foamy Fountain in action. The experiment uses Hydrogen peroxide and dry yeast. Hydrogen peroxide is similar to water but it has an extra oxygen atom. This makes it more dangerous and only adults should handle the hydrogen peroxide.

Classic Chemistry: Colorize Colorless Liquids with "Black" Magic, AKA the Iodine Clock Reaction

Want to make boring old colorless water brighten up on command? Well, you can control the color of water with this little magic trick. Actually, it's not really magic, but a classic science experiment known commonly as the iodine clock reaction, which uses the reactions between water and chemicals to instantly colorize water, seemingly by command. You can use different colorless chemicals to produce different colors, and you can even make the color vanish to make the water clear again.

How To: Make Potassium Chlorate from Ordinary Household Bleach and Salt Substitute

If you're not just a chemistry nerd, but also a firearms freak and explosives nut, then this home brew chemistry concoction is just what you need for some cheap homemade potassium chlorate. It's a mixture of potassium, chlorine and oxygen (KClO3) and is used for such things as gun primers, propellents, and explosives (when mixed with the appropriate fuel). And guess what? NurdRage is going to show you the steps for this makeshift potassium chlorate.

How To: Make Your Own Homemade Glow Sticks

Glow sticks, a popular favor at parties and outdoor events, and a must-have on Halloween, can be traced back to the United States Navy in the mid-1960s. The military desired improved visibility during night operations, and glow sticks, with their small-size portability and lack of batteries, were a perfect tactical solution.

How To: Make a Paper Plate Speaker That Actually Works for Under $1

Back in 2007, YouTube user HouseholdHacker posted a parody video on how to make a high-def speaker for under a buck. MythBusters took on the challenge and busted it.

How To: Make Water Freeze into Ice Instantaneously

Have you ever seen water freeze instantly? This "Quick Clip" shows some of my personal experiences with making instant ice using a bottle of water supercooled in a freezer.

How To: Make a permanent, reusable glow stick

Make a reusable glow stick, glow-in-the-dark-style! Imagine, you'll never have to buy one of those ChemLite's again, because you can reuse this homemade glow stick over and over again. This video tutorial will show you how to make a permanent, reusable glow stick. The materials in this experiment are simple: epoxy resin, straw, and some phosphor powder.

How To: Make nitric acid

Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make nitric acid. They show three ways to make nitric acid based on two different chemical approaches, both of which can be done using easily accessible materials.

How To: Make boric acid from borax

This is a video tutorial in the Education category where you are going to learn how to make boric acid from borax. For this experiment you will need borax (disodium tetra borate) and conc. hydrochloric acid. Take 25 ml of hydrochloric acid and dilute it with 75 ml of water. Next take 6 - 7 gms of borax and dissolve it in boiling water. Now add equal amount of hydrochloric acid. Crystals of boric acid will start forming. They are completely insoluble in cold water. After about half an hour, fi...

How To: Make crystal iodine

MAKE brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life. Make Magazine celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will. In this tutorial, Robert Bruce Thompson shows you how to make crystal iodine. As Thompson says in the video, crystal iodine is currently a schedule one compound, and in order to buy you have to fill out a lot of paperwork and you'll end up on a DEA list. This tutorial gets you around that, but proceed carefully.

How To: Make This Amazing 9-Layer Density Tower from Things Found in Your Kitchen

Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed that "the seed of science" was "wonder," and taking a look at this nine-layer liquid tower from Steve Spangler's Sick Science! channel, one can't help but do just that — wonder. How is this possible? Is this magic or what?

How To: Make Glow Powder Out of Household Chemicals

Glowing substances have always held a powerful appeal to people, and making new ones can be a lucrative business. If you need some glow powder for a project of yours, watch this video to learn how to make DIY glow-in-the-dark powder out of normal household chemicals.

How To: Use baby powder to reveal latent fingerprints

This short video shows us how to reveal latent fingerprints on a glass surface by dusting. Anyone interested in forensic science would enjoy trying it as it shows simple steps in dusting and lifting fingerprints. It does not require any chemicals and we can do it with baby powder. The steps involved are so simple and easy to follow that even kids can try it out for fun. This gives a clear idea about fingerprints on different objects like porous, non porous and metals. Enjoy viewing and detect...

How To: Prove that water molecules are polar with a home-science experiment

This free video science lesson from Jefferson Lab demonstrates a simple technique for demonstrating the polarity of the water molecules. For all of the relevant details and detailed, step-by-step instructions, as well as to get started trying this experiment yourself, watch this home-science how-to.

How To: Rip a Penny in Half

No, we're not lying. But before you try and tear a plain old penny in half, you should probably watch this video first or you may hurt your fingers. While ordinary pennies are very, very difficult to rip, if you get rid of the zinc core you are left with only the thin copper shell, which is itself very easy to tear apart.

How To: Extract DNA from a Strawberry with Basic Kitchen Items

We all know that DNA is pretty amazing, but it's not something that most of us get much hands-on experience with. Even though it's in every living thing around us, we never see it, so we rarely think about it either.

How To: Restore silver with electrochemistry

Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to restore silver with electrochemistry. You can restore old silver with aluminum foil or a battery by simple electrochemistry.

How To: Make shaving cream expand 4 times its size and boom!

Back when we took chemistry, most of what we read and learn went in one ear and out the other. If only we had a cool experiment like this one to perk up our pubescent ADD.

How To: Make a Monster Dry Ice Bubble

Sure it's been done before, but it never gets old. There's something magical about dry ice, bubbles, and especially the result you see when they're combined!

How To: Use a Peltier module to create free electricity from heat

A Peltier module allows you to turn heat into electricity. Because you can place it in areas that are normally warm anyway, the electricity created is "free" in a sense, though it does work best when one side of the module is cold and the other is hot. In other words, all you'll need for this project is the Peltier module and a cooler surface such as soil or water, and a warm area such as a well lit window or warm pan.

How To: Make oxygen from permanganate and hydrogen peroxide

C For Chemistry delves into the chemistry of science experiments. This chemist knows what he's talking about. These chemistry experiments are not only fun, but very educational for all of those interested in scientific chemical reactions and properties.

How To: Make a Soda Can Stirling Engine

Ever wonder how to make an engine out of soda cans? Not even sure if it's possible? These videos will show you how to build a working Stirling engine out of cans and other general materials. Here it is in action:

How To: Revive a drowned fly

Ever wished you were Jesus? This how-to video can bestow you with life-reviving powers. It's not a trick. See how you can revive a seemingly drowned fly with salt by watching this educational and instructional video. Let the resurrection begin.

How to Test diamagnetism: Antimagnetic water/hanging graphite

If you had to answer the following statement, which answer would you choose? Water is:

How To: Make Glowing Oobleck from Potatoes & Tonic Water

This magical, glowing mixture is very strange, with an equally strange name (Oobleck), because it feels like moldable pizza dough in your hands one second, and like liquified goo the next.

How To: Make fake blood from iron, chloride, and potassium

In order to make fake blood, for special effects or for Halloween, you will need the following: Potassium Thiocyanate (KSCN), Iron (III) Chloride (FeCL3), which is also known as ferric chloride or may substitute Iron Nitrate (Ferric Nitrate). You will also need water or dihydrogen monoxide.

How To: Do a demonstration of the Doppler effect

This video is an excellent example of how to demonstrate the doppler effect in the classroom.

How To: Make Vitriol (Sulfuric Acid) Using the Oxidizing & Electrochemical Methods

If you've been following the news lately, you've probably heard of the word "vitriol" being used as a political weapon, with people like celebrity left-winger Jane Fonda blaming conservatives like Sarah Palin for "vitriolic" attacks on Democrats and the "violence-provoking rhetoric of the Tea Party" movement for the recent Arizona shooting.