15 STEM Projects for Middle School Students

As a middle school student interested in STEM, working on STEM projects can give you the chance to explore these interests before high school! Instead of just reading about energy, coding, or biology in class, you actually get to test, build, and experiment with them yourself. 

What are projects for middle school students?

Projects are hands-on learning activities that go beyond regular schoolwork to help you dive deep into topics of your choice over an extended period. Unlike worksheets or quick assignments, projects require you to find information from multiple sources, plan your work in phases, and create something tangible like a presentation, model, report, or demonstration to highlight your interests and knowledge. 

Why should I do a project in middle school?

Middle school is the perfect time to try out STEM projects, as this can be an opportunity to explore your interests before high school. Starting in middle school also gives you time to scale or modify the project later on. While building a project, you will pick up problem-solving skills, learn how to test and improve your ideas, and maybe even spark an interest in a career path you hadn’t thought about before. Many of these projects use household items or free software, so they are easy to try without needing a full lab or expensive tools. 

These projects can allow you to build something that satisfies your curiosity and helps you learn without worrying about grades. From growing crystals to coding a simple game, each project helps you explore various science, tech, engineering, and math concepts in a hands-on way. 

To help you get started, here are 15 STEM projects for middle school students! 

1. Solar oven

For this project, you will build a simple oven powered by sunlight to learn how renewable energy can be used for cooking. You can line a cardboard box with foil and use plastic wrap to trap heat. Then, you can test how well this simple device melts chocolate, cheese, or even makes s’mores. Adjusting the angle of the oven and the reflective surfaces will help you understand how heat and light are absorbed. This is a great way to explore both energy transfer and sustainability in action.

Materials/investment required: Cardboard box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, tape, and black construction paper

Suitable for: Beginners with an interest in science and environmental studies

2. Egg drop challenge

This project focuses on physics and engineering. You will design a container that protects an egg from breaking when dropped from a height. You can experiment with materials like straws, cotton, or cardboard to create cushioning and shock absorption. Testing different designs will help you understand how forces like gravity and impact work in real life. The challenge is to keep the egg intact while using creative problem-solving skills.

Materials/investment required: Raw eggs, straws, tape, cardboard, and cotton or bubble wrap + any other materials you can find easily at home

Suitable for: Beginners with curiosity in physics and engineering design

3. Coding a simple game

Using a beginner-friendly platform like Scratch, you can create a basic interactive game such as a maze, a catch-the-object game, or a character that avoids obstacles. In the process, you will learn how to use commands, loops, and conditional statements to control how the game works. Customizing sprites, sounds, and backgrounds will make the game your own, while also giving you insight into programming logic. You can then share your finished game to allow others to play with and test your creation.

Materials/investment required: Computer with internet access and a free Scratch account

Suitable for: Coding beginners 

4. Water filtration system

This project can introduce you to environmental science and engineering. To build a basic water filter, you will layer materials like sand, gravel, and charcoal in a plastic bottle to see how they remove dirt and impurities from water. Testing your filtered water against muddy samples will show how effective each material is at cleaning. While it still won’t be safe enough to drink, it gives you a clear demonstration of how real filtration systems work.

Materials/investment required: Plastic bottle, sand, gravel, activated charcoal, cotton or coffee filter

Suitable for: Beginners interested in environmental science and problem-solving

5. Paper roller coaster

For this project, you will design a roller coaster track out of paper strips and cardboard to explore concepts of physics like momentum, speed, and gravity. You will test how marbles roll through the track, adding twists, turns, and loops to see what designs work best. Balancing creativity with structural stability will challenge you to think like an engineer. You can also observe how the marble speeds up or slows down to gain insights into real-world physics.

Materials/investment required: Cardboard, construction paper, tape, scissors, and marbles

Suitable for: Beginners to intermediate students interested in physics and design

6. Bridge-building challenge

This project lets you test your engineering and design skills. Here, you will build a bridge out of simple materials and examine how much weight it can hold. You can experiment with different shapes, like triangles or arches, to make the structure stronger. After building, you can test it by placing small weights or coins on top until the bridge collapses. Through trial and error, you will learn how real engineers design bridges for stability and strength.

Materials/investment required: Popsicle sticks, glue or tape, coins or small weights

Suitable for: Beginners interested in engineering and physics

7. DIY lava lamp

This experiment combines chemistry and a bit of physics. To create a homemade lava lamp, fill a clear bottle with water and oil, then add food coloring and an Alka-Seltzer tablet to watch colorful bubbles rise and fall. Observing how oil and water separate while the gas pushes bubbles upward can help you understand density and chemical reactions. You can try changing the proportions to see how the effect changes.

Materials/investment required: Clear bottle, water, vegetable oil, food coloring, and Alka-Seltzer tablets

Suitable for: Beginners with an interest in chemistry

8. Balloon-powered car

Here, you will design a small car powered by the air released from a balloon. You will attach wheels to a lightweight body, secure a balloon, and see how far the car travels when air escapes. Testing different body designs and balloon sizes shows how thrust, friction, and aerodynamics affect movement. This is a hands-on way to explore engineering and the concepts of motion and energy.

Materials/investment required: Balloons, straws, cardboard, tape, and bottle caps or toy wheels

Suitable for: Beginners interested in motion and engineering

9. Coding a weather app

Using a beginner coding platform like MIT App Inventor, you can create a simple app that tracks weather information. You can set up a basic interface where users can enter a city and receive weather updates. This project will introduce you to variables, user input, and connecting to external data sources. By the end, you will have an app that demonstrates how technology is used in real-world forecasting.

Materials/investment required: Computer with internet access and a free MIT App Inventor account

Suitable for: Beginners with an interest in coding and app development

10. Growing crystals

You can grow crystals from a supersaturated solution! You can dissolve substances like salt, sugar, or borax in hot water, then let the solution cool to allow crystals to form over several days. Letting the shapes grow on a string or stick can help you see how molecules arrange themselves in repeating patterns. You can experiment with different substances to compare the crystal structures.

Materials/investment required: Table salt/sugar/borax, hot water, jars, and string or sticks

Suitable for: Beginners with an interest in chemistry and earth science

11. DIY microscope

In this project, you will build a simple microscope using a smartphone and a small lens. By positioning the lens over the phone’s camera and securing it in place, you will be able to magnify tiny objects like leaves, fabric fibers, or salt crystals. Experimenting with lighting and distance can help you get clearer images. It’s a hands-on way to see how magnification works and to explore the hidden details of everyday items.

Materials/investment required: Smartphone, small magnifying lens, tape, and flashlight (optional)

Suitable for: Beginners with an interest in biology and observation

12. Bottle rocket

This idea relies on physics and engineering to help you create a rocket powered by air pressure. You can partially fill a plastic soda bottle with water, attach it to a pump, and launch it to see how high it can go. By adjusting the amount of water or air pressure, you will notice how thrust and weight affect flight. This is a safe, exciting idea to help you explore Newton’s laws of motion in action.

Materials/investment required: Plastic soda bottle, water, cork with valve, bicycle pump

Suitable for: Beginners to intermediate students interested in physics and aerospace

13. Plant growth observation

If you are interested in biology and environmental sciences, consider testing how plants grow under different conditions. You can grow identical seeds in light versus dark, dry versus watered, or other different soil types. You can measure their height and leaf count over time to compare growth patterns. The experiment shows how external factors affect living organisms. This project can be conducted over several weeks for a deeper assessment.

Materials/investment required: Seeds, soil, small pots or cups, water, and measuring tools

Suitable for: Beginners with an interest in biology and plant science

14. DIY Hydraulic Arm

Design a simple robotic arm powered by water. You can use syringes connected with tubing to control movement, allowing the arm to lift or grab small objects. By experimenting with different lever designs, you will learn how pressure and fluid mechanics help machines work. It’s a creative way to see how hydraulics are used in construction and robotics.

Materials/investment required: Cardboard, plastic syringes, tubing, tape, and water 

Suitable for: Intermediate students with an interest in engineering and robotics

15. Weather station with sensors

For this project, you will set up a small weather station using basic sensors to measure temperature, humidity, or rainfall. With tools like a digital thermometer or a homemade rain gauge, you will collect daily data and record patterns over time. Comparing results will help you understand how weather changes locally and connects to larger climate concepts. If you enjoy coding, you can even connect sensors to a micro:bit for digital tracking.

Materials/investment required: Thermometer, hygrometer or rain gauge, notebook, and micro:bit and sensors (optional) 

Suitable for: Beginners to intermediate students interested in earth science and data collection

One other option for you—Lumiere Junior Explorer Program

The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is an opportunity for middle school students to work one-on-one with a mentor to explore their academic interests and build a project they are passionate about. Our mentors are scholars from top research universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke, and LSE. 

The program was founded by a Harvard and Oxford Ph.D. who met as undergraduates at Harvard. The program is rigorous and fully virtual. We offer need-based financial aid for students who qualify. You can find more details in the brochure. Multiple rolling deadlines for JEP cohorts are available throughout the year. You can apply using this application link!

To learn more, you can reach out to our Director, Dhruva, at dhruva.bhat@lumiere.education or check our website. If you’d like to take a look at the upcoming cohorts + deadlines, you can refer to this page!

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.

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