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Teachers

Lead. Create. Demonstrate.

The maker spirit is all about “learning-through-doing”. Infuse this spirit into your secondary classrooms with these standards-aligned, hands-on activities designed to encourage exploration and spark curiosity with your students.

Maker Corner

Building a Green Roof

Building a Green Roof

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will learn about urban heat islands and how they can be mitigated through additional green spaces. Building their own models, they will conduct research to see which aspects are most effective.

Urban Planning for our Community

Urban Planning for our Community

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will examine a location in their community using mapping technology, and propose how to improve upon the area’s design with a 3D model.

Patrolling for Plastic

Patrolling for Plastic

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will and learn about the increasing problem of plastic ocean waste and create a prototype model of an ocean waste collecting device.

Hydraulics in Action

Hydraulics in Action

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will learn how hydraulics work in order to build a working hydraulic arm to move an object from one place to another.

Catapult Competition!

Catapult Competition!

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will investigate different kinds of catapults as they explore how counterweights and levers work to launch projectiles into the air. In teams, they will build mini-catapults for a class-wide challenge.

Parachute Precision

Parachute Precision

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will work in teams to create an innovative design for their own parachute using a variety of materials.

Build a Smartscope!

Microscope

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will work together to design and build a device that will turn their smartphone into a working microscope. This “smartscope” will allow them to view, photograph, and record specimens in the science lab and in the field.

The Power of the Sun

Cooking with solar powered heat

Grades 6-8 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will learn about thermal energy and heat transfer. They will work together as they try to harness the energy of the sun by designing, creating, and testing a solar cooker that could help developing countries around the world.

Clean Water Anywhere

Scientist gathering water sample

Grades 6-8 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will learn about the importance of drinking clean water for a person’s health, and they will become aware of the water crisis that affects millions of people around the world. They will work together to build and test a portable water filter using simple materials.

Protecting Our Pollinators!

Bees Polinating

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will learn about the ecological importance of species that pollinate flowers, such as birds and insects. They will work in groups to design a unique habitat that would attract these pollinators based on their specific needs.

Farming for the Future

iPad and crops

Grades 9-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Student groups will build a hydroponic growing system using simple materials.

Destination: Space!

View of Earth from the Moon

Grades 6-8 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will build a prototype of a lunar outpost that overcomes the obstacles that the moon’s surface provides.

Building Bridges for Wildlife

Bridge over roadway

Grades 6-8 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will design and build an innovative bridge or wildlife crossing for a specific species so they can safely navigate across and through human-made structures.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Girl drinking hot beverage

Grades 6-8 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will design and build a beverage cup insulator with the goal of keeping a hot drink the warmest.

Lemon Powered

Lemons

Grades 6-12 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will apply their understanding of how chemical cells work, by creating their own battery using lemons to help convert stored chemical energy into electric energy that can then light an LED bulb.

Trash Fishing

Grades 6-8 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will design, build, test, and refine a device that will allow them to fish trash out of local waterways while standing on the shoreline.

Designed for Delivery

Grades 6-8 | 45-60 Minutes

Students will take on the role of a packaging designer and be tasked with creating a package design for a box left outside after delivery that needs to remain cold and dry.

Armadillo Architecture

An armadillo

Grades 6–8 | 45–60 minutes

Students will learn about the efficient and lightweight shell of an armadillo. They will then apply these advantageous adaptations to their own architectural model using a variety of different materials.

"Upcycled" Lamp

Plastic spoons

Grades 6–8 | 45–60 minutes

Students will "upcycle" a bottle and plastic spoons in order to make a pendant lamp. They will learn about electric currents, principles of light, and how recyclable materials can be used in ways they would never expect.

Beehive Basics

A cross section of beehive honeycomb

Grades 6–8 | 45–60 minutes

Students will build a beehive for mason bees that can be packaged and used in densely populated areas where there aren't as many pollinators. The colony of bees will help grow important flowers and crops in urban gardens.

Additional Science Fair Resources

100+ Project Ideas

Science fairs and STEAM events offer students an opportunity to practice conducting a scientific investigation or the engineering design process. Use our project ideas to get started!

Host a Fair

Are you in charge of planning a science fair or STEAM event? You’ll find all the tools and tips you need to get started, guide you through your event, and help recognize the hard work and talent of your students.

Kids Workshops

Kids Workshops provide a mix of skill-building, creativity, and safety for future DIYers every month in Home Depot stores across the country. After registering for the next Workshop, download these exclusive extension activities from Discovery Education. Each extension provides opportunities to reimagine or use their Workshop creation in an unexpected new way.