Sports science fair projects: balls, bounces and grip

What to expect

Every sport is full of science questions. Why does a ball bounce higher on one floor than another? Does a cold ball bounce lower than a warm one? Why do some shoes grip a slope and others slide? These projects answer them with a tape measure and three tries at every level, and they cost little or nothing: a ball, the shoes by the door and a sheet of cardboard to tilt. The bounce projects work from 1st grade, because reading how high a ball comes up against a tape measure on the wall is something a six-year-old can do with a helper.

These projects test the ball and the shoe, never the player. Timing how fast someone runs or how quickly they catch uses a person as the thing being tested, and the school rules we read say that needs a review and a signed OK before it starts. Drop the ball from standing height and never climb to get higher. Let go rather than throwing, so every drop starts the same way, and have a helper watch the bottom of the ball at the top of its first bounce. Three drops at every level, then the middle number, and the bar graph almost draws itself.

Counted from the projects on this page: 6 about how things move; 6 using paper, tape and toys. 4 are free with what most houses have, and the rest cost about $3. Testing takes 1 day. None needs a grown-up to do a step, only to be nearby.