• Use balloons for a thermal science project.Balloons image by elmgrover from Fotolia.com
  
  Thermal energy is a source of energy that has been generated or can be measured by heat. This type of energy has been important in the development of humankind---as the ocean, sun, and geothermal sources of energy can all be thermal energy. There are different science projects based on thermal energy that you or your students can create for a science fair, no matter the grade level.
  
  

Heat Absorption

• This project works best for younger students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. For this project, students will test to see which products absorb heat the most effectively. Use several materials such as cotton, terry, nylon and fake fur and place them in different sacks. Place a thermometer in each sack and lay them in a sunny area for approximately an hour. Collect the sacks and record the temperature on a chart. Use the results to ask logical extension questions like which material will keep ice melting the longest and which material you would wear during the summer.
  
  

Heat and Balloons

• This project works well for late elementary school or early middle school students. This project determines how air changes, based on the addition of heat or cold to an environment. Using several different balloons, a freezer, a steamed pot and a clothes dryer, test what happens when balloons are added to a warm or a cold environment. Use a tape measure to determine the width of each balloon before and after testing it in each environment for several minutes. Draw a conclusion about how air is affected by heat and cold based on the results.
  
  

Cooling a Soda

• This project works well for middle school-aged students, and requires an understanding of thermal terminology like convection, conduction, evaporation and radiation. You will need 12 to 15 cans of soda to test which method of cooling makes the soda the coldest, fastest. Some methods you can try are putting the can of soda in the fridge, in the freezer, in an ice water bath or putting it in a cooler of ice alone. Place three cans in each environment, and every five minutes remove one of the cans to test the temperature. Graph the different temperatures and determine which cooling method was the most effective.
  
  

Thermal Insulation

• This project works well for middle school or high school students. In the Thermal Insulation project, you will test several materials against each other to see which one is the most effective thermal insulator. You can test materials like polyethylene, Teflon, poplar, gypsum, ceramic or any other material that is easily accessible. Test the materials by placing a heat source on one side of the material and a thermometer on the other. The material that has the lowest temperature after a certain amount of time is the best thermal insulator. Record your results and draw your conclusion.