3 Classic Science Fair Projects, And How They Solve Today’s Engineering Challenges

March 12, 2026

Batteries built from potatoes. Chemically activated volcanoes. Drawbridges that open and close using the hydraulic force of a syringe: these are classic science projects that STEM students around the world have built and displayed for decades for school and for science competitions.

While these projects might seem humble, they continue to resonate. In fact, many classic science projects have direct connections to cutting-edge research aimed at some of the world’s biggest challenges.

“The connections are more direct than you’d expect,” said IEEE Senior Member Eleanor Watson.

To see where our future is headed, we can look back at those classroom staples and how they’ve evolved into the high-tech solutions we rely on today.

Energy From Plants

Precision agriculture relies on sensors to optimize farming yields. A question arises: where is the electricity for those sensors supposed to come from?

The answer has roots, perhaps literally, in the classic school science classic science project that uses a potato or a lemon to generate electricity, as demonstrated in this project from IEEE TryEngineering.

Recent research suggests that farmers may want to look deeper for electricity – below the soil. Scientists in Italy developed a specialized sensor that clips to a plant’s stem to monitor water levels. It sends data directly to a receiver located near the bottom of the plant. That receiver taps into electrical signals of microbes in the soil.

The technology, if it is ever commercialized, could lead to a low-cost way to monitor the health of crops down to the level of individual plants.

Volcanoes and the Math Behind Deep Learning

When students add an acid, like vinegar, to baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction that creates foam. Placed in a cylinder, the foam rises.

These projects demonstrate more than a chemical reaction. There’s serious math behind the behavior of foams.

A 2025 study found that a computer simulation of how bubbles in foam behaved are mathematically similar to the algorithms used to train modern AI.

“The foam on a student’s volcano is governed by the same mathematics as deep learning,” Watson said.

From Toy Drawbridge to Modern Robotics

When IEEE Senior Member Marcio Teixeira was younger, he made a small hydraulic drawbridge to demonstrate Pascal’s Principle. By pushing one fluid-filled syringe, he could raise the bridge using another syringe.

While Pascal’s Principle is nearly four decades old, it is still deployed today, especially in robotics. When combined with sensors for example, hydraulic principles are important in the creation of robotic limbs.

Researchers have also begun experimenting with fluid-filled textiles, using hydraulic principles to create synthetic muscles.

Go Deeper: IEEE TryEngineering celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026, and they’ve put together 20 reasons to celebrate.