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Science Fair Experiments on Meteorites

Meteorites are chunks of debris, usually rock or metal, that fall from the space. They can be very small, or as big as a car and most come from the asteroid belt -- the area between Jupiter and Mars. Meteorites may make an interesting topic for a science fair and there are many experiments related to the topic suitable for a range of ages.

Dinosaurs
- Dinosaurs lived on Earth for over 100,000,000 years, before disappearing completely, around 65,000,000 years ago. One of the leading scientific theories for this sudden disappearance is that a meteorite struck the Earth, killing the dinosaurs. Investigate this theory, looking for evidence to support it, as well as investigating if other theories could also explain the end of the dinosaurs. Although scientists have studied this event for many years, you should still write a hypothesis stating whether you believe your research will show it was most likely a meteorite impact or if another theory seems more plausible.
Collecting Micrometeorites
- Micrometeorites are tiny little meteorites that fall to Earth from space every day. By staking a large sheet of plastic to the ground outside, you may be able to collect some of these micrometeorites. Leave the sheet outside for at least a few hours, preferably a few days, then use a magnet to separate the magnetic and nonmagnetic particles. Collect the magnetic particles and store them to be examined under a microscope. Measure how much of this material falls to the Earth each day and whether it is a constant amount. Investigate if there is any relation between the amount of debris and astronomical events and whether you can create a more efficient way of collecting this space debris.
Craters
- In this experiment investigate the relationship between the size of a meteor and the size of the crater it creates on impact with the Earth. Collect a range of different sized, spherical objects such as small beads, marbles, golf balls, tennis balls and fruit. Pour flour into a large container until you have a covering of around two inches. Drop the first object into the flour then carefully remove it so you do not disturb the crater it created. Measure the diameter of the crater. Repeat the process twice more to work out the average crater size for that object. Repeat with the other objects. Transfer your data onto a graph and investigate whether there is a pattern between the size of the meteorite and the size of the crater.
Earth's Atmosphere
- This experiment allows you to demonstrate what happens to meteors as they enter the Earth's atmosphere. Fill a large soda bottle with water and drop half a seltzer tablet into it. Observe what happens as the tablet drops to the bottom of the bottle. The way the tablet dissolves and breaks apart in the water is similar to the way a meteor breaks apart into meteorites as it enters the Earth's atmosphere. Investigate why this happens and don't forget to display the experiment with your finished project so other people can have a go too.

Astronomy