Olympic and sports day fever is about to start, so I’ve put together a collection of fun sport-themed science experiments and investigations. You can find out what happens to your heart rate and breathing as you exercise, make a model of a heart and lung, discover why balls bounce, test reaction time and lots more sporty science ideas for kids.

Sporty Science Ideas

Exercise

Exercise and Heart Rate

First up, is an easy activity to learn about the effect of exercise on heart rate. If using a stethoscope is too difficult, children can put their hands on their hearts to feel the beats.

This investigation is great for thinking about correct experimental design, including which conditions to change and which to keep constant.

Heart and Lung Model

Discover how the lungs work with a simple model of a lung. I also have an easy pumping heart model using a jar to demonstrate how heart valves work.

Healthy and Strong Bones

Learn about the structure and function of the human skeleton by making models of the spine and paper bone models.

Discover how to keep your bones strong and healthy with an activity to learn about foods that are good for bone strength and what happens when a bone is broken.

How much sugar?

Discover how much sugar drinks contain with a simple matching task.

Why do balls bounce?

Investigate why and how balls bounce with a super simple bouncing balls investigation.

Which material would make the best hockey puck?

This easy activity is great for starting to think about properties of materials and why materials are chosen for a particular purpose. See this version by Creative Family Fun.

Test your Reaction Time

Test your reaction time with a very simple science demonstration using a ruler.

Put your design skills to the test with a brilliant shoebox football table from The Mad House.

More sport-themed science experiments

Use surface tension to power a model canoe or lolly stick surfboard.

Build and test a football goal.

Design a sailboat with a working sail.

Design an investigation to test whether people with longer legs jump further or run faster than people with shorter legs.

Build a javelin from rolled-up paper and find out how far you can throw it.

Construct a bow and arrow using lolly sticks and elastic bands.

Build a catapult to shoot a mini basketball into a hoop.

Find out if you can jump further if you run and jump or jump without the run-up.

Experiment to find out if it’s easier to bounce a ball on a baseball bat or tennis racquet.

Design a grip for a tug-of-war rope?

Last Updated on July 9, 2025 by Emma Vanstone