25 High School Project Ideas
High school students are often looking to pursue their own interests outside of school–and working on an independent project can showcase your personality, spark creativity, and allow you to build meaningful skills! By working on an independent project, students have an opportunity to dive into a specific skill, topic, or medium. In this blog post, we are sharing 25 different high school project ideas to help you feel inspired.
High school project ideas
Check out our high school project ideas below, and let us know what you think! What kind of project will YOU pursue as a high school student?
Create Content or Post on Social Media
Many high school students consume content online frequently, especially via social media. But have you ever thought about building your own online presence? Be sure to remain professional online if you choose to create your own content!
Start your own blog
Blogging has been around for quite some time, but it’s actually one of the best ways to gain an audience and to get eyes on your content! In fact, you’re reading a blog post right now (that you likely stumbled upon from a quick Google search!). From food blogs to fashion blogs to even academic blogs, there are so many different topics to choose from as you create your own blog. There are also plenty of user-friendly blog and website builders–like Squarespace, Wix, and Medium–to help you get started.
Start a podcast
Podcasts are becoming increasingly more popular as a medium to consume content. In case you aren’t familiar with podcasts, they are series of audio episodes that cover a variety of different topics. If you are interested in starting your own podcast, you will first want to choose a topic to discuss. Then, you’ll want to decide what style of podcast interests you. Will you bring on guests to interview? Will you have a co-host and have a structured conversation on air? Will you put on a solo-show where you respond to listener questions?
Create a YouTube channel
YouTube is filled with content – how-to videos, lifestyle content, video game walkthroughs, sketch comedy, and more. Consider creating a YouTube channel where you create tutorials or instructional videos.
Create informative posts or videos for social media
Other social media platforms like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram are great tools to share information. Consider creating accounts where you share informative posts, infographics, or videos each week.
Submit and Publish Your Written Work
Have you ever felt proud of a piece of work you’ve written? Try submitting your writing for publication in a magazine, newspaper, or competition!
Submit to a research journal
There are several research journals that accept submissions from high school students. Try submitting your research paper to The Concord Review, The Journal of Emerging Investigators, or AGNI Magazine. At Inspirit AI, we offer 1:1 independent research mentorship programs where we guide students to conduct their own AI research and submit to a scientific journal. You can learn more about our research program here.
Enter a science fair
Submitting your work to a science fair is really impressive and can certainly help you stand out in college admissions! Try submitting your work to a competition like Regeneron Science Talent Search, Broadcom MASTERS, or the Davidson Fellowship.
Write as a guest feature in an online publication
Many magazines and newspapers allow guest submissions. Apply to be a guest writer for an online publication.
Write a book
While this may feel like a lofty goal, consider writing a book! If you choose to go this route, you may want to do some initial research on best practices for project planning and even time management.
Write a collection of poems
Tired of writing prose? Experiment with poetry! Put together a collection of poetry to share with friends and family–or maybe even publish as a book.
Plan and Host a Live Event
Looking to support your local community? Plan and host your own live event to bring the community together.
Put on a concert at a local business
Partner with a local business, like a boutique or coffee shop, to put on a live concert. You could even be one of the main performers, but even if you aren’t musically inclined, you can still source local musicians to perform. Perhaps proceeds from ticket sales will support a local nonprofit or small business!
Plan a live comedy show
Comedy shows are often a hit – and there is a good chance that there are many budding comedians in your area! Organize a live comedy show and find a local spot to host the event.
Organize a workshop to educate the community
Is there a problem in your local community you hope to solve? Or, is there an area/topic you have expertise in? Organize a workshop to educate your community on a specific topic. For example, plan a workshop to teach about financial literacy, sustainable farming, or entrepreneurship for kids!
Host a fundraiser to support a local nonprofit
Plan and host a fundraiser to support a local nonprofit. Get creative! How might you raise money for an important cause?
Put on a trivia night
Encourage some friendly competition by putting on a trivia night at a local business. Will there be a theme for the evening? Try being the emcee for the evening!
Develop a Project with Code
High school students interested in computer science and programming can develop their own projects, from apps to websites to machine learning models and more.
Build an AI project
Artificial intelligence is transforming our world, including disciplines like healthcare, business, law, finance, and sustainability. Inspirit AI offers live online programs that expose high school students to fundamental AI programming skills and guide them to build socially impactful AI projects. In the AI Scholars program, students work on a mentor-led AI + X project, taught and developed by Stanford and MIT graduates.
Develop an NLP project
NLP, or natural language processing, is the ability for a computer to understand text and spoken words. Try developing your own NLP project! Maybe you will create a project that runs accurate, fast, and precise models to root out hate speech on social media using natural language processing. Or perhaps you will use NLP to predict stock market prices using sentiment analysis on Twitter. Learn more about AI and NLP projects at Inspirit AI.
Experiment with app development
Have you ever wanted to develop your own app? Learn how to program an app – and even develop UX/UI design skills!
Code a website
There are plenty of user-friendly website builders that don’t require code… but students interested in building more complex websites can experiment with HTML and CSS! Learn how to code your own website.
Build a recommender system
Did you know that companies like Netflix and Spotfiy use AI to provide movie and music recommendations to users? Build your own recommender system in Python.
Pursue Your Passion for Art and Music
Pursue your passion for art and music as a high school student by creating your own project. Check out our ideas below.
Create a portfolio
Portfolios are thoughtfully designed presentations of artwork that embody an artist’s talent, skills, and styles. Portfolios typically consist of 12-20 pieces of artwork. If you haven’t created one already, it’s a great idea to create a portfolio of work – not just for colleges or competitions, but also for you!
Create a photography exhibit
If you are a photographer, have you ever considered putting your photography on display? Ask a local coffee shop, library, or even gallery to showcase your work in a mini-exhibit.
Paint a mural
Cities and neighborhoods often commission local artists to paint murals. Look into painting a mural in your own neighborhood or town.
Produce a short film
Filmmaking requires many creative and technical skills – like production, editing, script writing, and more. Produce your own short film and even find friends, family members, or other film students to be actors.
Release an original song
As a musician, you may have already thought about releasing your own original song. It is always a great time to pursue this passion!
Create a virtual museum to showcase your work
There has been a rise in popularity of virtual exhibitions and museums over the past few years. Why not create your own virtual museum to showcase your work as an artist?
Get started on your own high school project idea
In this blog post, we shared 25 different high school project ideas to help you get started. Now that we’ve given you a little bit of inspiration, you’re ready to explore a project that makes YOU feel excited. Use these ideas as inspiration to develop your own high school project, and let us know what you create in the comments below!
