2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper presents how students designed low cost fluid mechanics experiments that can be conducted at home using everyday materials. Besides space and manpower requirements, student laboratory experiments often require the use of expensive and complex equipment to demonstrate high-level fluid mechanics theories and phenomena. Over the Covid-19 pandemic, many of these instructional laboratory experiments had to be conducted at home – or not at all – leaving students challenged to experiment with these concepts in a real-world setting rather than using an engineered mechanism. Additionally, universities around the world that do not have direct access to expensive equipment need to have practical experiments that can teach students how fluid mechanics principles apply to real-world settings. One approach that addresses the issue of budget, equipment, space, and accessibility is designing at-home fluid mechanics experiments using low cost everyday materials. At-home experiments allow students to use critical thinking alongside their coursework to develop unique approaches to fluid mechanics.
This study focuses on two cohorts in fall 2024 and fall 2025 – totaling 106 students – developing at-home experiments while highlighting eight experiments that exceeded in the following academic criteria: cost, theory connection, accessibility, and learning outcomes. Students taking the fluid mechanics course are tasked with a semester long project to develop an at-home experiment, connecting to key topics covered during the semester. At the conclusion of the design and experimentation process, students submitted a complete lab write-up of their findings (including materials, supplies, and procedures) as well as gave an oral presentation. Students completed written surveys after conducting their experiment to reflect on their knowledge of their chosen topic. Initial findings showed students had a stronger grasp of key principles and deepened appreciation for fluid mechanics. The study results provide insight into future experiments with fluid mechanics that can be conducted in a variety of settings and how effective they are for student learning. Instructors can then take these experiments, expand upon the core concepts, and refine them to create a professional experiment that can be conducted at home and at a low cost.