10 School Projects That Everyone Had to Do — and Hated
These dreaded school projects were unavoidable, unforgettable, and universally disliked.
- Chris Graciano
- 3 min read
A few assignments stick with us for all the wrong reasons. These classic school projects caused groans, late nights, and too much glue on poster boards. Whether it was group work drama or public speaking terror, everyone remembers struggling through these educational “experiences.”
1. The Science Fair Project
RDNE Stock project on Pexels
Complete with a tri-fold board and a desperate last-minute volcano. It was always a race against time, and your parents ended up doing half of it. Judging day felt more like a popularity contest than actual science.
2. The State Report
Julia M Cameron on Pexels
Every kid was assigned a random U.S. state and told to write about its history, flag, population, and more. It seemed like it would never end. Bonus points if you had to build a model or dress up in theme.
3. The Book Report Presentation
Julia M Cameron on Pexels
Reading the book was fine — talking about it in front of the class? Nightmare. You’d stammer through a summary, forget half the plot, and avoid eye contact the whole time.
4. The Group Poster Project
Kaboompics.com on Pexels
One person did all the work while the rest doodled or gossiped. Splitting tasks never worked — someone always “forgot” their part. Then, you’d all get the same grade, unfairly.
5. The Family Tree
DesiBoy101 on Wikimedia Commons
Seems easy until you’re explaining weird family dynamics on a giant piece of paper. Not every household looks like a textbook. Plus, trying to draw branches with glue and construction paper always turned into a mess.
6. The Diorama
Christchurch City Libraries on Flickr
Shoeboxes filled with tiny scenes that took hours to make and seconds to grade. Mini clay figures, toothpick trees, and cotton-ball clouds littered kitchen tables everywhere.
7. The Egg Drop Challenge
Bre Pettis on Flickr
Design a contraption to keep an egg from breaking when dropped — sounds simple, right? However, it turned into an engineering nightmare, complete with parachutes, sponges, and bubble wrap galore.
8. The Biography Report
Keira Burton on Pexels
Pick a famous figure, learn their life story, and sometimes even dress up like them. It was more about memorization than inspiration. Half the class picked Abraham Lincoln or Amelia Earhart.
9. The Math Board Game
Mathsoccerboard on Wikimedia Commons
Create a working board game that teaches math? That’s a tall order for a ten-year-old. The rules were confusing, the design was clunky, and it was rarely fun to play.
10. The Career Day Project
Argonne National Laboratory on Flickr
You had to research a future job, make a report, maybe even do a mini-presentation. Everyone just picked a firefighter, a doctor, or an athlete. Most of us had no idea what we wanted to be, and still don’t.