16 School Projects Everyone Had to Do — and Hated
Some school projects were supposed to be fun, but most of them felt like extra stress that no one actually enjoyed.
- Sophia Zapanta
- 5 min read
Nearly every student remembers being assigned school projects that felt more painful than productive. These tasks often demanded time, supplies, and effort, with little payoff beyond a grade. Here’s a list of the projects almost everyone had to do, and secretly (or openly) disliked.
1. The Science Fair Board
Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wikimedia Commons
It usually meant gluing photos and typing captions onto a tri-fold board. Most of the time, parents ended up helping more than the students. Many kids didn’t fully understand their own project. It felt more like a competition than a learning experience.
2. The Family Tree
Haykaz Martiros on Wikimedia Commons
Digging through family history sounds interesting until you’re forced to put it on paper for a grade. Some students didn’t have access to full family info, which made it uncomfortable. Others just copied names to fill the space. It rarely taught anything about history or heritage in a deeper way.
3. The Book Report Poster
Fæ on Wikimedia Commons
Reading a book was fine, but turning it into a visual poster felt unnecessary. Drawing scenes or cutting out magazine clippings often became the focus, rather than the book itself. Students spent more time decorating than analyzing the material. It felt like busywork with crayons.
4. Shoebox Dioramas
Mariordo on Wikimedia Commons
Creating a 3D scene inside a shoebox usually required glue, scissors, and a lot of frustration. It was often about making something look cool instead of learning the actual content. Kids without access to craft materials were at a disadvantage. These projects usually ended up in the trash after one day.
5. Model Solar Systems
Wing1990hk on Wikimedia Commons
Every group made the same thing: foam balls on sticks. It taught very little about actual astronomy or orbits. The focus was more on painting the planets than on learning how they work. They took up space and collected dust until someone threw them away.
6. Country Reports
Anthere on Wikimedia Commons
Picking a random country and creating a folder with its flag, food, and population numbers didn’t lead to real understanding. The information was usually copied from one or two websites. Most students forgot what they researched the next week. It felt more like filling pages than learning culture.
7. The Egg Drop
University of Texas at Arlington Photograph Collection on Wikimedia Commons
The idea was to protect a raw egg using household items, but most kids just hoped it wouldn’t break. Many didn’t really understand the physics behind the challenge. The actual lesson was often lost in the cleanup. It was more about trial and error than scientific thinking.
8. The Volcano Eruption
Ryan Dickey on Wikimedia Commons
Making a fake volcano with baking soda and vinegar was a classic, but it repeated every year with no new learning. The focus was on the eruption, not on geology or chemical reactions. Most students didn’t understand what the experiment showed. It was fun for five minutes, then over.
9. State Fair Projects
Cindy Axne on Wikimedia Commons
Each student selected a U.S. state and created a report that included facts, maps, and a related snack. The snack usually got the most attention. Facts were often copied straight from Wikipedia. It turned into a repetition of trivia without any deeper connections.
10. Timeline of Your Life
Pixabay on Pexels
Listing personal milestones was easy for some but awkward for others. Not all students had happy or stable childhoods. Sharing private details made some kids feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t always a fair or useful learning tool.
11. Biography Presentations
Wiki Education Foundation on Wikimedia Commons
Everyone picked the same five historical figures over and over. Most students read facts off notecards with little understanding. Creative aspects, such as dressing up, were often more important than the research. It was hard to stay interested when the same people were covered every year.
12. Build a Mission (or Historical Landmark)
Shraddhasinghuikey on Wikimedia Commons
These were large and expensive projects that often relied on parental help. They didn’t explain the actual history behind the building. Students focused on structure rather than the story. It became more about glue guns than lessons.
13. Animal Habitat Projects
Kaibab National Forest on Wikimedia Commons
Students built cardboard forests, oceans, or deserts with a plastic animal in the middle. The research section was brief and sometimes omitted. Most of the grade came from appearance, not content. It was another case of arts and crafts replacing actual learning.
14. Recycling Art
Sindugab on Wikimedia Commons
Using trash to make a “creative” piece often meant students digging through bins for random materials. The goal was unclear, and the result was usually a glued-together mess. Most students didn’t understand the connection to environmental issues. It looked like recycling but didn’t teach much about it.
15. Create Your Own Country
cottonbro studio on Pexels
Students had to make flags, languages, maps, and rules. It was fun at first but often turned silly fast. Many skipped the harder parts like economic systems or real-world problems. The final result rarely connected back to actual geography or politics.
16. Group Presentations
Shibraj Deb on Pexels
The idea was teamwork, but usually one person did the work while the others just showed up. Coordination outside school was hard, and the stress level was high. Students didn’t always learn the material well. It often felt unfair and unbalanced.