My college application asked me about Research Activities, can someone explain to me what that means?

Have you done any research, such as a summer program for high school students interested in science? Have you assisted in any sort of social science research activities, such as for a non-profit organization?

What the first guy said.

My daughter did her own research project while in high school and expanded it into a bigger research project at undergrad school, is expanding it at graduate school even more and the US government is having her expand it even more still when she starts her PhD next year. And it will likely lead her to a high level government research job. All from something that caught her attention when she was 14 while we were stuck in traffic on the freeway between LA and Vegas.

They want to know what have you have been looking into out of sheer curiosity.