Science 4 Inquiry
Trick or Science: Catching the Light
Your class might be surprised to learn that mirrors have been around since the first century AD! Young scientists explore reflection and refraction of light through a series of challenges. They use this knowledge to design their own...
Center Science Education
Looking Into Surface Albedo
How does the color of a surface affect the heating of the earth? Middle school science classes experiment with color and surface albedo to determine the relationship. The website has tabs for an overview, teacher's instructions,...
Captain Planet Foundation
Fall into Healthy Shapes
Kindergartners identify geometric shapes by planting a fall garden. They start their seeds in containers that have different shapes, and keep track of their plants based on those shapes. This brilliantly designed and incredibly thorough...
Teach Engineering
Introduction to Environmental Engineering
A series on environmental engineering introduces the class to issues that environmental engineers work to solve. This first lesson focuses on air and land issues, and looks at ways to reduce pollution.
Bonneville
How to Build a Turbine
Here is a six-minute video of a pair of electrical engineers that illustrate how to build a wind turbine. A list of materials is provided, along with general guidelines for your class. Use this to introduce turbine design to your...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Making of a Monster
Over the course of a week, the class will study how monsters are portrayed throughout literature. But why? Monsters in science fiction or horror often depict the darker side of human nature; they are described for their horrific physical...
Bonneville
How to Build a Motor
Electrical engineers entertain and explain how to construct an electromagnet-driven motor. Kellie and Mike, the hosts of the show, are enthusiastic teachers that will help introduce a project that you likely include in your middle school...
Center for Precollegiate Education and Training
Buoyancy Boats
What did the sea say to the boat? Nothing, it just waved. An inquiry-based instructional activity starts with a simple concept on the Archimedes Principle and challenges pupils to make something out of clay that floats....
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Drug Adherence and Resistance
The FDA approved more than 25 drugs to treat HIV—and often people must use them in combination. One of the largest challenges with these medications happens due to patient error. Class members use an interactive to learn about drug...
Curated OER
What Wavelength Was That?
A combination of informative text, photos, and graphics comprise this sharp show on electromagnetic radiation. Some slides mention hands-on activities for demonstrating concepts, so if you want to include them you will need to figure out...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can a Dam Affect a River? Activity A
Written for Washington state students in life science, this lesson provides an opportunity to examine the residents of local freshwater habitats. You or the class collects a water sample, and learners try to examine what organisms live...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can a Dam Affect a River? Activity B
Second in a pair of activities, young ecologists continue to examine the food pyramid of a freshwater ecosystem. They take a look at the food pyramid drawn in Activity A and consider what would happen if a reservoir was created on the...
NorthEast Ohio Geoscience Education Outreach
Introduction to Density
Seventh grade scientists weigh in on the concept of density. In a nutshell, they participate in the following activities:
Measurement of the mass and volume of fruit in order to compare densities
Measurement of the mass of oil and water...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 3
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Find out what drives a turbine to generate electricity and whether or not it has an impact on the environment. A discussion and lecture is divided by a hands-on activity in...
Virginia Department of Education
Hurricanes: An Environmental Concern
Hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones are the same type of storm, but their names change based on where they happen. Scholars use a computer simulation to learn about hurricanes. Then they hypothesize ideas to prevent hurricanes...
Curated OER
Remember to Stop and Smell the Roses: Olfaction and its Relationship to Memory
Students discover that olfaction elicits memory associations. They investigate how olfaction compares to other sensory modalities in the formation of memories. This is a hands-on lab activity guaranteed to build memories in your students!
Teach Engineering
Chromatography Lab
Groups use alcohol and chromatography paper to separate the color components of black ink. The purpose of the activity is to allow the class to become aware that mixtures exist in hidden places.
Exploratorium
Cardboard Tube Syllabus
Construct paper tubes and then try out a few optical illusion tricks:
See a virtual hole in your own hand
Get a grasp of how the eyes combine images
Notice that one eye is dominant over the other
Reveal how your eyes adjust to...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Animals
Scholars explore the animal kingdom with help from two texts, Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey and A Bed for the Winter by Karen Wallace. The literature and informational text set the learning stage for thoughtful discussion and...
Curated OER
AM I on the Radio?
Young scholars create a working radio by soldering circuit components supplied from an AM radio kit. They demonstrate an efficient soldering technique, identify the circuit components used to construct their radio, and explain how their...
Teach Engineering
Where Are the Plastics Near Me? (Field Trip)
With a piece of plastic here and a piece of plastic there, here a piece, there a piece, everywhere a piece. Teams go on a field trip in order to document the locations and kinds of plastic trash in an area near them. The eighth...
Smithsonian Institution
Trait Tracker
Help mice beat the odds with an exciting activity about traits. Biologists discover the role of diet and other factors on animal traits by participating in a simulation activity. Teams collect and evaluate data to understand how certain...
Polytechnic Institute of NYU
Potential vs. Kinetic Energy
Legos in science class? Watch your pupils fall in love with this activity. After learning to measure potential and kinetic energy, young scientists create their own ramps using Lego Mindstorm sensors and software.
Discovery Education
Stomp Rockets
Watch the excitement grow as learners experiment with homemade rockets. Pupils create their own rockets from a soda bottle and experiment with launch angles. They discover the launch angle has a significant effect on the distance the...