University of Minnesota
Tell Me About It
Have you ever tried following confusing or incomplete directions? In a hands-on experiment, partners give and follow directions to build a structure. Scholars apply their years of experience taking instructions to prove they know...
Curated OER
Layer Cake Archaeology
Excavating cake? Why not! Kids spoon into some layers and artifacts during this tasty hands-on activity. The cake, a simulated archaeological dig, is the object of observation and discussion.
Gears Educational System
Battery Basics
In a series of activities, high schoolers research and compare batteries of different chemistries (such as nickel-cadmium), measure current and voltage, and use multimeters and math to compute their capacities. In the end, they try to...
Polar Trec
Can Carbon Dioxide Act Like a Greenhouse Gas?
Ninety-seven percent of scientists who study climate agree that human activity is warming the planet. Learners explore carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, a gas causing this warming, through a hands-on experiment. Once complete, they...
NOAA
Mid-Ocean Ridges Interactive
Your class will be on top of their game when it comes to mid-ocean ridges! The second installment in a 13-part series focuses on the 65,000-km underwater ridge system that spans our globe. Junior oceanographers practice placing the...
Colorado State University
What Is Energy?
Don't let the energy of your classroom falter! Explore the scientific definition of energy through play. A hands-on lesson focuses on the change of energy from one form to another.
University of Miami
What is it? Weathering, Erosion, or Deposition?
Just as rocks move through the rock cycle, your giddy geologists will move descriptions around until they are all in the correct category. After cutting out several types of rock movement, learners determine whether the action is...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Making of the Fittest: Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies
How did the stickleback fish, which was once ocean bound, evolve to be able to persist in freshwater lakes? Hear from the scientists who identified the genes and related switches that allowed these survivors to adapt. In addition to the...
Star Date
Astronomy Day from McDonald Observatory Solar System Scale Activity
Add a visual aid to your solar system lessons. Enthusiastic astronomers create a model depicting the nine planets and their distance from the sun.
Pingry School
Flame Tests
Light a fire in your pupils! Scholars conduct a flame test and observe the emission spectra of several different salts in an enlightening hands-on investigation. They use their observations to make comparisons and conclusions about the...
CK-12 Foundation
Don't Slip
Salt is the go-to material when people need to melt ice—learn the chemistry behind its effectiveness with an interactive lesson. Pupils watch a short narrative and then explore the concept through a simulation. Young scientists...
Curated OER
Leaky Seal
Junior high schoolers explore possible theories for the cause of the Hunley submarine sinking. Through hands on activities, they investigate how to create a waterproof seal. Afterwards, they discuss how seals work and various...
NSW Department of Education
Relationships Between Formal Measurement Units: Measure and Record Mass in Kilograms and Grams
Teach the masses about the metric system with this hands-on measurement lesson. Given a fruit or vegetable, learners estimate, measure, and convert its mass using the metric units gram and kilogram.
Curated OER
Exploring Caves
Students explore the various characteristics of caves. Through class discussion and hands on activities, students identify what forces converge in the creation of a cave. They complete review activities at the conclusion of the lesson....
Curated OER
Preschoolers and Science Skills
You can encourage critical thinking and problem solving by allowing young children to participate in hands-on science activities.
Curated OER
Hands on Biome-Building
Students explore Earth science by participating in an environment activity. In this biome instructional activity, students discuss the importance of a healthy ecology in order to sustain life, both animal and plant. Students utilize a...
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Fifth graders study the impact of human activity on water quality and on the ecosystems of Earth. After a discussion on the various ways that water can be polluted, groups of youngsters get together to figure out the best way to clean a...
Curated OER
Food Chains: Integrating Science and Reading
Using a high interest science topic, like the food chain, can get students excited about reading, math, and more! A multitue of wonderful ideas that have cross-curricular connections.
Curated OER
Physical Properties of Matter
Five fabulous procedures introduce physics or chemistry classes to special properties of matter. They discover adhesion and cohesion, solubility, melting and boiling points, and viscosity through hands-on experiences. Tests are...
Curated OER
Heat, Temperature, and Transfer
Physical science scholars discover an array of heat sources. They experiment to connect radiation to heat. They begin to understand thermal equilibrium. Then, they test to see if mass affects the rate of temperature change. Choose a few,...
Curated OER
The Absorption of Solar Energy
Two sequential parts to this lesson introduce your class to the electromagnetic spectrum, the ability to absorb radiant energy, and the pigments in leaves that are responsible for collecting sunlight to be used in the photosynthetic...
Curated OER
Weathering Rocks
Here is a geology activity that is sure to get your charges excited. It's all about the process of weathering of rocks. Learners study natural events that can cause rocks to break apart. Some of these events are: ice wedging, plant...
Curated OER
Understanding Behavior of Gases
If you want your young chemists to fully grasp the behavior of gases, here is an all-inclusive lesson plan. It provides handouts of detailed instructions for three laboratory activities, assessment reccomendations, and a list of...
Ohio State University
Exploration Activities with Electrostatic Interactions
Step out of the 21st century and discover protons and electrons through observation. Using common materials, participants continually adjust their explanation of charges. The final assessment requires pupils to design their own...