Space Awareness
Continental Climate and Oceanic Climate
There's nothing better than a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. Scholars explore how water affects change in temperature using a hands-on experiment on climate. They use measurement tools to compare the continental and oceanic...
Teach Engineering
Grow Your Own Algae!
Develop a model of a wastewater treatment center. The last activity of the unit has pupils mix a lake water sample into a tank of water containing fertilizers. Over time, the algae from the lake water grows and removes the nutrient-rich...
Kenan Fellows
The Little Stuff Can Make a Big Difference
Great things come in small packages! What better way to illustrate this point than a week-long look at nanotechnology? Earth science scholars explore water quality issues through lab activities, then research new innovations in nanotech...
Discovery Education
Motion in the Ocean
How do temperature changes affect ocean currents? Scholars explore convection currents by demonstrating the flow of water in a baking dish. They use ice, heat, and food coloring to see currents. Then, they draw conclusions about their...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Can We Absorb Nanoparticle Pollutants?
Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there! A growing concern for environmental scientists is toxic nanoparticles in our air and water. Young scholars conduct an experiment to demonstrate how these particles can cross our...
Teach Engineering
Aerogels in Action
Model an oil spill cleanup. An engaging engineering lesson has groups using aerogels to simulate an oil spill cleanup (vegetable oil in water). Along the way, they learn about nanotechnology and hydrophilia/hydrophobia.
Colorado State University
How Can Clouds Keep the Air Warmer?
Condensing water warms the air around it. Young scholars consider this concept as they experiment with air temperature around evaporating and condensing water vapor. They simulate the formation of clouds to experience the associated...
University of Southern California
Design and Test an Air Lift Siphon
Build an air lift siphon using your mad physics skills! Learners first investigate the importance of circulating water in aquaponics systems. They then use density to their advantage as they engineer an air lift siphon
Pingry School
Effect of Solutes on Boiling Point
Anyone that lives around snow knows that adding salts to water increases its melting point. Are there solutes that affect the boiling point as well? A scientific experiment has learners add different solutes to water and then...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Pesky Plastics: The Problem with Plastic
What can happen to the environment if plastic continues to pollute it? Learners read about the implications of plastic on health, water, and nature in a two-page reading passage. After they finish reading, they work on six comprehension...
NOAA
Graphing Temperatures
Battle of the hemispheres? In the fourth installment of a five-part series, young oceanographers use the NOAA website to collect temperature data from drifters (buoys), one in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern Hemisphere....
Royal Society of Chemistry
Lead Compounds: Precipitation Reactions and Pigments—Microscale Chemistry
Colorful lead compounds never fail to impress! Solubility scholars examine a series of double replacement reactions involving lead nitrate and record their observations. The second part of the experiment illustrates the differences...
Biology Junction
Biochemistry of Cells
Chemistry and biology work hand in hand, without one you literally wouldn't have the other. Using a presentation, individuals learn about plant cells, animal cells, cell responses, macromolecules, DNA bases, and so much more. A worksheet...
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Treatment of Oil Spills—Microscale Chemistry
When oil spills happen, how is the oil cleaned up? Pupils of polymer science discover an amazing substance that turns oil into a solid during a microscale experiment. Individuals observe oil or paraffin before and after addition of the...
Colorado State University
Why Are Clouds White?
Is it possible to change the color of clouds? A three-part activity explores the scattering of light by the water droplets that make up clouds. After observing a demonstration, curious scholars conduct their own investigations of the...
Curated OER
White-Water Rapids
Students examine the sport of white-water kayaking, the equipment needed to participate in the sport, and conduct research on international rivers popular to kayakers. They create a kayak and white-water course using a variety of craft...
NASA
States of Matter
Water, one of the basic needs of humans, is found in all three states of matter on Earth; no other planet—that we know of—possesses this quality. Here is a unit that allows learners to explore through experimentation what it...
Florida International University
Are You Concentrating?
Explore the importance of a concentration gradient in the rates of dissolution. Using the ocean ecosystem, learners study rates of dissolution around coral reefs. A hands-on experiment helps individuals discover the effects of changing a...
NOAA
Tracking a Drifter
Be shore to use this drifter resource. The third installment of a five-part series has learners using the NOAA's Adopt-a-Drifter website to track to movement of a drifter (buoy) in the ocean. Graphing the collected data on a map allows...
Royal Society of Chemistry
pH and pOH
Feeling a little neutral about your pH and pOH teaching strategy? Perk it up with engaging puzzles! Young scientists relate ion concentration to pH and pOH, as well as the dissociation constant for water. The resource is available as an...
LABScI
Electrolysis: Splitting Water
Explore the chemical components of water through an electrolysis reaction. Scholars use a battery to divide various water solutions into different gases. As they collect the gases, they measure the volume and make a comparison to the...
Beyond Benign
Ecological Footprint
How does your lifestyle measure up in terms of your ecological footprint? Young ecologists examine their impact on the planet using an insightful online calculator. A short quiz asks users to rank the size of their homes, their energy...
Open Oregon Educational Resources
Environmental Biology
Everyone has a responsibility to take care of the environment. Give learners a sense of our environmental concerns with a complete course on environmental biology. The textbook resource includes instruction on topics such as population...
Purdue University
Plastic Water Bottle Design – What’s the Best Shape?
Join the fight to reduce plastic waste. A hands-on STEM activity first teaches scholars about the scourge of plastic waste. They then measure the dimensions of water bottles to calculate surface areas and volumes before using the surface...