Trying to plan a physical science unit on forces and motion? Make your work a little easier with this comprehensive collection of simple machines resources. Offering a wide variety worksheets, activities, and projects, these materials...

Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net forces...

Are you having trouble deciphering the Next Generation Science Standards on the website, or just trying to find the standards for your grade in a quick-and-easy format? If so, here is a free and easy-to-navigate app made with you in mind.

Fire away! Using a couple of milk jugs, a dowel rod, and a yardstick, individuals build catapults to throw water balloons. Learners notice that the catapult is a simple machine. By making a target, the class has a chance to refine their...

There is never a bridge too far. Using common items, class members build bridges to span an opening. Pupils test different geometric shapes to determine which is the strongest. Learners use pennies to find the strength of their bridges...

Beware the falling fruit. Scholars design and build parachutes that can help protect fruit as it falls. They test out their creations, learning about gravity, weight, air resistance, and measurement concepts along the way.

What exactly are those glowing eyes in the night? Learners run an experiment to attract local wildlife and then document the number of visitors by identifying their tracks. They then analyze the data to draw conclusions about the types...

If you're going to build a machine, you might as well make it interesting and amusing. A set of eight lessons and activities introduces simple machines using Rube Goldberg machines. A culminating project challenges techies to create and...

Need engineering resources? Problem solved! A STEM curriculum resource provides instructors with problem-solving activities. The document has eight parts: (1) electricity, (2) energy, forces, and motion, (3) general problem solving, (4)...

Read on if engineering interests you. Instructors peruse a set of narrative STEM lessons for grades K-6. All activities are based on reading a children's book and then solving a problem using the engineering design process.

Be sure to follow the directions carefully. A set of STEM activities for grades two through three and grades four through five assesses technical and procedural problem solving. The majority of the lessons focus on force and motion,...

Build on techies' knowledge of engineering design. A set of STEM lessons for grades one through six provides instructors with suggestions for engineering instruction. The activities require pupils to design and build structures, such as...

Picture books provide great learning opportunities for STEM. A curriculum resource document gives several lessons in each grade level for K-6. The activities have learners read a book before applying the engineering design process to...

A STEM lesson presents a simulation of placing a scientific instrument in a lava flow. Teams design and build a device that can place a ping pong ball in a cup from a distance of at least three feet. They test and refine the device...

Design protection from high-speed particles. The STEM lesson plan highlights why astronauts need protection from space debris. Pupils use the design process to design, build, and test a spacesuit that will protect a balloon from a...

Young entomologists construct three types of insect traps—pitfall, pollinator, and panel—before setting their traps out and observing what they caught. They then observe what types of insects the different traps attract.

Will it sink or will it float? Learners predict the outcome as they drop random objects into a container of water. Then, they keep track of the results and record the data in a t-chart to draw a final conclusion.

Accept NASA's challenge to design heavy lifting vehicles. Groups of three design balloon-powered rockets to carry as much payload to the ceiling as possible. The teams are encouraged to launch several times while making improvements to...

Young engineers put their design skills to the test in this fun St. Patrick's Day activity. After a shared reading of the children's book The Leprechaun Trap children work in small groups creating traps of their very own to enter in a...

Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion, and...

What to do, bunnies are getting into the garden and eating all the carrots! After reading the story Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! the class works together to design a device that will keep those bunnies out of the garden. They get together in...

Hee-haw! Have a bale of fun with these agricultural games! Five games are geared up for kindergarten through fifth grades and are useful for addressing Common Core standards in mathematics.