+
Activity
DiscoverE

Build a Bobsled Racer

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Host a design challenge of Olympic proportion! Junior engineers build their own bobsleds using simple materials. The activity focuses on kinetic and potential energy and how the center of mass affects motion on a downhill track....
+
Lesson Plan
NASA

Soda Straw Rockets

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson plan! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net...
+
Activity
NASA

Soda-Straw Rockets

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Launch a great lesson exploring engineering design. Using a template, young scholars create rockets that can be launched from a straw. After analyzing the function of the rocket, pupils try to modify the rocket to enhance its function.
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 5

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
It is a long way from nano to macro. Learners examined the scale of measurement from macro to nano in the first four lessons of the five-part series. With the final installment, they review what they learned by classifying objects in one...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 4

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Make a big deal out of things the class can't see. Young scientists get an introduction to nanoscience in the fourth installment of a five-part series on scale. The instructional activity discusses current innovations in nanotechnology...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 3

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
A nanometer is the approximate distance your fingernail grows in one second. Hard to visualize, isn't it? The third of a five-part lesson on scale seeks to help learners understand the size of the nanoscale of measurement. Using examples...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 2

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
The big world is full of tiny surprises. Classes discover all things big and small while completing the second lesson of a five-part series comparing macro- and micro-objects. Learners collect items from around the room including things...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 1

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Small and large are relative terms; what's the best way to quantify them? Young scientists take on that challenge as they complete an interactive activity to explore size. They build structures during their exploration and begin using...
+
Unit Plan
Rube Goldberg

Rube Goldberg's Simple Normal Humdrum School Day

For Teachers K - 8th Standards
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...
+
Unit Plan
Purdue University

The Represented World: Recreational STEM

For Teachers 3rd Standards
How are forces and motion important to a swing set? Scholars explore the concepts of force and motion using swing sets. In preparation for their own STEM design project, individuals take surveys and data from peers, complete labs on...
+
eBook
Utah Education Network (UEN)

Utah Open Textbook: 3rd Grade Science

For Students 3rd Standards
How do we interact with Earth? Scholars learn about the sun, Earth, moon, forces, gravity, and heat sources by reading a text and performing hands-on demonstrations. They also differentiate between living and non-living things using...
+
Activity
NASA

Eclipse Activity Guide

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Ever made solar s'mores? Or recreated the solar system using peanuts? Astronomers young and old investigate all things solar using a variety of activities. Explore how the sun works, types of light it emits, and methods of charting the...
+
Activity
NOAA

Make Your Own Compass

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Scholars build a compass using a needle, cork, magnet, and a water-filled cup in order to locate the magnetic north and south.
+
Lesson Plan
Tech Museum of Innovation

Seed Dispersal

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Engineering challenges are not just man-made ... nature has its own set of them. A hands-on STEM activity has groups designing a seed dispersal system. Each group can only use one sheet of paper — a tough task!
+
Lesson Plan
Tech Museum of Innovation

Energy at Play

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Get the ball rolling and challenge your class to figure out how to make a ball move. The instruction segment is between two STEM activities devoted to doing just that. The first is simple and involves making a ball move from some force...
+
Lesson Plan
Agriculture in the Classroom

Six Kinds Do It All

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
Teach young engineers that all machines, no matter how complicated or complex, are made up of just six simple devices with this hands-on physical science activity. Using the included templates, students first create paper models of...
+
Unit Plan
1
1
PBS

Blow the Roof Off!

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
+
Unit Plan
Broward County Public Schools

Force and Motion

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Get the ball rolling with this upper-elementary science unit on forces and motion. Offering over three weeks of physical science lessons, this resource is a great way to engage the class in learning about simple machines, friction, the...
+
Unit Plan
Chicago Children's Museum

Simple Machines: Force and Motion

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
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...
+
Activity
NASA

Paper Rockets

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
Get first hand experience in rocket building and motion through an easy-to-follow picture and word-based directions sheet. Here, learners build a paper rocket by wrapping and taping paper strips around a pencil, and then launching their...