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...

We would be lost without maps! How are they made? Introduce junior topographers to LIDAR technology with a fascinating activity. Set up a mock city, then have learners operate a laser measure to determine the shape of the landscape using...

What's cooking? A sizzling STEM unit challenges scholars to build a solar cooker that can successfully cook an egg. The unit opens with a study of Earth's rotation, the sun's energy, and shadows. Pupils use a compass and thermometer to...

Viewers learn how eyes work to focus on objects. They see how a lens with a different shape changes the point of focus, requiring people to wear glasses or contacts. Viewers then learn how humans' eyes are different from other animals. 

Listen in as Mia and Sam expound on sound. It is caused by vibrations and travels in waves. It has the qualities of pitch, frequency, and volume. This hip animation displays a graph to depict the frequency and amplitude of sound waves....

"To understand the phenomenon of color, it helps to think about light as a wave." This is a brief and very informative instructional video on what color is and why we are able to see it. Your young scientists will learn such terms as the...

Learners investigate the challenges of space communication with a kinesthetic modeling activity. Group members In space must communicate one word to other members on Earth while overcoming barriers such as distance, gravity, and physical...

Light, distance, and mathematics come together to help scientists plan for space missions. Groups examine the relationship between distance from the sun and light availability in a hands-on exploration activity. They model the inverse...

Heat up a lesson on solar energy. The first of three parts in the Experimenting with Solar Heaters unit has scholars construct solar heaters. They then use them to heat up a container of water and calculate the amount of heat energy...

Learn how the professionals at NASA send information across space. Engineers use a microdevice, laser pointer, and mirrors as relays to model data transmission in space. Scholars program a microdevice to detect light received and test...

Discover whether sound travels in space and other fascinating science facts. Scientists explore energy transfer by longitudinal waves and learn about compression, rarefaction, amplitude, and wavelength while watching an animated video....

Future physicists pump up the volume while discovering the world of sound waves. Group members learn about the qualities of sound waves, the relationship between energy and sound volume, and the definition of amplitude while viewing an...

 Introduce classes to the idea of waves with a short video clip. An interesting presentation gives a quick but thorough overview of the different types of waves and where people encounter them.

Uncover the exciting interactions of light energy and matter ranging from color to optical illusions. Participants explore color using red and green apples, differences between reflection and refraction, and descriptions of related...

A video lesson describes how light absorbs, reflects, and scatters on different surfaces. Pupils learn the result of these different reactions and how humans perceive them.

Use spectral knowledge to make discoveries on a distant moon. Small groups gather information from images of one of Saturn's moons. The moon orbits within the E-ring made up of mainly water ice. Using information about the composition of...

People might be able to breath there. Learners view a simulation of a planet passing in front of a star. Using data from occultations of planets with known types of atmospheres, scholars determine whether the simulated planet has an...

All you need is light. Groups use a reflectometer to find the reflectivity of specific chemical compounds. Learners compare the graphs of the reflectivity of the known compounds to Martian soil. Using the graph comparisons, scholars...

Design a mission over the rainbow. Small groups spend several weeks together determining a mission related to spectroscopy. The teams build spectrographs and analyze the design to determine whether it will carry out the mission. At the...

Take the class over the rainbow. Pairs or small groups follow directions to create a spectrograph. The pupils measure the angles formed by the different colors of the spectrum along with calculating the lengths formed by the spectrum and...

It only takes three colors. Using three-colored glow sticks, pupils observe what happens when colors of light mix together. Learners use the material from a red, green, and blue glow stick to mix together. By mixing small amount of the...