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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Memory Items

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Ready to have an "unforgettable" time in science class? Try a fun and insightful activity, suitable for a wide age group of learners. Explore how human memory works when pupils try to remember objects they've seen before comparing the...
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Lesson Plan
1
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California Academy of Science

Building Better Buses: Transportation Design Challenges

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
Scholars learn about a series of three challenges when they design a bus system for a small town. They determine the bus routes and then figure out the best type of fuel to use before considering the cost of going electric. Learners...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
American Chemical Society

Chemical Reactions and Engineering Design

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Construction leads to habitat loss and local wildlife suffers. Scholars must build a reptile egg incubation device that meets many constraints. Various experiments help them discover the chemical reaction needed to reach the proper...
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Biological Oceanographic Investigations – Call to Arms

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
How many simple machines does it take to make a robotic arm? An inquiry-based activity explores that topic and challenges pupils to build a robotic arm that can stretch, turn, and more. A few questions help guide them in the right...
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Lesson Plan
Rochester Institute of Technology

Solar Energy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Warm up to the idea of solar energy. A lesson includes three activities that challenge scholars to apply knowledge in new ways. First, they learn to run an alarm clock without a battery by using solar energy. Next, they complete an...
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Lesson Plan
Rochester Institute of Technology

Artificial Lung and Diaphragm

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
She had a terribly busy day converting oxygen into carbon dioxide; now she just needs a moment to breathe. In the activity, scholars review the function of the respiratory system and discuss bioengineering's role in medicine/health and...
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Activity6:37
Bonneville

How to Build a Turbine

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Here is a six-minute video of a pair of electrical engineers that illustrate how to build a wind turbine. A list of materials is provided, along with general guidelines for your class. Use this to introduce turbine design to your...
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Activity5:09
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Bonneville

How to Build a Motor

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Electrical engineers entertain and explain how to construct an electromagnet-driven motor. Kellie and Mike, the hosts of the show, are enthusiastic teachers that will help introduce a project that you likely include in your middle school...
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Activity4:34
Bonneville

The Great Marble Drop

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Mike and Kellie, a team of electrical engineers, demonstrate how to to design a contraption that accurately drops a marble onto a target. The materials needed and general instructions are provided on the website or via a downloadable...
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Lesson Plan
US Department of Energy

Geothermal Energy

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
With Earth Day quickly approaching, as well as many science fairs, why not challenge your class to investigate geothermal energy or other renewable energy resources? There are five driving questions explored in depth here, as well as...
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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Motor Learning and Memory

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
What do our brains have to do with reaction timing? Everything! In a hands-on learning activity, young scientists participate in four card activities that measure reaction timing. Each activity gets progressively more complex, and...
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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Your Incredible Memory

For Students 5th - 12th Standards
Test the efficiency of your memory! Scholars test each other's memory as they explore factors that affect memory retrieval. Through experimental analysis, they discover there are different types of memory, which has an impact on the...
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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Whose Choice Is It Anyway?

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Your taste buds may be saying Pepsi, but your brain is saying Coke! By analyzing experimental research, learners discover ways in which our brains impact decision making. They conclude with a discussion of neuromarketing and how it...
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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Mindflex Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Control a ball with your mind! Using a headset with an electrode, learners adjust the movement of a ball. They develop an experiment that tests the involvement of the central nervous system in controlling the ball. The activity helps to...
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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Neuropathfinding: Kinesthetic Model

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Playing follow the leader has never been so interesting! Get the class up and moving while they take on the roles of nervous system components. Through trial and error, they learn the importance of the "pioneer" growth cone that leads...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mirror Image

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Why does practice make perfect? Give your class insight into procedural memory, where we learn to do new things — then continue to improve through repetition. By attempting to draw shapes while looking in a mirror, learners observe their...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
NASA

Heavy Lifting

For Teachers K - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Water Rocket Construction

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
What are the basics for building a rocket out of a two-liter bottle? The procedures outline the basics to create an air- and water-powered bottle rocket. Prior to launching the rockets, teams perform safety checks to ensure their designs...
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Activity
NASA

How to Do a Science Fair Project

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Build problem-solving skills with science! Step-by-step videos walk investigators through each stage of completing a science fair project. Scientists learn to formulate a testable question, design an experiment, collect data, draw...
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Activity
NASA

Water Filtration Challenge

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Can the class think like the scientists on the International Space Station? Engineers design, test, collect data, and improve a water filtration device similar to a system found on the ISS. Participants use pH strips, optional...
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Activity
NASA

Design a Crew Exploration Vehicle

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Make a splash from space. Participants use the engineering design process to create a waterproof space exploration vehicle capable of an upright landing. Young engineers test and modify designs as needed and participate in a group...
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Activity
NASA

Feel the Heat

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Heat water up like a NASA engineer. Using the engineering design process, investigators create a system to trap and move heat through a water-filled tube. Designers participate in a post-activity discussion that highlights the role of...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Bonneville

A Plan for Renewable Energy Goals

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The best laid plans can lead to meeting renewable energy goals. A culminating project for the unit has pupils research the amount of solar and wind energy at their locations. They set renewable energy goals and use the information they...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Bonneville

Wind Energy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Let the wind take pupils to a new understanding of renewable energy. The fifth of seven parts in the A Community Powered by Renewable Energy unit has learners investigate wind energy. They find out why wind occurs, learn about windmills...