DiscoverE
Conveyor Belt
Convey your interest in conveyor belts. By considering different size tubes, groups create a conveyor belt that can transport boxes of candy at least four feet. Also, the conveyor belt must make a 90-degree turn—quite a difficult task!
DiscoverE
Make Your Own Glue
You won't regret being stuck with this activity. By mixing a variety of household items, pupils create their own glue. They test the tensile strength of their glue and compare it to that of other adhesives.
DiscoverE
Strong Paper Structure
Paper is a lot stronger than you think. Scholars create newspaper structures that can hold the weight of several books. For the purpose of this activity, the designs must be eight inches tall to be considered complete.
DiscoverE
Keep-a-Cube
Waxed paper, newspaper, or aluminum foil? Keeping an ice cube from melting may require one or more of these materials. Learners design a box that will provide insulation so an ice cube stays intact for at least 90 minutes.
DiscoverE
Design a Catapult
Just this once, it's okay to throw things in class. Out of craft sticks and rubber bands, pupils build catapults to launch an object of choice. This can be a ping-pong ball, a marshmallow, or any other small item. As long as it hits the...
DiscoverE
Rocket Challenge
You might just be responsible for launching a future career in rocket science. Pupils use Alka-Seltzer® tablets as the power source for a film-canister rocket. These rockets must able to carry a clay payload and hit a target on a wall.
DiscoverE
Puff Mobiles
You've probably heard of solar-powered cars, but what about wind-powered cars? Scholars build cars that can travel at least six feet. They can only use their breath to move the car—so, obviously, a sail might be a good feature for the...
DiscoverE
Rubber Band Rovers
Get your learners interested in space exploration. Groups design space rovers using design software and then build prototypes of their designs. The farther the rovers can travel, the better. The catch? The rovers must be powered by...
DiscoverE
Building with Biology
Seeing is believing! Bring DNA to life for young biologists using a simple extraction lab. Individuals extract the DNA from wheat germ, then place it in a microcentrifuge tube for observation. They thread yarn or other material through...
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Squishy Circuits
Make electricity flow through Play-Doh. Individuals create animals or other creatures using Play-Doh. The engineering aspect? Eyes that light up and Play-Doh that conducts electricity.
DiscoverE
Touch Down
Protect the marshmallows! Groups create contraptions that will keep marshmallows in a cup, even after dropping them from a certain height. This is a fun way to model the shock-absorbing capabilities of spacecraft.
DiscoverE
Launch It
Launch pupil interest in rockets. Scholars build rockets out of straws and balloons to learn about Newton's Third Law of Motion. Their task is to hit a target five feet away. It's not as easy as it seems!
DiscoverE
Trophy Triathlon Design Challenge
Build a trophy and be a winner. Pupils build trophies that can support a sports ball of their choosing. Based on the ball choice, they figure out how the height requirement changes.
DiscoverE
Extreme Trampolines
You'll bounce off the walls with glee after finding a fun resource. Young engineers design trampolines for golf balls. They build and test out their design and make improvements based on the results.
DiscoverE
Sorting Solutions
It's okay to play with your food—just this once! Scholars design and create meshes and chutes to sort pasta by size and shape. They test their designs and make improvements as necessary.
Cornell University
Celebrate Urban Birds
Set up a 50x50 square foot area in a space at school and choose three days to go outside and observe the birds seen in a 10 minute span. The activity has learners tapping into their observation skills and creates awareness of the birds...
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Amazing Birds
What's so amazing about birds? Find out just how amazing birds are with a physics of animal behavior unit created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Have learners explore and tap into their observational skills and notice how birds fly, what...
Curriculum Corner
Living/Non-Living Objects
Which of these pictures is living? Which one is non-living? Use a set of pictures to introduce living and non-living objects to young scientists.
Illustrative Mathematics
Growing Bean Plants (Grade 2)
After planting a bean seed in a jar, young scientists observe the growth patterns over several days. As the bean becomes a sprout, and the sprout becomes a plant, partners measure and plot the data. They notice patterns, practice...
Cornell University
Airboats
Don't let the resource blow you away. Scholars build airboats from basic materials and collect data on how far the boats move. They refine their designs taking Newton's laws into consideration.
Cornell University
Bridge Building
Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.
Curriculum Corner
Coniferous and Deciduous Trees
What are the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees? Supplement your tree lessons with a set of activities that has learners describing, naming, comparing, and reading about deciduous and coniferous trees. The activities are...
Cornell University
Polymers: Making Silly Putty
Putty is proof that learning can be fun! Share the wonderful world of polymers with your class through an experiment. Young scientists create their own silly putty, then examine its properties.
Cornell University
Physics of Flight
Up, up, and away! Take your classes on a physics adventure. Learners explore the concepts important for flight. They experiment with the Bernoulli Principle while learning the forces that act on airplanes in flight.