Montana State University
What's the Weather?
How many jackets do you need to stay warm and climb Mount Everest? An informatie resource covers the topic of Mount Everest, the resource helps young scientists discover the difference between climate and weather. Activities include...
DiscoverE
Build a Watershed
What's the best way to learn how watersheds work? Build one! Combining engineering, the water cycle, and ecology concerns, the activity is the perfect fit for an interdisciplinary unit. Teams construct a model watershed with simple...
DiscoverE
Build a Bobsled Racer
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....
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
Cornell University
Buoyancy
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...
Bozeman Science
NGSS Practice Posters
Begin the year with an emphasis on the NGSS practice standards. The resource provides an 8x10 size poster for each standard. When hung in a classroom, learners have a consistent reminder of what it means to be a scientist.
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Getting Ready for the All American Eclipse!
Give your pupils a front row seat at the biggest light show in the sky this year! In addition to admiring the total solar eclipse, young astronomers can explain the phenomenon with a little help from an inquiry-based lesson. The focus of...
Space Awareness
The Intertropical Convergence Zone
Young scientists know it is hotter along the equator, but why is it also rainier? Through the process of completing two experiments and a worksheet, scholars discover the answer is the intertropical convergence zone. First, they...
Walt Disney Company
Disaster Preparedness Activity Book
Join the American Red Cross as well as Mickey and friends as they help to prepare young scholars for natural disasters. After reading brief informational passages about earthquakes, floods, fires, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes,...
PHET
John Travoltage
Did you get to play with electric currents or were you grounded? An electrifying simulation shows how building up a charge of electricity creates a static shock once grounded. Pupils rub John's foot across the carpet and view the buildup...
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Toilet Paper Solar System
Can we model how large the solar system really is? Attempt an astronomical feat with a hands-on-activity that uses a roll of toilet paper. Young scientists measure the distances of the planets from the sun to create a scale model of the...
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Waste and Recycling: Recycling Paper
We take paper for granted, while thousands of trees are being made into the paper we toss in the trash. Start a dialogue about paper reduction and recycling in class, and share the negative effects paper production has on our ecosystem....
Institute of Physics
Activities for STEM Clubs
Need some support or ideas of how to entertain middle schoolers or what clubs to bring into your school? Let this excellent 40-page resource guide with links and step-by-step directions on STEM activities guide your decision.
Micron Technology Foundation
Electricity
Conduct four electrifying electricity experiments that challenge young scientists to explore positive and negative charges and magnetic fields without the shock.
Crafty Classroom
Scientific Method Sheet
This snazzy little scientific method worksheet assists young scientists in acquiring new knowledge while conducting experiments. A simple, ready-to-use tool for recording data.
Dick Blick Art Materials
Insoluble Paintings
Insolubility and density? Yup, it's art class, of course. To create insoluble paintings that continually move and change, kids mix water-based paint with mineral oil and seal the mixture in laminating pouches.
Discovery Education
Mood Music!
Grouchy? Sad? Here's a great resource that shows kids how music can be used to lift their spirits. Kids collect and chart data on the effects of music on emotions. After analyzing the results of their experiment, they develop their own...
Curated OER
Making Regolith
You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate the creation of...
Curated OER
Designing a Crew Exploration Vehicle
Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design instructional activity. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...
Curated OER
Food for Spaceflight
When astronauts get hungry in outer space, they can't just call and have a pizza delivered. In order to gain an appreciation for the challenges associated with space travel, young learners are given the task of selecting, testing, and...
Curated OER
Get a Leg Up
Traveling through space is an amazing experience, but it definitely takes a toll on the body. After reading an article and watching a brief video, learners perform an experiment that simulates the effects of zero gravity on the human body.
Curated OER
The Chesapeake Bay in Captain John Smith's Time
When Captain John Smith visited the Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 1608, what types of animals and habitats did he encounter? Your young historians will analyze primary source documents to answer this question, as well as compare the...
Colorado Unit Writing Project
Simple Machines
Planning an elementary science unit has never been simpler! These twelve lessons guide young scientists through an exploration of simple machines and their many uses in the real world before asking them to apply their learning in the...
Henry The Hand
Good, Clean Fun!
Henry the Hand leads youngsters on an exciting adventure through coloring worksheets, word puzzles, and comic strips on everything they need to know about preventing the spread of germs by washing your hands.