Bugs for breakfast? The Flipside science unit module, “Our Hungry Planet: Food for a Growing Population,” introduces middle schoolers to issues related to food production and innovative solutions to world hunger. Scholars investigate the...

Bugs for breakfast? The Flipside science unit module, “Our Hungry Planet: Food for a Growing Population,” introduces middle schoolers to issues related to food production and innovative solutions to world hunger. Scholars investigate the...

The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are awash in plastic. The four lessons in the “Adrift in a Sea of Plastic” module challenge young environmentalists to design a solution to eliminating these plastic trash islands. After researching causes...

The 17 resources in NASA’s Rockets Educator Guide allow young scientists and engineers to engage in experiments as they examine images of more than 2,00 years of rockets. Scholars then read articles that provide an overview of the next...

Engineering design-based activities make learning science fun. Young engineers design dams, lifeguard chairs, musical instruments, candy bags, and much more. They also use measurement skills to solve the mystery of the missing pin. Each...

Get young scientists energized about all the different energy sources with a five-lesson unit that combines research, direct observations, and hands-on investigation. To begin, scholars investigate a renewable or non-renewable energy...

The Understanding Science and Engineering Through Solar Power unit module teaches scholars how to conduct investigations and the steps for scientific inquiry and experimentation. To begin, young scientists conduct two probes to...

Seven activities make up the TeachEngineering: Earthquakes Living Lab Collection. Activities designed for grades K-8 include “Geology and the 1906 San Francisco Quake,” “Designing for Disaster,” and “The Theory of Plate Tectonics.”...

Class members use the online resources provided through the Earthquakes Living Lab to investigate why large earthquakes occur in Japan. Pairs work together to research tectonic plates and fault lines and determine whether other locations...

Class members look at two historical earthquakes: San Francisco, California, and Kobe, Japan. Pairs compare the two earthquakes and their impacts, then determine how engineers may use the information gleaned from previous earthquakes to...

Pairs research building design in earthquake-prone areas and use computer simulations to see the effects of earthquakes on buildings. They sketch and explain a building design that would withstand a strong earthquake.

Class members research the theory of continental drift, examine evidence of plate tectonics, connect this information to engineering, then write an essay on whether they support the theory of continental drift.

Using the Internet, pupils research what causes earthquakes, how scientists measure them, their locations, and their effects.

Pairs research current earthquakes to see if there are any patterns. They determine the mean, median, and mode of the earthquake data, along with the maximum and minimum. Using that information, they make earthquake predictions for a year.

Pairs use an online simulation to determine the epicenter and magnitude of an earthquake. Using actual data about the earthquake's maximum S wave amplitudes, they then determine the magnitude.

Renewable energy is the focus of a seven-part environmental science unit for middle and high schoolers. Lessons challenge students to look closely at the type of energy they consume in their home, examine the regulations and limitations...

NASA and Design Squad Nation aim to inspire a new generation of engineers with five hands-on challenges designed for grades four to eight. Young engineers design a landing device that protects a hard-boiled egg, create robotic arms like...

As part of a STEM renewable energy series, middle schoolers design a standard solar heater. First, they create a simple solar heater to measure the temperature change in a vial of water, then calculate the heat energy transferred to the...

Three hands-on STEM renewable energy activities lead learners through the concepts of solar and biomass heating and water pumping to design a water pumping system that uses multiple technologies to avoid water freezing in winter. They...

The five lessons in NASA’s On the Moon Educator Guide challenge young engineers to design and build an air-powered rocket, a shock-absorbing system to protect two marshmallow astronauts, and a rubber band-powered rover. In addition, they...

A unit on solar energy begins with pupils researching vocabulary terms related to electric currents. They then use a multimeter to measure the voltage and current for a solar module before calculating power and efficiency. Fun, hands-on...

Chicago’s Museum of Science+Industry presents hands-on science activities designed to keep young brains engaged over the summer. The projects, which use readily available items, include engineering a skyscraper, a gravity sewer, and...

A series of lessons and activities show scholars how engineers use graphs to understand large and complex systems. The first lesson provides the beginnings of graph theory by introducing set theory, graphs, and degree distributions of a...

A multidisciplinary unit has young engineers explore Geographic Information Systems (GIS), an essential tool in planning any engineering projects. The lessons and activities in Part 1 of the unit look at GIS in general. Part 2 focuses on...