It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory lesson plan in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The lesson plan includes a...

Engage young scientists in a project where high fashion meets engineering! Using foam core and hot glue, partnered pupils design and create a functional, fashionable pair of shoes. Groups then put the footwear through its paces using a...

Build a bridge to learning in a STEM-aligned unit about urban infrastructure. Young engineers explore the many aspects of civil planning and design in a five-day unit. Content includes the challenging aspects of balancing building with...

Wait til your class gets their hands on this! Aspiring engineers design a working robotic arm in the fifth and final installment in a series of ocean exploration lessons. Pupils learn about the use of underwater robots in ocean...

See the underwater world through a different pair of eyes! Middle school marine biologists identify deep-sea organisms by examining images taken by an ROV from the Okeanos Explorer. After determining what creatures lie beneath the...

Great things come in small packages! What better way to illustrate this point than a week-long look at nanotechnology? Earth science scholars explore water quality issues through lab activities, then research new innovations in nanotech...

Are the earth's oceans really just giant batteries, waiting for their energy to be harnessed? Middle school mechanical engineers will be shocked by the amazing amount of energy that forms around them after diving into part four of a...

What's in your water? And, why is water quality so important? Enhance your class's level of water appreciation through a lesson that demonstrates the necessity of water quality. Environmental enthusiasts explore the EPA's Clean Water...

What's that buzzing in your ear? An insightful lesson about genetically modified mosquitoes! Partnered pupils explore the creation, release, and monitoring of mosquitoes designed to reduce the mosquito population. After watching a video,...

Will your next buoyancy lab rise to the occasion? Make a splash with action figure divers! Teams of young physicists explore the relationship between mass and buoyancy by adding weights or balloons to achieve a diver that neither sinks...

Do domed structures have advantages over their less-than-spherical counterparts? Junior architects explore the pros and cons of domes through a design challenge. Teams work together to plan, sketch, build, and test domes created from an...

Expose youngsters to 3-D objects in a hands-on learning activity involving marshmallows and toothpicks. Engage your young mathematicians by introducing them to 3-D shapes by means of a story book. Explore 3-D shapes by manipulating...

What makes an effective fort, and why might a city feel that they need such a structure? Your young historians will explore the purpose and design for Fort McHenry, and build their own models of a fort based on the information they...

Here is a one-stop planning resource for Louis Sachar's Newbery Award-winning book Holes. You'll find 21 links to worksheets and various activities designed to span the entire book. Learners draw to help analyze settings and...

Three activities allow young flight engineers to understand the 4 principles of flight (weight, lift, thrust, and drag), to construct a glider, and to create a propeller. Multicultural history and literature are integrated by reading...

The winds of change are blowing in our very own solar system!  But what makes some heavenly bodies more affected by solar winds than others?  Pupils discover the concept of magnetic forces at work in space in this...

What's the future of biotechnology? Explore a hot topic in the fourth and final unit in a series of Biotechnology lessons. Learners develop an understanding of the many issues in bioethics, then create an argument for or against the role...

How do oceanographers make maps under water? Junior explorers discover the technologies and processes involved in creating bathymetric maps in part three of a five-part series designed for fifth- and sixth-grade pupils. The...

Will that structure survive the force? The differentiated lesson allows pairs to choose the structure they would like to construct and the building materials they wish to use. Individuals record their findings in...

What is an emergency, and how can having a plan help make emergency situations safer? Pupils are tasked with creating a short presentation that can help teach younger children about emergencies, community helpers, and first...

Transform your class' understanding of genes and antibiotic resistance with the Transformation Lab. Junior geneticists create and observe their own resistant strains of E. coli through research, discussion, and experimentation. The...

When oil spills happen, how is the oil cleaned up? Pupils of polymer science discover an amazing substance that turns oil into a solid during a microscale experiment. Individuals observe oil or paraffin before and after addition of the...

Is a STEM career the right choice for me? Lesson four in a six-part career and college readiness series introduces seventh graders to the world of STEM occupations. Individuals use their Holland code results to select, research, and...

Learning about waves can have its ups and downs, but a demo-packed tool kit has the class "standing" for more! Learners gain experience with several different wave types, organizing observations and data, and wave...