Save yourself! Groups create a sturdy emergency shelter out of bamboo. The shelter must be large enough to fit one person. Now the most important question: Which member of the group gets to use the shelter in an emergency?

This isn't the boomerang you're used to. Scholars first see how a commercial boomerang works. They then cut out a four-wing boomerang and test its flight to compare it to that of the commercial boomerang.

Defy the laws of gravity. A simple activity has learners create a siphon pump for water. The challenge is to get water to flow upwards through a tube.

Beat the heat using sensors. Scholars research normal body temperatures for humans and a specific animal. In groups, they create sensors that monitor body temperature, as well as the weather. The goal is to reduce the occurrence of heat...

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...

How are messages to the right recipient? Introduce the concept of routing Internet traffic by drawing a comparison to sending a letter. Groups use the Internet Simulator program to send messages to others using the same router...

A bite of bits. The first lesson plan in a unit of 15 introduces the class to the byte. Pupils learn about other standard units for measuring file sizes, develop an understanding of relative sizes and the kind of units used to...

How much information about you is out there? Scholars explore this question as they investigate data breaches and how these violations occur. They then take part in an activity where they research how easily people could get access to...

When you think electric circuits, your pencil probably isn't the thing that comes to mind. A simple experiment lets learners test whether the graphene in pencil lead is a conductor or an insulator. If the LED bulb lights up, a conductor...

Show us your moves. Using sensor equipment, scholars track the motion of different movements, such as jogging, skipping, or jump roping. They analyze velocity and acceleration and create graphs representing each movement.

Learn about the study of medications, including those found in nature and those made synthetically. The first of four lessons in a series on pharmacology includes lectures, hands-on experiments, research, and more.

Here's a fun game on a very serious matter. Scholars play a board game to learn about personal energy use and consumption. They see how various choices affect their energy use and costs, and then apply this knowledge to brainstorm ways...

Students study invention steps and design their own invention. For this invention lesson, students discuss inventions and the process of inventing. Studnets write in an inventor's journal and study various types of inventions....

Do you ever give your class the "teacher look"? Without saying a word, they become silent and engaged (hopefully). How do they know what you're thinking? Explore the concept of nonverbal communication and how it relates to our...

Learners read these news reports: Science is hard and dull says kids, and PM behind Science Week campaign. They then discuss that the news stories show two sides of the public image of science in the UK. The teacher explains that...

Students determine what the pulse is before examining how to measure the heart rate in different situations. They build a simple device that measures the heart rate, take heart rates, and record them on a worksheet. They discuss how...

Students examine how a bill becomes a law in the US Congress. They investigate legislation about global warming. They determine the role of engineers as they educate Congress, the public and other government institutions about global...

Students explore the careers of prominent African Americans in science, mathematics, and technology. They use The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences website, which includes profiles of past and present African Americans...

Students recognize descriptions of different types of biotechnology currently being used. They form persuasive arguments for or against that particular type of biotechnology.

A Rube Goldberg machine does not really look like it would make work easier. Introduce your class to Rube Goldberg with a resource that shows how his inventions make simple tasks harder to complete. 

Introduce your class to to the remaining three simple machines-- the lever, pulley, and the wheel-and-axle with a plan that includes the three different types of levers in the discussion of levers. The activity continues with the...

Weather — there's more to it than meets the eye of the storm. With this resource young meteorologists learn about the basics of weather, including information about the factors that influence the weather, common weather vocabulary,...

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" - Albert Einstein. The sixth installment of a seven-part series teaches young scientists about the importance of being able to communicate scientific research and...

Round and round it goes. Class members observe a current carrying loop in a magnetic field and calculate its associated torque. They then apply what they have learned to example problems to solve for the torque and to calculate the...