Unit Plan
Chicago Children's Museum

Simple Machines: Force and Motion

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion,...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Physics of Flight

For Students 3rd - 8th
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.
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

The Physics of Bridges

For Students 9th - 12th
Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.
Lesson Plan
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Wind Wise Education

What is the Cost of Inefficiency?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What does it cost to keep the lights on? Through a hands-on activity, class members use a watt meter and determine the amount of energy different types of light bulbs use. The class then determines the financial and environmental...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Bridge Building

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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.
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Mechanical Properties of Gummy Worms

For Students 9th - 12th
Learners won't have to squirm when asked the facts after completing an intriguing lab investigation! Hook young scholars on science by challenging them to verify Hooke's Law using a gummy worm. Measuring the length of the worm as they...
Unit Plan
Colorado Unit Writing Project

Simple Machines

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Catapults

For Students 4th - 8th
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome. 
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Thermochemistry: Heat and Chemical Changes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What makes particles attract? Here, learners engage in multiple activities that fully describe colligative properties and allow the ability to critically assess the importance of these properties in daily life. Young chemists...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Partial Pressure

For Teachers 9th - 12th
At some point, everyone has been under pressure—even Dalton! Explore Dalton's law of partial pressures with young chemists as they measure the volume of air extracted from a sample compared to its original volume. Class...
Activity
K-State Research and Extensions

The Crusty Earth

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Geology rocks — literally! A geology chapter offers eleven activities at four different levels. Scholars enjoy completing hands-on experiments before applying critical thinking skills following a share, process, generalize, apply,...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Soap, Slime, and Creative Chromatography

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Do you think chromatography paper suffers from separation anxiety? Young chemists make soap, slime, silly putty, and experiment with chromatography in this lesson. The material includes clear instructions for each experiment along with...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Vapor Pressure and Colligative Properties

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Hate to vacuum, but enjoy using a vacuum pump? Explore a lesson that starts with a demonstration of boiling water at various temperatures by using a vacuum pump. Then scholars design their own experiments to measure vapor pressure and...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Catapult

For Students 4th - 12th
Studying levers couldn't be more exciting! Learners build their own catapults and test the results as they make adjustments to the fulcrum. They compete against other groups to create the most accurate apparatus.