Curated OER
Science Vocabulary game
Play a memory game with science vocabulary words to prepare for an upcoming test! Build both understanding and retention of new vocabulary words by setting up a matching game for your learners to play in small groups of three to...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
A Century of Plastics
After reading about polymer materials, engineer trainees examine how plastics have been integrated into everyday products. In groups, they compile a list of products made entirely without plastics and then, as a closing activity, try to...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Biomimicry in Engineering
Take a look with your class at how nature supplies inspiration to engineers. In cooperative groups, youngsters research biomimicry and then develop a system that would help support people living on the moon. Each team also considers...
University of Texas
Free-Body Diagram
Preparing for an AP test is about more than bubble sheets and memorization. The two activities in this resource require a direct application of skills learned throughout an AP Physics course.
California Academy of Science
Color Vision Genetics Evolution Simulation
At one point, all mammals carried only two color receptors, but now most humans carry three. An informative presentation and hands-on activity demonstrate how this evolved through genetics. By participating in the activity, pupils...
Curated OER
Cell, Socks, and Sex
Donate old socks for science! Young biologists model mitosis and meiosis, using socks as chromosomes and a balloon as a nucleus. This ingenious idea for modeling cell division will be more memorable to your young biologists than any set...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Fun with Speedboats!
After reading about marine engineers and naval architects, it's all hands on deck to design and test a speed boat. This activity is designed for the Next Generation Science Standards in engineering and can be a centerpiece for a STEM...
Polytechnic Institute of NYU
Potential vs. Kinetic Energy
Legos in science class? Watch your pupils fall in love with this activity. After learning to measure potential and kinetic energy, young scientists create their own ramps using Lego Mindstorm sensors and software.
Curated OER
Newton's Second Law
Three memorable activities build on each other to give physics masters a firm grasp of Newton's Second Law. Pupils play with a lab cart on a flat surface and on an incline to confirm that force is equal to mass times acceleration. In the...
Curated OER
Roots of the Mariana Arc
Plumb the depths of the Submarine Ring of Fire and explore seismic waves with this lesson. Junior geologists simulate s-waves and p-waves, calculate their speeds, and then apply the data to discover the material that makes up inner...
Curated OER
Settlement Exploration: Then and Now
NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...
Curated OER
Newton's First Law of Motion with a Glider
Third graders examine, analyze, study and memorize Newton's First Law of Motion utilizing a glider to demonstrate the process. They state, sing, draw or enact an example/illustration of Newton's First Law of Motion in front of their...
Curated OER
Newton's First Law of Motion with a Yo-Yo
Fourth graders are introduced to, summarize, analyze and memorize Newton's First Law of Motion and experiment demonstrating the theory with a yo-yo. They state, sing, draw, or enact Newton's First Law of Motion several times and with...
Curated OER
Selection and Variation in the Egyptian Origami Bird
Using origami paper birds, your biology class will experiment with mutations and natural selection to determine wing position, length, and width. It would be helpful to provide a worksheet to go with the activity that includes a...
Curated OER
The Photoelectric Effect in Photocells
Illuminate your physics class with this examination of a photovoltaic cell. Teach the structure and operation of the device using a diagram. Then make a human-powered, larger-than-life sized model of a PV cell. Learners become electrons...
eGFI
Design a Green Rooftop Garden
Design and construct buildings with rooftop gardens. Junior engineers work in groups to build two buildings and then perform experiments to determine whether or not a garden affects the building's temperatures. They graph and interpret...
National Geographic
Rescuing, Relocating, and Rehabilitating Wildlife
Bring up the Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Display the colorful diagram of the coastal and marine organisms living in the area. Show a video about relocating the eggs of the Gulf's sea...
American Chemical Society
Using Color to See How Liquids Combine
Blue-tinted water is added to unknown liquids that have been tinted yellow to find out how they interact. This is a memorable activity that is part of an investigation on the properties of liquids, which is part of a unit on the...
American Chemical Society
Changing the Density of an Object - Changing Shape
Continuing with the concept of volume and its effect on density, learners now work with a piece of clay to see if they can get it to float in water. This is a memorable end to a seven-part investigation of density. Make sure to check out...
Physics Classroom
As the Crow Flies Lab
A simple, yet memorable, way of practicing with displacement vectors is described here. Divide your class into groups and assign each a different landmark on campus. They measure smaller legs of the path from the classroom to their...
Baylor College
Reebops: A “Model” Organism for Teaching Genetic Concepts
In a sweet simulation, junior geneticists examine the chromosomes of a fictitious Reebop marshmallow animal, combine chromosomes to produce offspring, and then make a model of the resulting Reebop baby. Phenotypes include number of...
Curated OER
Wildflower Beautification Project
Students, in cooperative groups, design and create a wildflower garden for the community. They write letters to property owners requesting use of their land and then write invitations to their parents and to local, state, and federal...
NASA
Exploration of a Problem: Making Sense of the Elements
When given too much data to simply memorize, it helps to sort it into manageable groups. The second lesson in the six-part series of Cosmic Chemistry challenges groups of pupils to take a large amount of data and figure out how to best...
Curated OER
Hydrocarbons
Making models is always memorable. In this activity, physical science starters examine the structure of hydrocarbons using marshmallows, raisins, and toothpicks. They even act as atoms themselves and link arms to represent covalent...