Students analyze and begin to design a pyramid. Working in engineering teams, they perform calculations to determine the area of the pyramid base, stone block volumes, and the number of blocks required for their pyramid base. They make a...

Using their knowledge of right triangles, pupils find out how far a ship is from a light house. Class members determine how far around the world a ship would be sailing at a constant speed.

Fifth graders apply the concepts they know regarding mass, volume and density in the previous activities to design a boat. Student teams must make a boat which can travel the waters of the Amazon Rainforest. Each group makes a...

Young scholars engage in an activity which demonstrates how potential energy (PE) can be converted to kinetic energy (KE) and back again. Given a pendulum height, students calculate and predict how fast the pendulum will swing by...

Groups simulate an orbit using a piece of string and a water balloon. Individuals spin in a circular path and calculate the balloon's velocity when the clothes pin can no longer hold onto the balloon.

Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.

It's the law—every action requires a reaction, no matter how small. Pupils experience two demonstrations of Newton's third law of motion as it relates to thrust in the 10th segment of a 22-part unit on flight. Using their mathematical...

Lift—it is about the wing's attack. Using a virtual wind tunnel, pupils investigate wing shape and angle of attack. Learners use worksheets to record their observations and to convert verbal relationships into mathematical equations in...

What will flying look like in the future? The 21st lesson in a 22-part unit on aviation reviews the major aspects of the lesson. Pupils brainstorm ideas of a future flying machine.

Students discover the relationship between musical rhythms and fractions. They add musical notes together to produce fractions and create addition and subtraction problems with musical notes. Students complete worksheets and create their...

When a levee fails, it means disaster. Introduce your class to hurricanes and the technologies used to help protect against them. The included presentation provides background information using Hurricane Katrina as a reference. 

Students develop their understanding of the effects of invisible air pollutants. In this invisible air lesson, students complete experiments with a rubber band air test, a bean plant experiment and by exploring engineering roles related...

Breathe some life into product design. Pupils learn about the stages of product creation, use, and disposal—sometimes called a cradle-to-grave assessment. They see how this cycle relates to the life cycle of organisms.

The capstone activity in a 14-part series focuses on the basics of magnetic resonance imaging and the hardware of the machines. Pupils use this information and the material learned throughout the unit to develop a presentation on...

Students investigate Earth and its resources. In this Earth, space, and nature lesson plan, students collaborate to design presentations on the Earth, its cycles, and how humans have impacted the planet. Images, diagrams, and background...

Need a activity? Problem solved. Scholars learn about the problem-solving process in the sixth installment of a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit. The particular process in question is the Technological Method of Problem Solving.

Students make an eco-friendly vehicle to help make transportation better for the environment. In this transportation lesson, students learn how transportation inventions are bad for the environment. They then see how engineers have tried...

Nothing says organization quite like a table. The third lesson in a six-part Mixtures and Solutions unit teaches young scientists about elements and the periodic table. They learn how the periodic table is organized and about the...

According to the Farmers' Almanac, the weather will be nice today. Class members examine how weather forecasting plays a part in their lives with a resource that provides information on the history of forecasting, from using cloud...

Introduce your class to air masses and how they affect the weather with a lesson that focuses on the differences between high and low air pressure systems. The class explores actual weather data using archived weather data.

Students explore mass and volume. In this mass and volume lesson, students pretend to be on a hike and have lost their way. Students must cross a river get back on track. Students must use mass, volume, surface area, density, property...

Electrical current going round and round,produces a magnetic field. After a demonstration of the magnetic field surrounding an electrical wire, class members use the provided formula associated with Biot-Savart's Law to calculate the...

The London Bridge should not have fallen down. And here's why. After a brief history of bridges and the three main types, class members are introduce to the concepts of tension and compression, the two main forces acting upon bridges. 

Are you eukaryotic? (Answer: Yes.) The first of six installments in the Cells units teaches pupils about the similarities and differences of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It also covers the functions of various cell components in both...