High schoolers explore and classify organisms found in a Rocky Mountain Ecosystem. Through discussions, students examine the effects upon an ecosystem if a component was removed or a new component was added. As a class, they survey...

Students build and work with a simple ammeter to test theories on why solar cells connected in parallel produce more current that in series. Students use the ammeter to indicate the presence, direction, and strength of an electric...

Students organize picture cards of the sequene of how food gets from a farm to their home. They then sequence cards of how coffee grown in Colombia gets to their home comparing the differences.

Fourth graders investigate how different organisms reproduce by participating in a Amoeba Tag game. Students work as a team and try to catch each other -- thus "reproducing" amoebas.

Young scholars track and record data on the Sun's position in the sky and on the output of a solar panel tracking the Sun. On a second day, students graph and analyze the data to identify relationships between (1) the time of day, (2)...

Students identify and implement methods to standardize testing stations that measure solar panel output power. After collecting electrical ouptut data from several solar panels, they plot the current-voltage and power curves. Students...

Learners develop a travelogue to describe the distinct ecological regions of Mount Kilimanjaro. They describe the health issues that may affect climbers, and any necessary equipment or safety precautions that the team may need at each...

Students study the effects of deforestation. In this environmental lesson, students view a PowerPoint slideshow about the importance of trees. Students read The Lorax and discuss what the characters represent in our society.

Students calculate the amount of displacement after an earthquake.  In this seismic event instructional activity students research the Internet, and fill out a CORS data sheet.

Students examine the different types of marine life and participate in an activity to show the many arms of an octopus.

Students participate in an activity in which they identify properties of water, soil and rocks. They work together to identify different types of rocks. They ask questions to complete the instructional activity.

Middle schoolers identify ecological elements and their factors on species, populations and food webs. They analyze ecosystems for these elements and research how these factors influence species survival rate. Predictions on conditions...

Students show the relationship between the need for plants to undergo photosynthesis in order to generate oxygen. They see the flaws associated with this thinking because of the lack of CO2 and H2O and lack of sufficient gravity in order...

Students use a selection of solar panels, lamps, motors, and an AA battery to get as many motors or lights to operate as they can in an allotted time period. For each successful arrangement, they draw a diagram of their setup, label the...

Students study the difference between types of ionizing radiation and how elements are transmuted. They determine that radiation is normal and surrounds us. They calculate the amounts of alpha, beta and gamma radiation emitted from a...

Play the game of Tag and differentiate between plants and animals. Explore the characteristics of plants. Identify the major parts of plants (e.g., seeds, stem, pistil) and describe their basic functions. Compare the requirements of some...

Students participate in sports activities that relate to motion, velocity and momentum. They produce a PowerPoint presentation after researching the activities.

First graders consider what effect their behavior has on their health. Students make a fist to indicate the size of his/her heart. They complete a worksheet on the heart, coloring the arteries red and the veins blue.

Young scientists learn how to select a scale factor for a large scale model. Then they figure the scale for each of the planets and the distance between them. Finally, they construct a giant scale model of the solar system and answer...

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...

Young scientists design a rocket to launch using Newton's Laws of Motion in order to discover for themselves the forces of motion. 

Pupils conduct a mock trial focusing on environmental accountability of industrialized nations. As an example, they evaluate evidence provided on carbon dioxide emissions. They participate in a mock trial of industrialized nations by the...

How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...

The Black Death epidemic is responsible for more than one million deaths in the United Kingdom. An inquiry-based activity has young scholars explore the rate of disease spread. They then analyze graphs showing data from epidemics such as...