Teach Engineering
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of several garbage patches around the world where garbage accumulates naturally. As part of a GIS unit that combines oceanography, environmental science, and life science, class members investigate...
Journey Through the Universe
A Scale Model Solar System
Between the time scientists discovered Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet, it did not even make one full revolution around the sun. In two activities, scholars investigate scale models and their properties. Pupils find that it...
NASA
Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is...
It's About Time
Conservation of Momentum
Assist your class with understanding collisions as they apply the Law of Conservation of Momentum. Pupils measure the momentum before and after manipulation of two objects so that one strikes another in an inelastic collision. The lesson...
Curated OER
Refraction B2—When is Light Reflected Internally?
Physics is phun in this instructional activity. Young physicists use a lightbox to test how and where light is refracted and reflected as it travels through transparent materials. Angles of incidence and refraction, sine of both...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Making a Liquid Crystal Thermometer
Introduce your classes to a fourth state of matter! Liquid crystals have a colorful sheen that changes based on different physical factors. Learners use this information to create a liquid crystal thermometer where the color of the...
Workforce Solutions
On the Job
Four lessons spotlight a variety of professions while boosting listening and observational skills and making inferences. Lesson one challenges pupils to group cards based on a commonality then justify the relationship they see....
Science Friday
Capturing Carbon Dioxide
Why don't we just capture carbon dioxide in the air and store it somewhere else? A hands-on lesson allows scholars to explore a complex concept. First, they will create a carbonated beverage, and then they will determine...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
What is the Water Cycle? Activity B
Curious physical scientists follow a lesson on the properties of water with this lesson on distillation. They observe a miniature water cycle model that filters dirty water into clean water. These two lessons combined are an enriching...
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Alphas, Betas and Gammas Oh, My!
Referring to the periodic table of elements, nuclear physics learners determine the resulting elements of alpha and beta decay. Answers are given in atomic notation, showing the atomic symbol, mass, atomic number, and emission particles....
PHET
Planet Designer: Kelvin Climb
It's time to get those creative juices flowing! This second instructional activity in a series of five continues allowing pupils to design their own planets. It the same format as the first, but, this time, allows students to alter...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Are Global CO2 Levels Changing?
According to the Mauna Loa observatory, carbon dioxide levels increased by 3 ppm in our atmosphere between 2015–2016. Individuals analyze carbon dioxide data from around the world and then share this with a home group in lesson...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Patterns in the Distribution of Lactase Persistence
We all drink milk as babies, so why can't we all drink it as adults? Examine the trend in lactase production on the world-wide scale as science scholars analyze and interpret data. Groups create pie charts from the data, place them on a...
Kenan Fellows
How Much Heat Can a Phase Change Produce?
Scholars learn about heat release in phase changes. They perform calculations as they compare and contrast a science fiction passage and a home heating application.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Chromosomes Carry Genes
Some traits only exist in males and some only in females. Pupils learn how the location of genes on sex chromosomes determines them using an interactive lesson. An animation illustrates how scientists know this to be true and shows how...
SeaWorld
Design a Fish
Craft some neat refrigerator magnets while studying ocean animals with a lesson about the anatomy of a fish. After kids learn about the different parts and shapes of fish, they use modeling compound to design their own fish.
Center for Learning in Action
Density
Explore the concept of density within states of matter—gases, liquids, and solids—through a group experiment in which young scientists test objects' texture, color, weight, size, and ability to sink or float.
Curated OER
What Do Koalas Need to Survive?
First graders take a field trip and examine the Koala and his habitat. In this Koala lesson plan, 1st graders read Possum Magic and discuss the foods of Australia. Students view the habitat of a Koala and record what it eats,...
Santa Monica College
The Density of Liquids and Solids
There are underwater rivers that flow on the ocean floor thanks to a difference in density. Scholars learn about the density in both liquids and solids in the second lesson of an 11-part series. They then determine the density of water,...
Baylor College
Your Energy Needs (BMR)
How many Calories one needs on a daily basis is dependent on a number of factors including gender, height, and activity level. In the third of seven lessons about energy and food, young nutritionists calculate the number of Calories...
Baylor College
Lungometer
Life science learners construct lung-o-meters from gallon-sized milk jugs and then measure their lung capacities. For older students, have them graph the vital lung capacities of each person in the class. Cross-curricular pieces are...
Kenan Fellows
Unit 4: Bioethics and the Future of Biotechnology
What's the future of biotechnology? Explore a hot topic in the fourth and final unit in a series of Biotechnology lessons. Learners develop an understanding of the many issues in bioethics, then create an argument for or against the role...
University of California
Weathering and Erosion
Just how powerful is erosion? Interested scientists learn how to identify the results of erosion with a series of lab activities. They move through stations to experiment with different types of erosion and then design and complete their...
Curated OER
Insects A-Z!
Alphabet insects! Who has ever heard of such a thing? Get ready because your class is going to research insects that start with a specific letter of the alphabet. In small groups, they'll use the Internet and reference texts to locate...