Cornell University
Non-Newtonian Fluids—How Slow Can You Go?
Children enjoy playing with silly putty, but it provides more than just fun. Young scientists make their own silly putty using different recipes. After a bit of fun, they test and graph the viscosity of each.
Teach Engineering
Concentrate This! Sugar or Salt...
Heat up your lessons on boiling points. The resource provides a three-part activity: first, groups find the boiling point of solutions; second, they create boiling point curves for salt and sugar solutions; and third, they mix a solution...
Curated OER
Silly Semi-Solids
Students create a polymer out of glue, water, and borax. They discuss the resulting substance and perform several experiments with it.
Curated OER
A Sweet, Summer Science Experiment
Celebrate the anniversary of the invention of ice cream by making some!
Science Friday
Sublime Sublimation
Dry ice isn't dehydrated water, and young scientists learn why in this fascinating presentation. After watching a video, they complete three different activities using dry ice. Upon completion, they discuss the scientific...
Beyond Benign
Breaking the Tension
The tension builds as learners experiment in your classroom. The 17th installment in a 24-part series has scholars investigate the concept of surface tension. After discovering characteristics of surface tension, they add a compound...
Chymist
The Solubility of a Salt in Water at Various Temperatures
An educational activity allows young chemists to test the solubility of different types of salt at various temperatures. Groups create a graph using data from unsaturated, saturated, and supersaturated solutions.
National Institute of Open Schooling
Solid State
Crystal comes from a Greek word meaning ice. Activity eight in a series of 36 has class members analyzing amorphous and crystalline solids and further classifying them based on their forces. They then explore solids, learning about unit...
Curated OER
Oobleck
Here is a good instructional activity which aptly describes how to do the classic "Oobleck" lab with your young scientists. Unfortunately, the "Oobleck Investigation Sheet" in the plan doesn't open. However, this is a very clear...
Curated OER
Chapter 12 Review, Section 1: Solutions
Here is a different approach to solutions: a worksheet that has chemistry learners use words to describe them! This is an outstanding exercise that will stretch learners to show what they know. They answer questions comparing solutions,...
Curated OER
Energy and Matter
A review of a full unit on energy and matter, this slide show starts with basic definitions of states of matter and their mass. It then develops the ideas of the forces that that matter can exert. Details about bonding within matter and...
Curated OER
Changes in Nature
The goal of this science lesson is to have youngsters be able to identify the physical and chemical changes in the carbon cycle, and water cycle due to weathering. The in-class inquiry/experiment is quite interesting and easy to...
Curated OER
Density
Learners predict when an object will float or sink based on comparison of density of the object to the density of the substance in which it is placed. The access a website and sketch the object in the first column of their table and then...
American Chemical Society
Molecules Matter
Did you know that jumping spiders sometimes wear water droplets as hats? A seventh grade science lesson introduces the concept of what makes up water: tiny molecules that are attracted to each other. Starting with a...
Curated OER
"I'm Melting!"
Third and fourth graders engage with a worksheet designed to help them differentiate between melting and dissolving. After reading an informative paragraph about the two actions, they consider four scenarios, and choose whether they...
Cornell University
Atomic Bonding
Explore the connection of surface area to bonding within atoms. Learners complete lab investigations to model changing surface area with different sizes and concentrations of atoms. A flour fireball demonstration follows the labs to...
Science Geek
Element Classes
Introduce your young chemists to alkali metals, alkali earth metals, transition metals, metalloids, nonmetals, halogens, and noble gasses with a presentation that explains the classes of elements and a few facts about each.
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Inside Out Fun!
It's amazing what you can do with a little bit of soap, baking soda, and corn starch. Follow the directions in this packet, mix up a batch of fun, and turn young scientists and artists loose to experiment and create chalk, paint, and...
Curated OER
Displacement and Density
High schoolers explore displacement. In this displacement and density lesson, pupils find the volume of irregular shaped objects. Afterward, they determine the volume of containers. They compute the amount of water displacement.
Teach Engineering
Fluid Power Basics
What can bulldozers and screen doors have in common? Use this instructional activity on fluid power to find out. It begins with some simple teacher demonstrations, includes a couple of videos, and culminates with an inquiry-based...
Teach Engineering
Wetting and Contact Angle
Explore terminology related to water droplets. The sixth installment of a nine-part series teaches young scientists about wetting and contact angles between water droplets and surfaces. It also distinguishes between hydrophobic and...
Curated OER
It's A Gas!
Fifth graders complete a learning exercise which has them place a list of gases in order from the least to the most dense. The density in grams is given for each. There's a good paragraph which provides background knowledge about the...
University of Georgia
Splat!
What does viscosity have to do with splatter? An activity shows that the viscosity of a substance is inversely proportional to the distance of its splatter. Learners conduct the experiment by collecting data, graphing, and analyzing...
Teach Engineering
Floaters and Sinkers
Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...