Middle-schoolers still enjoy playing with bubbles! In this series of eight laboratory activities, science learners explore convex and concave surfaces, angles, gas laws, buoyancy, density and more! 

Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...

Second graders identify the three phases of matter and demonstrate how a property can change states of matter. In this states of matter lesson, 2nd graders make an Ooze to discover how a solid changes into a liquid. Students...

While this lesson focuses on the birds and fish found on the Hudson River, it could be adapted for use in any classroom. Using a vocabulary list, learners explore the meaning of words like adaptation, habitat, barbel, and more. Then,...

Young scientists must place a check mark next to the answer they think is correct regarding things that are warm, cool, hard, and soft. This would be a good way to begin discussing how some things actually change states of matter...

Bring a set of pre-lab, lab, and post-lab lesson plans on volcanoes to your earth science unit. Sixth graders explore the three types of volcanoes found on Earth, plot the specific locations of these volcanoes on a map, and...

Go study the universe. Pupils learn seven aspects about astronomy and astronomers. They begin to learn about constellations; distance and motion between objects; gravity; the electromagnetic spectrum; dark matter and energy; and teams of...

How did ancient peoples determine the height of really tall objects? Young scientists and mathematicians explore the concept of using shadows to measure height in a hands-on experiment. Paired pupils measure shadows, then calculate the...

Light waves and sound waves are the focus of this science lesson designed for 5th graders. Besides discovering how these waves travel, learners also discover the basic properties of waves, and analyze data tables and graphs. The...

Students explore the relationship between the amount of water in the atmosphere available for precipitation and the actual precipitation observed by satellite. They examine seasonal changes in precipitation. They practice using Internet...

Students investigate how rocket liftoff demonstrates Newton's Laws of Motion. They participate in a class discussion, and construct a rocket powered by the pressure generated from an antacid tablet reacting with water.

Class members simulate a watershed with a painters drop cloth, placing objects underneath to create landscape variation, making "rain" with a watering can, and using red drink mix powder to track the path of precipitation. They observe...

Students study classic paintings by masters like Monet. In this art history lesson, students listen to the story Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert and sing flower songs with the rest of their class. Students examine the painting The...

Amazing high-quality satellite imagery, photos, informational graphs, and detailed diagrams comprise this presentation on the movement of estuaries and the continental shelf. Data used as an example is from The Chesapeake Bay and because...

Introduce third graders to energy waves with a hands-on geology activity, in which they answer questions and compare seismograms in the San Francisco Bay area. After a demonstration that shows how bigger waves indicate a...

Save the oceans! The 22nd installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on laws and marine policy. Pupils take part in an activity investigating fisheries stock data.

Students study binomial nomenclature and museum-based research. They create a curiosity box, label the objects in their curiosity box , develop a classification scheme for the objects, and create a database of all objects collected by...

Kids can practice their observation and evidence-based argument skills with a fun and engaging look at artifacts. With a given set of objects, each child will sketch and describe the object, then partners work together to determine...

Crabs and lobsters ... yum! The 18th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on invertebrate marine life. After the lecture slideshow, learners conduct an activity to sample...

Light a fire in your pupils! Scholars conduct a flame test and observe the emission spectra of several different salts in an enlightening hands-on investigation. They use their observations to make comparisons and conclusions about the...

Scientists can't observe bonds breaking or forming, so how do they distinguish between exothermic and endothermic reactions? Young scholars complete two experiments to do just that. They monitor temperature change and calculate the...

Floating fragments of elodea can grow even without roots. Young scientists use eldoea plants to observe the oxygen production from photosynthesis. They study the difference between having access to high amounts of light and low amounts...

We all know someone who won't eat the banana with a brown spot, the grape with a dimple, and the apple with a bruise. Scholars use different fruits to explore what happens when fruits really start to decompose. They set up an experiment...

Kindergarteners practice new words through listening to and reading the science book Butterfly by Jenny Feely. The teacher will first choose words that are essential for understanding the text. Then, using pictures in the text,...