Biotechnology is big! Introduce the uses of biotechnology to science scholars with a fascinating, fact-filled unit. The first installment in a series of four biotechnology units covers the role biotechnology plays in human and...

How do lighting types affect energy efficiency? Explore different types of lighting and the energy they use. Pupils learn about types of lights and calculate the energy used during a typical school year. They discover that being...

Take the old baking soda and vinegar volcano to the next level by using it to study repeated lava flows over time, examine geologic features on Earth and Mars, and speculate about some of the formations on Mars. 

It's time to go to Mars. Using the provided cards and mat, groups design a mission to Mars. The cards contain information about the different components of the launch and warn about a few mishaps that might occur along the way.

Where can you see an aurora in North America? After completing an astronomy activity, scholars can locate the exact coordinates. Pupils plot points of the inner and outer ring of the auroral oval and answer questions based on...

Young scientists build on their previous knowledge and apply it to coronal mass ejections. By plotting the path of two different coronal mass ejections, they develop an understanding of why most don't collide with Earth.

Scholars use sorting cards to try to define a pure substance versus a mixture. Risk becomes reward as they observe the differences and create a flowchart sorting matter into mixtures and pure substances (elements and compounds).

Which travels faster, light or sound? Scholars work in groups to simulate the ability for waves to travel through solids, liquids, gases, and through a vacuum. Then, they learn about the properties of a mystery wave and must determine...

Cell phones are likely made of gold—at least part of them! An interesting lesson explains the conventional and not-so-conventional uses of the popular element gold. From the Inca empire to modern-day technology, learners discover gold...

Make a premium terrarium. Learners create a miniature terrarium to study ecosystems. They use a clear container, along with rocks, soil, moss, leaves, woodland plants, earthworms, and bugs to construct their terrariums.

After investigating the US Environmental Protection Agency's climate change website, your environmental studies students discuss greenhouse gas emissions. They use an online interactive tool to look at data from power production...

A whale of a lesson is sure to intrigue your elementary oceanographers! Learn about the mammals of the sea with a series of activities about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Kids complete worksheets about the anatomy of a whale, create a...

Write, edit, and then revise! The fourth lesson in a five-part series asks peers to provide feedback on research. Individuals then use the research to edit and revise conclusions and develop their presentations.

Great things come in small packages! What better way to illustrate this point than a week-long look at nanotechnology? Earth science scholars explore water quality issues through lab activities, then research new innovations in nanotech...

What does it cost to keep the lights on? Through a hands-on activity, class members use a watt meter and determine the amount of energy different types of light bulbs use. The class then determines the financial and environmental...

Mix it up by using an intriguing resource that teaches young metallurgists that alloys are a metal mixture. They learn about the advantages of using alloys over pure metals and investigate titanium alloys as an example to finish the...

Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome. 

Young scientists explore many different types of energy including light, heat, nuclear, sound, potential, and more. They match the types of energy and identify when energy transfers from one type to another.

Nanoparticles have toxic effects on plant and animal life—even though you can't see them. The second lesson of a two-part series has young scientists conduct an experiment that exposes plant and animals to nanoparticle pollutants. They...

Students examine how Earth's rotation causes daily cycles in solar energy using a microset of satellite data to investigate the Earth's daily radiation budget and locating map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Earth is sick and needs our help! Read the children's book Planet Earth Gets Well to explain the various problems facing the planet, discussing what young conservationists can do to heal the planet along the way. A great Earth...

Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science lesson, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time....

Enhance your states of matter lessons with a hands-on science investigation that compares six different balls' color, texture, size, weight, ability to bounce, and buoyancy. 

Did the image I drew match the image you saw? By simulating a satellite and a ground station, teams of two transmit data in the form of pixels in order to recreate an image. They use four different levels of brightness, creating slightly...