Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
DNA Is Only the Beginning for Understanding the Human Genome
Mario Capecchi requested funding for a new procedure targeting genes and was rejected. Four years later, after he proved it worked, the NIH apologized and funded his research. Use an online interactive to learn about his research and the...
Curated OER
Then and Now: Public Health from 1900 to Today
Throughout the 20th Century, the world has become a healthier place. By examining the public-health issues and diseases doctors faced during the 1900's, students will compare and contrast life from today vs. life in the 1900's. Their...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Automotive Emissions and the Greenhouse Effect
It is recommended that you conduct this fabulous experiment as a whole-class demonstration. Collect air samples from the environment, human exhalation, and car exhaust, then compare them for carbon dioxide content using bromthymol blue...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: Air Quality
Some scientists argue that air pollution now causes more deaths than smoking. The second unit in a six-part series focuses on air quality. Scholars learn what's in the air, how clean the air around their school is, and what they can do...
Center Science Education
Glaciers: Then and Now
Cooperative groups compare pairs of photos of Alaskan glaciers. They match a historical photo to the recent photo of the same glacier. The class discusses what conditions are necessary for glaciers to retreat. This abbreviated activity...
American Chemical Society
Change in Temperature - Endothermic Reaction
Now that learners have been exposed to chemical changes, they learn that some take in heat and therefore, decrease in temperature. The same reaction that they have been investigating between baking soda and vinegar is revisited,...
Curated OER
Animal Fact or Fiction?
Read and discuss the article "Welcome to Cicadaville (Enter at Your Own Risk)" to gain a better understanding around the confusion regarding cicadas and locust swarms. In groups your young analysts research statements about animals to...
Big Kid Science
Measuring Shadows Using an Ancient Method
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...
Weebly
Phases of Life Poster Project
Now this is a clever approach to familiarizing aspiring astronomers with the phases of the moon! They first record the specific dates for ten special events in their lives. Then they use an online moon phase calendar to find out which...
Colorado State University
How Can I Turn a Solar Oven into a Refrigerator?
Whether you want to heat things up in science class or cool things down a bit, an intriguing lab's got you covered! Science scholars explore the principles of thermodynamics using a solar oven, then change the conditions to turn their...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis:The Calvin Cycle
From the light reaction to the Calvin cycle, this presentation contains information about the various stages of photosynthesis. This is a great supplement to some of the biochemistry-heavy presentations about the specific mechanisms....
Curated OER
Whose "Truth" Is Out There?
Students read article It's a Fact: Faith and Theory Collide Over Evolution, and examine different ways people arrive at what 'the truth' is, focusing on the evolution vs creationism debate that has been a hot topic throughout the 20th...
Curated OER
Is There a Doctor in the House?
Students research the answers to their own health-related questions, and evaluate the various sources from which this information comes after read "Teenagers Find Health Answers With a Click."
Curated OER
Is Anybody Out There?
Students focus on the tremendous public interest in the potential of extraterrestrial life. They read and discuss an article about the search for alien life. They divide into small groups and discuss the issues and implications of this...
Carnegie Mellon University
Marcellus Shale: Who Pays?
After viewing short clips of unfortunate events, your class will consider two sides of a homeowner's court case, and then learn about the Marcellus shale deposit beneath the state of Pennsylvania and the hydraulic fracturing process. In...
Perkins School for the Blind
Friction
Friction is a force that can be felt, which means that learners with visual impairments can experiment to feel and understand the concept of friction. They slide a rock along a smooth table, and then they slide a rock across sandpaper,...
Curated OER
What's That Tree?
Fifth graders identify trees along a nature trail. Using a dichotomous key, 5th graders answer questions to aid in their identification of trees along a specified nature trail. Observations are recorded in their science journals. Sample...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Campaign
The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Gimli Glider—Anecdotes for Chemistry Teachers
What's the moral of this story? Units save lives! Teach measurement conversion through storytelling in a quick math-based lesson. Young scientists learn how one country's decision to swap from imperial to metric standard units caused an...
Curated OER
Forces That Shape the Earth: Plate Movement
In this tectonic plate learning exercise, students learn about the movement of the plates that make up the earth's crust. They read about the Theory of Pangaea, lithosphere, divergence, convergence, and plate transformation. Students...
Curated OER
What is a Fossil?
In this fossils worksheet, students are given a bag of fossils mixed with non- fossils. They are to determine which category each item belongs to and give a reason. They answer questions about how they determine fossils from non-fossils.
American Physiological Society
Sit On It
How do product designers come up with the variety of things we see in stores and on TV every day? They identify a need, then create something that meets that need. Sounds simple, right? A two-week instructional activity puts seventh...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 7
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...
Curated OER
X Is For Wonderment
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the "X" chromosome and how ti is part of genetics with the use of Punnett squares. They use this tool in order to predict future genetic outcomes while focusing upon specific questions.