Take your time with this lesson. Junior engineers read about different types of clocks and then work together to build a pendulum time-keeper. There are no hints as to how they might go about accomplishing this complex task, so you may...

Star light, star bright ... just how long can you wish on that star? Well, it depends on its mass. The presentation explains the life cycle of stars based on their sizes. Scholars learn about the life expectancy of a star based on the...

Your young learners will discover how muscular strength and endurance can increase with this truly hands-on activity! Beginning by writing an acrostic for the word strength, class members then engage in tracking their ability to squeeze...

Almost every phone has GPS installed, but a large number of teens don't know how the technology works. An initial activity illustrates how GPS determines a location on Earth. Scholars then apply trilateration procedures to a...

Using a pulse monitor, learners will measure a resting pulse, take a math test, and then measure the pulse again. They analyze the change in pulse and compare it to performance on the test. This multi-purpose lesson can be used in a...

How do you decide the best person for each job? Would it be easier if you didn't have to consider their feelings? The lesson begins with a discussion of underwater robots. Then groups research one of these robots and present their...

Students examine solar, hydrogen, electric power. In this research based instructional activity, students will do simple investigations, view videos, discuss, and research how these three types of energy are used for power. They...

Learners explain how cell phones work. For this physics lesson, students describe the advantages and advantages of having one. They identify the different parts of a cell phone.

Learners put together a potato battery that powers a digital clock. For this potato battery lesson plan, students learn the connection between energy from biomass and how we can apply it.

Open this lesson plan by reading together about primary and secondary batteries (such as nickel-cadmium cells), problems they can cause in the environment, and how humans can minimize the damage. Afterward, little ones examine a...

Energy doesn't come out of nowhere! An engaging lesson has learners investigate energy as it transforms from one type to another. They collect data to prove that energy is not lost as it changes.

Students recognize dependent and independent variables in an experiment by practicing manipulation of variables; students practice designing experiments that contain the two types of variables.

A hands-on simulation perfect for an economics lesson, young learners investigate the availability of different sources of natural energy (coal, natural gas, oil, solar, and nuclear) and how this availability affects their cost....

Students discover how water moves through different types of soils. In groups, they use the same sample from a previous activity and empty it into a milk carton in which they have layered with cheesecloth to determine the percolation...

Students recognize that sound is produced by the vibration of materials. They see that the sound produced is dependent on the type of material that is used. Given four types of material; air, string, wood, and metal, students perform an...

Could you determine longitude based on measuring time? Early explorers used a longitude clock to do just that. Scholars learn about early exploration and the importance of the invention of the clock. Then pupils build their own longitude...

To understand the impact coal mining has on the environment, pupils will extract chocolate chips from a cookie. Imagine the cookie is the environment and the chips are the coal. Instruct them to mine as many chips as they can, then have...

Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...

Students recognize the elements of an analog weather forecast.  In this weather forecasting activity, students use a website and look for trends, persistence and climatology in weather forecasting.  Students complete a...

Young scholars explore energy production by participating in a class discussion. In this renewable energy lesson, students discuss the differences between solar, coal, wind and fossil fuel energy sources and why some are better for the...

Students participate in a series of timed relay races using their skeletal muscles. They compare the movement of skeletal muscle and relate how engineers help astronauts exercise skeletal muscles in space. They list the three types of...

Students make a simple machine. In this physics lesson, students learn about six types of simple machines and the purpose of each and brainstorm examples of simple and complex machines in the classroom. Students create a simple or...

For this electrical circuit worksheet, students answer  a series of 9 open-ended questions with schematics about motors and how they are used within certain types of electrical circuits.  This worksheet is printable and there...

Students use string, wire, weights, and a stopwatch to build pendulum clocks. In this pendulum clocks lesson plan, students use the pendulum clocks to investigate weather, climate, force, and motion.