Start with a NOVA video about car crashes, crash test dummy footage, or other video about seat belt use. Or have groups review attached data about seat belt usage (by state) and share their conclusions. Learners then devise a method to...

Your class can practice collecting and analyzing data. They extrapolate information and derive data from fire season statistics. They also choose the most appropriate format to display collected data.

Students examine the history of mandalas from Tibet. After reviewing the Designing a Mandala handout, they use geometric symmetrical shapes to create their own examples. Next, they write poems or essays and explain the meaning of the...

Students are introduced to the Mayan Long Count calendar system. They work in groups to calculate the date of their birth and use the calendar to determine important Mayan dates.

Students conduct a simulation to determine radioactive decay and half-life. Using pennies, dice or sugar cubes as isotopes placed in shoe boxes simulating rocks, they hold five trials representing 1000 years each to find the theoretical...

Students design a working working model of a trebuchet and demonstrate the power of a Class 1 lever. They test their models by throwing grapes the greatest distance and raising and lowering bricks.

Students view a video clip about special effects. They use geometry to determine how it changes one's perspective. They work together to construct their own room and comparing their room with other groups, noting the type of...

Young scholars view a video clip on time travel. They work together to complete a worksheet on measuring time. They discuss the different perceptions of time.

Learners view a video clip about the role of satellites in space. They examine the concept of center of mass. They participate in an experiment showing how altering the location of an object's center of mass can change its motion.

Young scholars examine raw data about temperatures throughout the world and record their observations. They work together to graph a specific year of data. They calculate an average temperature and discuss their findings.

Students will use everyday items and speeds to describe the dimensions of a massive flood that occurred in the Pacific Northwest near the end of the last ice age.

Students make estimates on how many people they believe live on Earth. While watching a video, they take notes on the issues facing Kenya, Japan and India. In groups, they calculate how long it takes for a country to double in size. To...

Middle and high schoolers explore the concepts of architectural rigidity. They analyze a variety of polygons, and explain why some shapes add more strength to structures than others. The PBS video, "Building Big," is utilized in this plan.

Students examine problem solving techniques when working on spatial problems. They discover how models, sketches, and drawings can be used to understand on something works. They design a model of a bridge using given dimensions and...

Young learners view different shapes drawn by the teacher on the board. The teacher identifies each shape by name and discusses the importance of knowing the difference between shapes when building something. The pupils complete the...

Welcome to the companion Web site to the NOVA program "Einstein Revealed," originally broadcast in October, 1996. This two-hour special presents a penetrating profile of Albert Einstein, who contributed more than any other scientist to...

Students build geodesic domes using newspaper after watching a video about the architectural concepts used in building domes. They decide which geometric shapes can be used to build the strongest building.

Students create scale models of Earth, the Moon, and the distances within the universe. Working in groups, they construct their models of Earth and the Moon on a scale of 50:1 and calculate how far apart to place their models. They...

Students duplicate the method that Archimedes used to estimate the value of pi. They complete a data table and find the approximate values of pi for three sets of polygons.

Students will construct simple curves on graph paper by connecting a series of points between the vertical and horizontal axes. They share their designs and explain the patterns.

Explore the concept of money and research its origin. There are many concepts related to business math, thusly, there are many formulas used to make calculations around money. Exchange rates of money in different countries, interest,...

Students discover that side measurement is used in determining angle classification of a triangle. By squaring sides, they predict whether triangles be right, obtuse, or acute. They prove the Pythagorean Theorem and use it to solve...

Students describe techniques helpful in solving spatial problems which utilize the notion that a model is a simplified version of something complicated. They utilize methods such as sketching or drawing possible solutions to a problem.

Students research Egyptian hieroglyphics using print and Web resources. THey discuss Egyptian achievements in mathematics. Students explore how Egyptians used hieroglyphics to write numerals. They multiply and divide numbers using the...