What is Plastic?

Putty is proof that learning can be fun! Share the wonderful world of polymers with your class through an experiment. Young scientists create their own silly putty, then examine its properties.

Explore the unique characteristics of polymers. A complete lesson begins with a presentation introducing polymers. Following the presentation, young scientists develop a laboratory plan for creating substances using polymers. They...

A simple experiment to create a chemical reaction between milk and vinegar, with the product being a type of plastic.

Fifth graders examine polymers and how they are formed.  In this chemistry lesson plan students complete their own polymer experiment then discuss what they learned. 

Learners create their own paper from recycled products. Students describe the steps of the paper-making process, then practice making their own.

Young scholars demonstrate effects of waste on environment and ways of reducing it, observe how much packaging goes into bag lunches each day, and survey their families to assess awareness levels and household recycling practices....

This is a challenge for students to develop solutions to the problems caused by plastic waste globally. They will learn about how plastic waste impacts people around the world, the different types of plastic, how they are each used, how...

Elementary schoolers count and order objects using numbers 1-300. They bring recyclable items from home. Students group the items, skip count by 2's, 3's, and 5's, and arrange the items on a number line. Recyclable plastic bags are put...

Young scholars investigate polymers by completing 3 experiments. In this polymer lesson plan, students mix plastic with acetone, they create polyurethane foam, they make slime and build a polymer model once their polyurethane foam is...

In this hands-on lesson plan, students will conduct a simple milk-transforming experiment to explore how plastics can be derived from a natural resource such as milk.