DiscoverE
Build a Bobsled Racer
Host a design challenge of Olympic proportion! Junior engineers build their own bobsleds using simple materials. The activity focuses on kinetic and potential energy and how the center of mass affects motion on a downhill track....
NASA
Soda Straw Rockets
Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net forces...
NASA
Soda-Straw Rockets
Launch a great lesson exploring engineering design. Using a template, young scholars create rockets that can be launched from a straw. After analyzing the function of the rocket, pupils try to modify the rocket to enhance its function.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 5
It is a long way from nano to macro. Learners examined the scale of measurement from macro to nano in the first four lessons of the five-part series. With the final installment, they review what they learned by classifying objects in one...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 4
Make a big deal out of things the class can't see. Young scientists get an introduction to nanoscience in the fourth installment of a five-part series on scale. The instructional activity discusses current innovations in nanotechnology...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 3
A nanometer is the approximate distance your fingernail grows in one second. Hard to visualize, isn't it? The third of a five-part lesson on scale seeks to help learners understand the size of the nanoscale of measurement. Using examples...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 2
The big world is full of tiny surprises. Classes discover all things big and small while completing the second lesson plan of a five-part series comparing macro- and micro-objects. Learners collect items from around the room including...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Big vs. Little - Macro to Micro Lesson 1
Small and large are relative terms; what's the best way to quantify them? Young scientists take on that challenge as they complete an interactive activity to explore size. They build structures during their exploration and begin using...
Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg's Simple Normal Humdrum School Day
If you're going to build a machine, you might as well make it interesting and amusing. A set of eight lessons and activities introduces simple machines using Rube Goldberg machines. A culminating project challenges techies to create and...
Purdue University
The Represented World: Recreational STEM
How are forces and motion important to a swing set? Scholars explore the concepts of force and motion using swing sets. In preparation for their own STEM design project, individuals take surveys and data from peers, complete labs on...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Utah Open Textbook: 3rd Grade Science
How do we interact with Earth? Scholars learn about the sun, Earth, moon, forces, gravity, and heat sources by reading a text and performing hands-on demonstrations. They also differentiate between living and non-living things using...
NASA
Eclipse Activity Guide
Ever made solar s'mores? Or recreated the solar system using peanuts? Astronomers young and old investigate all things solar using a variety of activities. Explore how the sun works, types of light it emits, and methods of charting the...
NOAA
Make Your Own Compass
Scholars build a compass using a needle, cork, magnet, and a water-filled cup in order to locate the magnetic north and south.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Seed Dispersal
Engineering challenges are not just man-made ... nature has its own set of them. A hands-on STEM activity has groups designing a seed dispersal system. Each group can only use one sheet of paper — a tough task!
Tech Museum of Innovation
Energy at Play
Get the ball rolling and challenge your class to figure out how to make a ball move. The instruction segment is between two STEM activities devoted to doing just that. The first is simple and involves making a ball move from some force...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Six Kinds Do It All
Teach young engineers that all machines, no matter how complicated or complex, are made up of just six simple devices with this hands-on physical science lesson. Using the included templates, students first create paper models of...
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
Broward County Public Schools
Force and Motion
Get the ball rolling with this upper-elementary science unit on forces and motion. Offering over three weeks of physical science lessons, this resource is a great way to engage the class in learning about simple machines, friction, the...
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion, and...
NASA
Paper Rockets
Get first hand experience in rocket building and motion through an easy-to-follow picture and word-based directions sheet. Here, learners build a paper rocket by wrapping and taping paper strips around a pencil, and then launching their...