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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cell Structures and Their Functions

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Life science learners investigate live cells. They examine wet mount slides of cyanobacteria and Elodea plants. They peer into the dynamic microscopic world of protists. Afterward, they construct a model of a cell, including rudimentary...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ACTIVITY 6: MAKE A FOSSIL MOLD AND CAST and ACTIVITY 7: HOW BIG WERE PREHISTORIC ANIMALS?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Instructions for two terrific ancient history lessons for your primary paleontologists are provided in this resource. The first involves the creation of fossil cast replicas using plaster of Paris. The directions are detailed, but the...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Watershed Works: Unit 3

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Geology whizzes observe the effects of change within a model of a watershed. They place replica waste dumps within the models and note the path that the waste takes as water passes through. This detailed lesson plan provides teacher...
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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Manduca sexta Wax Model

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Caterpillars' and moths' most obvious change is physical, but what happens to their nervous systems as they complete metamorphosis? Through a hands-on investigation, young scholars construct the nervous system of a caterpillar. They then...
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Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Ways of Knowing: Apples as Models

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Use apples as a way of thinking about models. Young scientists consider how the word apple, a two-dimensional drawing, a three-dimensional image, a photograph, and plastic apples all model real apples in preparation for developing models...
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Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Solar System Scavenger Hunt

For Students 6th - 12th
Scholars go on a hunt to locate objects that best fit the measurements to create an eye-catching scale model of the solar system. 
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Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Thinking in the Three Dimensions

For Students 6th - 12th
Discover different dimensions with paper folding. Pupils first read about zero, one, two, and three dimensions, and then learn about the fourth dimension, time. They then use origami to create models of shapes in three dimensions and use...
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Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Space Jell-O

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Might as well learn about how space bends around massive objects while making dessert. A remote learning resource provides an opportunity for scholars to model how stars and planets bend space. They use Jell-O to represent space and...
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Lab Resource
Pingry School

Lewis Structures, VSEPR and Molecular Modeling

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
A model is worth a thousand words. Young scholars use what they know about the structure of hydrocarbons to build Lewis dot structures and molecular models. Their tasks include multiple bonds, geometric hybrids, and various isomers.
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Lesson Plan
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Brigham Young University

To-Scale Models

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Guided by their analysis of a scene, their initial sketches, and renderings, set designers begin to craft a scaled, 3-D model of the set of the play they have chosen. 
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Activity
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Wet Etching in Nanofabrication

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
Chemistry and physics combine forces to benefit nanofabrications. Learners examine the process of wet etching in nanofabrication. Using corrosive substances such as lemon juice and Coca-Cola, they model the etching process. They then...
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Activity
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Lines on Paper - Laser Box

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
See what you cannot see by getting a little creative. An intriguing lesson has learners use lasers to explore X-ray diffraction. Given a box with unknown structures, they shine a laser through the box and interpret the results....
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Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

What van Leeuwenhoek Saw

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
When van Leeuwenhoek saw cells and single-celled organisms for the first time, he knew these small things were a big deal! Share his discoveries with young learners through a narrated video, model-building activity, and scale study....
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Lesson Plan
NASA

The Invisible Sun: How Hot Is It?

For Students 9th - 12th
It's getting hot in here! The first in a series of six lessons has learners model nuclear fusion with a simple lab investigation. Groups collect data and analyze results, comparing their models to the actual process along the way.
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Activity
DiscoverE

Designing Highway Interchanges

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
How do engineers determine the most efficient highway designs? Introduce young scientists to the world of topology, the branch of mathematics that examines how things are connected. Teams use model highways to create the most...
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Lesson Plan
Colorado State University

What Is a "Model"?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Model the transfer of energy during a typical 24-hour period. Young scholars use a game-like approach to learning the patterns of heat transfer through the day and night. Groups of four exchange different tokens as the energy transfers...
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Lesson Plan
Towson University

Mystery Tubes

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How do scientists know they're right? Truth be told, they don't always know. Explore the scientific process using mystery tubes in an insightful activity. Young scientists discover how to approach and solve problems in science, how ideas...
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Activity
NOAA

It All Runs Downhill

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Examine how pollution makes its way into an ocean with help from a model watershed. Scholars use household items to recreate a mini-watershed, equipped with pollutants, that when mixed with rain drain into a model's body of water. After...
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Activity
NOAA

Your Own El Nino

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Scholars make a model to discover how the force of trade winds over the Pacific Ocean creates an El Niño. Super scientists observe how the severe weather affects life in water and on land. 
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Living in the Milky Way

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
Get to know our galaxy with an astronomy-themed, hands-on activity. Scholars watch an informative video, answer questions, and construct a model of the Milky Way in order to examine its contents and the distance inside it.  
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Unit Plan
Tech Museum of Innovation

Human Body Exhibit

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Explore human anatomy and physiology using models. Scholars study systems of the human body and design a display for a museum exhibit. To complete the activity, individuals create analogous models of their chosen human body systems.
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Unit Plan
Tech Museum of Innovation

Analogous Models

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What goes into a museum display? A secondary-level STEM project prompts groups to design a museum display for the Tech Museum of Innovation. They create an analogous, interactive model illustrating a science concept to complete the lesson.
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Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Looking Inside Planets

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Researchers use scientific data to understand what is inside each of the planets. The first in a series of six, this lesson builds off of that concept by having pupils use a data table to create their own scale models of the interiors of...
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Activity
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Teach Engineering

Making Model Microfluidic Devices Using JELL-O

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Nothing flows like J-E-L-L-O! In the final portion of a four-part series, pupils create scale models of microfluidic devices out of gelatin and bendable straws. They use their devices to test various flow rates in the delivery of...