Activity
Museum of Science

Fingerprints

For Teachers K - 6th
Capture your unique print. Individuals ink a finger and create a print on a deflated balloon. By blowing up the balloon, pupils get a magnified view of their unique print. They see if they can identify any loops, whorls, and arches in...
Activity
Museum of Science

Design a Submarine

For Teachers K - 6th
Don't just sink the boat. Using a closed container as a submarine, pupils experiment to see what to add to the container to make it float, sink to the bottom, and hover in the middle. After finding one option, learners see if they can...
Activity
Museum of Science

Hot Air Balloon

For Teachers K - 6th
It is more than just blowing hot air. Pupils first build a hot air balloon out of tissue paper by cutting enough panels of tissue paper to form a balloon shape and glue the panels together. Using a hot air gun, individuals then inflate...
Activity
Museum of Science

Create Gas

For Teachers K - 6th
Let's have a gas. Individuals mix baking soda and vinegar in a bottle. Learners view the interaction between the solid and the liquid and notice that a gas is formed. Scholars notice the gas inflates a balloon stretched across the mouth...
Activity
Museum of Science

Worm Farm

For Teachers K - 6th
It is not a barrel of monkeys—it's a jar of worms! Scholars create a worm farm in a spaghetti sauce jar. Pupils layer moist soil, sand, and oatmeal to create a habitat for worms. Individuals place worms into the habitat, cover it with...
Activity
Museum of Science

Wind Turbine

For Teachers K - 6th
Let the energy blow. Using mostly easily found material such as PVC pipe and fans, pupils build wind turbines. Scholars connect a multimeter to an electric motor to determine the amount of energy generated by their designs. Learners then...
Activity
Museum of Science

Strawberry DNA

For Teachers K - 6th
Humans aren't the only ones with DNA—fruit has it too. Using a extraction solution, pupils pull the DNA out of a piece of fruit. Learners crush up a piece of fruit with the solution and filter out the solids. Scholars then add cold...
Activity
Museum of Science

Cup Drop

For Teachers K - 6th
Create egg drop soup. Teachers first set up eggs that are held up above cups of water with a piece of cardboard and cardboard tubes. Learners try to determine a way to get the eggs to drop into the cups. Using a broom, the instructor...
Activity
Museum of Science

Comeback Can

For Teachers K - 6th
Convert energy within a can. Learners build a can that suspends a weight inside the can via a rubber band. The pupils roll the can away from them as the rubber band wraps around itself. The force of the band unwinding brings the can back...
Activity
Museum of Science

Candy Chromatography

For Teachers K - 6th
Don't play favorites when separating candy colors. Pupils use the process of chromatography to separate the colors of two different types of candy-coated candies. Class members compare their results to an unknown sample to determine...
Activity
Museum of Science

Circuit Board

For Teachers K - 6th
Light up the solutions. By following a set of directions, pupils build a circuit board with six different circuits. Learners use the circuit board to create a matching activity by connecting the questions to the correct answers via a...
Activity
Museum of Science

Weather Station

For Teachers K - 6th
Find out what it is like outside before braving the elements. Teachers follow directions to build a barometer, rain gauge, and anemometer. Class members use the built weather instruments along with a thermometer to record weather...
Activity
Museum of Science

Water Balloon Catapult

For Teachers K - 6th
Fire away! Using a couple of milk jugs, a dowel rod, and a yardstick, individuals build catapults to throw water balloons. Learners notice that the catapult is a simple machine. By making a target, the class has a chance to refine their...
Activity
Museum of Science

Straw Bridges

For Teachers K - 6th
There is never a bridge too far. Using common items, class members build bridges to span an opening. Pupils test different geometric shapes to determine which is the strongest. Learners use pennies to find the strength of their bridges...
Lesson Plan
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NASA

Watering Your Plants

For Teachers K - 4th
Make sure plants have water to drink regularly. Learners investigate the parts of a watering system for plants. They design and create a watering system for a lunar plant growth chamber before explaining why it is important to have water...
Lesson Plan
1
1
NASA

Exploring the Moon

For Teachers K - 4th
Can plants grow on the moon? The second lesson in a five-part series has pupils explore the resources available on the moon to determine if plant life is possible. They use lava rocks as their soil and draw conclusions about the...
Lesson Plan
1
1
NASA

Natural Resources on Earth

For Teachers K - 6th
Natural resources do not always occur so naturally. Lead classes through a thorough set of lessons investigating the natural resources important for plants. Learners complete a series of worksheets as they explore the information and...
Lesson Plan
1
1
NASA

Designing and Building the Lunar Plant Growth Chamber

For Teachers K - 4th
Build a place for the plants. Using information learned from the previous lesson in the unit, learners design a lunar plant growth chamber and build a paper model of it. Given strips of paper that represent different sizes of planting...
Lesson Plan
1
1
NASA

Providing Light for Your Plants

For Teachers K - 4th
Using a guided instructional activity, pupils learn about what it takes to make a circuit along with a switch. They build a complete circuit under the direction from the teacher and identify each of the elements of the circuit. Scholars...
Activity
Teach Engineering

Flight of the Fruit: Weight, Gravity and Imagination

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Beware the falling fruit. Scholars design and build parachutes that can help protect fruit as it falls. They test out their creations, learning about gravity, weight, air resistance, and measurement concepts along the way.
Activity
University of Waikato

Water Molecules in Drama

For Teachers K - 3rd
The state of molecules is changing. Young actors and actresses perform the process of phase change in front of the class. They assume the roles of water molecules and, as a group, show how the behavior of the molecules in the solid,...
Activity
University of Waikato

Solid to Liquid to Gas

For Teachers K - 3rd
Help classes understand heat as a form of energy. A hands-on activity has learners investigate how heat, or the lack of heat, affects the physical state of water. They then connect their discoveries to the water cycle.
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

The Pollinator's Journey: Grades K-8

For Teachers K - 8th
Bees get all the attention, but so many more creatures contribute to pollination. Scientists explore the role of pollinators as they learn about the parts of a flower and how it reproduces. They discover how plants rely on many different...
Lesson Plan
Aquarium of the Pacific

Fish for a Day

For Teachers K - 2nd
A short video shows how a scuba divers' equipment relates to major parts of a fish. Learners draw two fish and identify what aspects are the same and which are different. The scholars then draw a scuba diver, making sure they provide all...