Museum of Science
Weather Station
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...
Museum of Science
Water Balloon Catapult
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...
Museum of Science
Straw Bridges
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...
University of Waikato
Observing Water's Thin 'Skin'
Keep the tension up in the classroom. The class first observes as the teacher creates a dome of water above a glass by adding paperclips into an already full glass. Classmates then work in pairs to see how many drops of water can fit...
PBS
Gratitude and the Environment
A class discussion begins a two-part activity about gratitude and the environment. In part one, learners watch a video then share their feelings about its most memorable moment. Delving deep into the meaning of gratitude, scholars create...
NASA
Watering Your Plants
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...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Return to Earth: Build a Lander
Earth to all instructors: Here's a resource to use about spacecraft. After learning about gravity and air resistance, scholars create landers with padding to help capsules land safely on Earth. They test their creations by placing a raw...
NASA
Exploring the Moon
Can plants grow on the moon? The second instructional activity 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...
NASA
Natural Resources on Earth
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...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Astronaut Training: Dexterity
How do astronauts do anything with those gloves on? Learners mimic what astronauts need to overcome as they complete puzzles while wearing multiple gloves. They time themselves and use the information to draw conclusions about the...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Astronaut Training: Taste
Gravity isn't the only thing astronauts lose in space. Learners investigate why astronauts complain about a loss of taste while in space in a hands-on activity. They taste test foods while limiting their other senses and rate each food...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Down2Earth: Making Impact Craters
Is the sky falling? Learners use a simulator to modify the mass and velocity of asteroids and collect data on how they influence the diameter and depth of the impact crater. They use their results to draw conclusions and make predictions...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Play Bingo with Charles Messier
Let's play an out-of-this-world Bingo game! Using pre-made Bingo cards and an online randomizer, host a game of Bingo to practice identifying the objects of the cosmos. Pupils must match a picture shown to a similar picture on their...
California Academy of Science
Modeling Eclipses with Size and Distance Scales
Size within the solar system is a difficult thing for pupils to imagine. Using everyday objects, they build models to show the scale between the sun, moon, and Earth. They situate their props in proportional distances between the objects...
California Academy of Science
Paper Cup Planetarium
Bring the night sky to your classroom! Using simple materials, learners create flashlight constellations on the wall. They then use their imaginations to create their own star patterns that tell a story.
NASA
Designing and Building the Lunar Plant Growth Chamber
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...
NASA
Providing Light for Your Plants
Using a guided lesson, 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 then learn to...
Teach Engineering
Flight of the Fruit: Weight, Gravity and Imagination
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.
University of Waikato
Water Runoff
Teachers demonstrate water runoff on a hill and its effect on soil erosion. Pupils observe as the instructor changes the steepness of the hill and see whether vegetation covers the soil. Learners then use their observations to make...
University of Waikato
Buoyancy in Water
Change where an object floats in water. Pupils experiment with a Cartesian diver by squeezing on the side of a plastic bottle. Learners pay attention to the bulb of the pipette as the bottle is squeezed to determine what is happening...
University of Waikato
Investigating Sea Level Rise
Find an explanation for the sea level rise. Pupils investigate the difference that melting land ice and sea ice have on the sea level. Groups create two models—one with ice on land and one with ice in the water. As the ice melts, teams...
University of Waikato
Growing Soil Microbes
View how microbes grow in soil. Class members first create a Winogradsky column to grow bacteria. They then set up the column of mud in a plastic bottle and include a food source for the microbes and observe the column of mud over the...
University of Waikato
Make and Use a Hydrophone
Using a home-built hydrophone, pupils investigate how things sound in water. Learners listen to sounds created in air and then compare that to the same sound picked up by the hydrophone. Individuals compare the loudness and the pitch of...
University of Waikato
Density
Will the block float? Pupils take measurements to calculate the volume of various blocks of different materials. Using a scale, they determine the mass of each block and then calculate their densities. Scholars finish by ranking the...