Leaf toughness can add to its herbivore appeal. Learns design an experiment to quantify leaf toughness and then perform their procedures. They follow the experiment with a set of questions that ask them to think about how leaf toughness...

Tracking area birds can tell a lot about an ecosystem. Learners use that understanding as motivation to observe and record bird populations in their area. They use journaling to store their information and ultimately choose one bird as...

It is a tangled web the ecosystem weaves. Learners begin an activity on ecosystem interactions by building a food chain and then a food web with yarn as a group. To finish, they research local environmental changes that may impact the...

There's no such thing as the perfect crime! Your class of sleuths are ready to investigate the trace evidence at a crime scene and compare it to a list of suspects. They use their investigative skills to record physical properties of the...

It would be a crime not to give the lesson a chance! An inquiry-based lesson has pupils assume the role of crime scene investigators as they make observations about shoe prints. They look for patterns in the prints such as distance and...

The force will be with you during an inquiry-based lesson focused on friction. Young scientists explore the effect of different surfaces on friction. They use rubber bands to measure the amount of force needed to move an object on the...

It's all about the material. Learners experiment with different substances as they try to keep an ice cube from melting. They draw conclusions by answering a set of questions about the types and amount of material that had the best result.

Blow classes away with a hands-on lesson investigating wind speed. Learners use common materials to design and construct anemometers. They then test their anemometers and collect data on the wind speed created by a fan.

Let there be light—or maybe not. Pupils learn about light pollution with an investigation of constellations. They create constellation boxes and experiment with different levels of light. Observations are then made about the lighting in...

It's a time of change. A hands-on activity engages young scientists in a lesson highlighting the change of seasons. They brainstorm indicators of season changes in nature and then look for them. Next, they record observations in a field...

It's cloudy with a good chance of learning! An inquiry-based lesson begins with an exploration of transparent, translucent, and opaque materials. Young scientists then connect their learning to the different cloud types as they take the...

It's about to become crystal clear! Learners compare and contrast three different types of crystal substances. First they observe their structure and then investigate how they interact with various substances.

Let the bubbles tell the story. Using a hands-on lesson, budding scientists learn how carbon dioxide in soda interacts with objects placed in the soda. The lesson explains how the gas adheres to the surface of the objects based on the...

Add a little heat to your science lesson. Young experimenters work to understand the chemical reaction taking place when a candle burns. They experiment with both oxygen and carbon dioxide to make conclusions about the reaction.

Slime is more than just a fun pastime. Learners study the bonding of polymers using a mixture of glue, borax, and water. They then explore the properties of the slime and learn how the polymers in glue bond with ions in borax.

Learning ... how sweet it is! A hands-on lesson uses colored candies to demonstrate how positive and negative charges interact. Pupils use different types of liquids and watch as the color from the candies spreads—or doesn't. 

There shouldn't be any accidents with this activity! An inquiry-based lesson has learners explore the absorption properties of the gel compound in diapers. After testing its properties, they learn the science of the molecules that make...

It does a mind good! Learners experiment with a combination of food coloring, detergent, and milk. They observe how the food coloring reacts with the different liquid combinations and relate their observations to the charges on the fat,...

Weather seems unpredictable, but is it really? Learners collect weather data from online interactives and build data displays. They use their displays to identify temperature and precipitation patterns in different areas.

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...

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...

Let the pictures do the talking. Children tell their stories using provided guidelines for a photo essay exhibit. Discussion questions and checklist materials help pupils brainstorm and create photo essays to help inspire social change.

Scientists study how pollution occurs in hopes of minimizing its effects. A quick activity shows how point and non-point source pollution enters groundwater and aquifers. Learners mimic the phenomenon with models that show how rain...

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.