Bonneville
Home Energy Consumption
Home is where the power-consuming devices are. Scholars use given power ratings for common electrical devices to calculate the energy consumed in two hours as well as in a month. They use the average cost per kilowatt-hour to calculate...
Bonneville
Illuminate Me: Merging Conductive Sewing, Technology, and Solar Power
Sew up a unit on solar energy with a hands-on project. Groups sew LED lights on clothing using conductive thread. Solar modules attached to a helmet provide the energy for the lights. A final presentation gives learners the opportunity...
Bonneville
Simple Solar Tracker
Let the solar cells fight each other for supremacy! Given a functional solar tracker that moves toward light, groups copy the design to build their own devices. They use two sets of solar cells that have reverse polarization, so that the...
Bonneville
Solar Tracker Challenge
Follow the light—not with one's eyes—but with a special solar tracker. Future engineers design and build a device that tracks light. They must build circuits in which solar cells rotate to receive equal amounts of light.
Bonneville
Using a Multimeter to Analyze a Solar Circuit: Measuring Current and Voltage—Calculating Power and Resistance
Power to the people who understand electricity. A simple experiment teaches pupils how to set up an electric circuit that includes a solar module and how to measure voltage and current using a multimeter. They calculate power and...
Bonneville
Circuit Analysis With Solar Energy: Measure the Power Consumed by Various Devices
Power up the class with a lesson on electronics. Scholars use a solar module to create an electric circuit. They connect different devices to the circuit and measure the voltage and current. Based on the measurements, they calculate the...
Exploratorium
A Splash of Color - Is Pure Water Colorless?
What makes the ocean blue but a glass of ocean water nearly colorless? Investigators prepare tubes of water to examine the color of water. Scholars discover the relationship between light absorption, color variations, and water depth as...
Exploratorium
Antibody Attack - Discover How Antibodies Launch Attacks on Invaders
Jump into the action and help antibodies defend against an antigen attack! Investigators match antibodies with antigens to model the body's identification and recall of specific pathogens. Young biologists also recognize that each...
Exploratorium
Skin Shield - Explore the Body’s First Line of Defense Against Pathogens
Make pathogens and the body's defense systems come alive for young biologists in a hands-on activity. Investigators model the skin's protection against infection by observing and comparing changes in a punctured tomato and an intact...
PBS
Sink or Swim?
What's with all the numbers on plastic products? Learners complete an in-depth analysis of the physical properties of the different plastic types. They connect the properties of the plastics to uses and test their observation skills by...
PBS
Plants Count
Changes to habitats mean changes to resources. Groups examine aerial maps to predict areas of low and high plant resources. After formulating a plan, they visit the areas to collect data about the plant resources and then share their...
PBS
Light Bulb Challenge
Efficiency equals money where homes are concerned. A comparative lesson asks learners to measure heat output of incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs. They follow their investigation with calculating the cost of using the two...
PBS
Going Green
Trash is where it's at! Using bags of garbage collected from the school, learners sort the contents into categories based on type of material and collect data on the results. The data may include weight, volume, and/or percent of the trash.
PBS
Color Code
Don't let your brain play tricks on you! Learners test brain reaction rates while it is receiving multiple stimuli. They time each other reading a set of color words written in different colors and again when they are written in black....
PBS
Breaking Point
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...
PBS
Blowin’ in the Wind
Wind energy is making a comeback recently, and classes will want to take part! A hands-on lesson asks groups to build their own windmill that will lift a cup with varying weight. They use their windmill designs to experiment with angles,...
PBS
Bird is the Word
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...
PBS
All Tangled Up
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...
PBS
Super Sleuths
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...
PBS
Print Hints
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...
PBS
No Slip Grip
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...
PBS
Insulation Station
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.
PBS
Twirling in the Breeze
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.
PBS
The Air in There
Feeling is believing! Youth discuss how they know air exists using evidence-based logic. They then create air cannons from cardboard, cling wrap, and rubber bands to demonstrate air is real—and powerful.