Exploratorium
Tired Weight
You don't need a scale to determine weight. This activity provides a way to use the concepts of air pressure and surface area to determine the weight of a vehicle by calculating the amount of weight each tire supports.
Shodor Education Foundation
Algebra Quiz
Reviewing the process of solving equations is as easy as one click of a button. Scholars solve linear and quadratic equations by using a helpful interactive. The computer app automatically scores responses, providing immediate feedback...
Shodor Education Foundation
Linear Function Machine
What goes in must come out! Learners play with a function machine to determine the correct function. They enter input values and watch as the machine produces the output.
Shodor Education Foundation
Function Machine
Machines can be so helpful sometimes. A simple interactive has learners enter input values for a function machine and observe output values. These values help determine a function that represents the input-output relationship in the...
Shodor Education Foundation
Normal Distribution
Does the size of the bin matter? The resource allows pupils to explore the relationship between the normal curve and histograms. Learners view histograms compared to a normal curve with a set standard deviation. Using the interactive,...
Space Awareness
The Sun Compass of the Vikings
Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...
Space Awareness
Measure the Solar Diameter
Scientists could measure the diameter of the sun before they knew its distance. Scholars construct a simple mirror box to measure the diameter for themselves. They compare this measurement with the official size, listed in a...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Modeling Food Webs in Darién, Panama
It's a jungle out there! Young biologists journey to Darien, Panama to examine the intricate relationships between the organisms that inhabit the jungle. Groups begin by demonstrating an understanding of energy flow in ecosystems, then...
Mascil Project
Circular Pave-Stones Backyard
Pack the lesson into your plans. Young mathematicians learn about packing and optimization with the context of circular paving stones. They use coins to model the paving stones, and then apply knowledge of circles and polygons to...
Southwestern Medical Center
Field Epidemiology: Investigation of an Unknown Disease
More than 90 percent of the people in a building have come down with an illness, and it is your job to investigate. Teachers give scientists the data needed to decide what is important and how they can solve the mystery....
International Technology Education Association
Sizing Up the Clouds
How much rain can that cloud make? Through a simulation, the class estimates the amount of candy rain contained in different cup clouds. After probing the clouds using different methods, class members adjust their estimates. Participants...
Teach Engineering
Processes on Complex Networks
Introduces your class to random processes in networks with an activity that uses information about disease spread using the susceptible, infectious, resistant (SIR) model. Participants determine whether a susceptible person becomes...
Teach Engineering
Breathing Cells
Pairs work together to determine whether unknown solutions are either acids or bases by using a red cabbage indicator solution. After determining the general pH of the unknown solution, classmates blow into the same indicator after...
Curated OER
Turn Up the Volume
Measuring volume can be a mystery for 5th graders, but this hands-on activity gives the gift of discovery. The volume of simple rectangular solids and irregular shapes are calculated through various methods including displacing liquid in...
Alabama Learning Exchange
I Know What You Did Last Summer: A Data Graphing Project
Young scholars participate in graphing data. In this graphing data instructional activity, students make a stem and leaf plot of their summer activities. Young scholars create numerous graphs on poster boards. Students...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Fortune Properties
Complete identity and equality property problems in hands-on activities. Smart cookies identify the identity and equality properties. They complete a review of order of operations, watch an online video, and make a foldable with the...
Curated OER
Connecting Math to Our Lives
Students participate in an online interactive forum to explore how math is used in their families and communities. They design games to submit to other students online, and identify and organize data to solve the problems from other...
Cornell University
Non-Newtonian Fluids—How Slow Can You Go?
Children enjoy playing with silly putty, but it provides more than just fun. Young scientists make their own silly putty using different recipes. After a bit of fun, they test and graph the viscosity of each.
California Academy of Science
Building Better Buses: Transportation Design Challenges
Scholars learn about a series of three challenges when they design a bus system for a small town. They determine the bus routes and then figure out the best type of fuel to use before considering the cost of going electric. Learners...
Rainforest Alliance
Climate Educator Guide
Climate change is a hot topic in the news. Class members examine carbon dioxide data to analyze trends of our atmospheric makeup over time. They also discuss climate and climate change, and determine how these changes are affecting life...
Science 4 Inquiry
Musical Vibes with Palm Pipes
Ancient people used musical pipes as early as the third millennium BCE. Young scientists explore the workings of musical pipes to better understand the relationship with frequency, length of pipe, and sound waves. They determine the...
California Academy of Science
Optimal and Sustainable: Renewable Energy Revamp
More than 100 cities around the world have shifted from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Scholars investigate a city wanting to make this switch, but needs help determining how to make the shift. Groups consider all options,...
US Department of Energy
Thermodynamics—Teacher Guide
I'm so cool! No, you're exothermic. This thermodynamics lab unit includes an introduction, teacher demonstrations, six labs that students rotate through each class day, homework assignments, application of knowledge, and...
Curated OER
Task: Range of Motion
If you have ever injured your shoulder, you know it takes a while to improve your arm's range of motion. In this real-world example, young mathematicians gain insight into the world of physical therapy while they analyze a case study...