Students study the physical properties of the Moon.  In this life on the moon lesson students describe the ways life on the Moon would be different than on Earth. 

Analyzing and interpreting satellite data takes knowledge and patience. Through a detailed lab investigation, young scholars learn the process of analyzing this data. They use technology to create color images and maps from real...

Temperature rises and land disappears! Through a lab exploration, learners understand the effect of temperature increase on water similar to the effect of global warming on our oceans. As they heat the water in a flask, they measure the...

How quickly does light travel long distances? A short video simulates light going from the earth to the moon at two different paces. Scholars relate the distance to the rate to understand which simulation is correct.

How much does the sun heat up a lake or ocean? Scholars use a cup and a strong lamp to investigate the heat transfer and thermal layers in the ocean to come up with the answer. They collect data and graph it in order to better understand...

In a nose-cone to nose-cone competition, which rocket will prevail? Teams form rocket companies to design and build a rocket while competing against other teams in an economic challenge. The team that comes up with the best benefit/cost...

Fifteen detailed pictures and informative captions delve deep into the exploration of stars—their life cycle and importance in the universe. 

Introduce your class to air masses and how they affect the weather with a lesson that focuses on the differences between high and low air pressure systems. The class explores actual weather data using archived weather data.

Time is growing short. Teams work together to identify physical properties of rocks in order to determine the properties that would best suit their cavern shelter design.

Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...

A somewhat amusing assignment, this instructional activity lists statements that an ancient organism may have made and asks learners to determine what geologic era that each may have lived in. It uses witty word puzzles and...

Students hypothesize the location of the sun in the sky at diferent times of day and at different latitudes. They perform several experiments to provide evidence for their hypothesis. Experiments including observing the sun's position at...

Students examine the benefits of the space program to our life on earth.  In this space exploration lesson students participate in a lab, answer questions and study radar mapping. 

Eighth graders explore and discuss the various space exploration missions.  In this space mission lesson students work in pairs and create a PowerPoint presentation on the contributions of space exploration missions. 

In this Earth worksheet, students read about Earth's gravity, the reason the Earth has seasons, and time zones. Then students complete 21 multiple choice, 2 true or false, and 1 short answer question.

Students examine stars and constellations. In this space science lesson, students visit selected websites to discover information about the classification of stars. Students also practice identifying constellations.

Eighth graders research Native American legends involving the sun, moon, and stars and compare them to the origin of present day knowledge. They create a written report and make an oral presentation of their findings to the class.

Eighth graders describe and identify the three layers of the Earth. They work together to construct their own earth model. They share their creation with the class.

Learners study wind and its effect on weather.  For this investigative lesson students write a report on wind and weather and create a movement sequence. 

Young scholars investigate the celestial sphere and circumpolar motion. In this science lesson, students view an applet, The Celestial Sphere and Circumpolar Motion. Young scholars discuss the Earth's rotation and stellar movement.

Learners construct a simple radio telescope. In this astronomy lesson, students explain how this telescope works and what information it collects.

Students explore the potential challenges of living in space.  In this investigative lesson students search the Internet to locate 16 nations that are working together to build the Independent Space Station, then they divide into...

Students observe pictures taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. From a given website, students observe images of the Einstein Cross, Black Eye Galaxy, Hoag's Object, merging and interacting galaxies and more. This lesson plan gives a...

In this north and south magnetic poles worksheet, students read about the presence of auroras over the earth's magnetic poles as opposed to the geographic poles. Students use 2 photographs taken by the IMAGE FUV and the Polar instruments...