When you don't follow the rules, bad things can happen! Kick off your next lab safety lesson using a resource from the K20 Center. Pupils partner up to decipher MSDS for common lab chemicals, brainstorm common safety rules and their...

It's better to be safe than sorry ... just ask Timmy! Engage learners with a hilarious lab safety review activity. The lesson, part of the K20 series, revolves around identifying, describing, and remediating disastrous lab practices.

Can science put an end to the poaching of endangered species? Show your young forensic experts how biotechnology can help save wildlife through an exciting electrophoresis lab. Grouped pupils analyze shark DNA to determine if it came...

This is your brain on drugs ... literally! Your neuroscientists-in-training examine the evidence of drug use on the human brain and how neurons change their connectivity when altered by drugs. They then work together to create testing...

Avoiding lab safety rules will not give you super powers. The lesson plan opens with a demonstration of not following safety rules. Then, young chemists practice their lab safety while finding the mass of each item in a mixture and...

Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...

Do you think the lab smells like rotten eggs? Sorry to hear about your sulfering. A set of five experiments covers many different topics including seasons, gravity, food, precipitation, and photosynthesis. Though not presented as a...

Computer-interfaced motion detectors are required to carry out this inquiry. It is a new twist on exploring motion with plunger carts: they are set back-to-back and then propelled away from each other. Their velocities are measured, and...

Don't let the term, "slotted wood board" detract you from the value of this experiment. Class members tie a string to a cart and, with even horizontal force, drag it up an inclined plane. The objective is to compare the work done with...

Milk does a body good ... unless, of course, someone is lactose intolerant. Pupils play the role of pharmaceutical scientists in a guided inquiry lab about lactase. Lab groups collaborate to learn more about lactose intolerance, how...

How did scientists determine the cause of illness before technology? Science scholars play the role of medical researcher in an engaging guided inquiry activity. Using observations, technical reading, and Punnett squares, learners...

Engage young scientists in the upper-elementary and middle school grades with this collection of simple experiments. Whether you're teaching about heat transfer, density, or potential energy this resource has a lab for you.

Dracula isn't the only one who needs blood to survive. The eight-part unit includes seven lessons, five demonstrations, seven labs, and a project to organize a blood drive. Class members learn about the parts of...

Sometimes science lab can be ... delicious! Middle school science scholars extract DNA from strawberries and other fruits in an engaging lab activity. The teacher's guide includes pacing, materials list, and worksheets with answer keys.

How can removing water change the color of a substance? Lab partners remove the water of crystallization from hydrated copper (II) sulfate, record their observations, then rehydrate the solid. The resource is printable and contains ideas...

Immerse your chemistry class in the world of organic chemistry! Science scholars isolate acetaminophen from an over-the-counter sample during an intense and interesting lab. Groups use many different separation and analysis techniques to...

What do budding scientists know about moles and reactions? Using an attention-grabbing lab experiment, young scholars collect data to apply the law of conservation of mass to predict the mass of gaseous products. They examine several...

Through a PowerPoint presentation and the embedded animation and video, earth science enthusiasts find out about the moisture in the soil beneath our feet. In the animation, follow a water molecule on its path through the water cycle. As...

Using helium as an example of propane, physical science middle schoolers experiment with and graph the relationship between temperature and volume in gases. In a whole-class demonstration, they show how molecules behave under different...

How do green plastics reduce waste and environmental pollution? Budding scientists create and test a variety of compounds used in green plastics during an insightful experiment. Beginning with startling statistics and ending with...

The history of science instruction at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is the focus of a lesson that explores the early challenges these institutions faced in accessing equipment for their labs and instructors for...

Get big results out of a small-scale lab! Young chemists observe the electrolysis of sodium sulfate using a microscale experiment. A colorful indicator solution combined with the production of gas bubbles yields a variety of observations...

Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this lesson on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical science...

Laughter may be the best medicine, but aspirin is also important. Young chemists analyze aspirin tablets using titration in this lab experiment. They then repeat the entire experiment using a different aspirin brand.