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.

What's cooking? A sizzling STEM unit challenges scholars to build a solar cooker that can successfully cook an egg. The unit opens with a study of Earth's rotation, the sun's energy, and shadows. Pupils use a compass and thermometer to...

Whether you want to heat things up in science class or cool things down a bit, an intriguing lab's got you covered! Science scholars explore the principles of thermodynamics using a solar oven, then change the conditions to turn their...

Amateurs of alternative energy build a mini parabolic-trough solar energy collector and use it to heat water. Temperature is recorded over a three-minute period and the data is graphed and analyzed. Note that in order to paint aquarium...

Encourage self-awareness with a lesson that challenges scholars to identify feelings—happy, sad, mad, and scared. Using a feelings thermometer, similar to that of a bar graph, pupils discuss how they would feel in specific scenarios then...

What is the difference between weather and climate? This is the focus question of a activity that takes a deeper look at how weather data helps determine climate in a region. Using weather and climate cards, learners decide...

Transform your classroom into a fully functioning weather station with this series of hands-on investigations. Covering the topics of temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and cloud formation, these activities engage young...

Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis...

There's nothing negative about this mini-unit on integers! Engaging young mathematicians in a series of hands-on activities and collaborative learning opportunities, this resource offers an excellent way to introduce your class...

Why do some items feel colder when they are the same temperature? How should you keep your soda cold? What makes the wind blow? These are just some of the things middle schoolers discover when completing a instructional...

What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...

Atmosphere aces investigate the microclimates that exist within a larger area. They use a thermometer to record temperature variations and identify microclimates on a map they have drawn. This exercise helps them to understand that...

The heat of solution measures how much thermal energy a dissolving substance consumes or gives off. The experiment demonstrates both endothermic and exothermic reactions. Scholars dissolve several substances, measure the temperature...

Learn to forecast the weather using cloud types. Budding meteorologists identify cloud types and learn to use a dichotomous key. As scholars develop observation and identification skills, they discover how different cloud types cause...

Measure the temperature of your math class with a temperature-based lesson plan on adding and subtracting rational numbers. The thermometer serves as a vertical number line for learners as they work together to solve a temperature change...

Physical science learners conduct a simple experiment using the heat of their hands to affect the fluid pressure. They place a balloon atop a freezing cold bottle and observe what occurs as it warms up. Both activities demonstrate how...

This cool lesson plan is ideal for elementary engineers or physical scientists, especially when learning about heat transfer and insulation. After reading a page of background information, engineering teams collaborate to design and...

How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...

Heat up some interest in solar energy. Young engineers create a water heater that runs on solar power (simulated by a lamp). Using thermometers, they determine the change in temperature before and after the water goes through the heater.

Discover firsthand the effects of internal waves on coral reefs. Through a series of experiments, learners simulate internal waves and upwelling events as they make observations on the movement of water and other debris. They then...

Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a lesson about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather patterns and...

Mars, Earth, and Venus contain atmospheres that generate weather. Young scientists explore the temperature of inner planets. They create a model simulating the greenhouse effect before researching and answering guided questions to...

Is there more to evaporation than just less liquid? Show young scientists the energy transformation that occurs during a phase change through a series of simple experiments. Lab partners place drops of water, ethanol, and ethoxyethane on...

Now that learners have been exposed to chemical changes, they learn that some take in heat and therefore, decrease in temperature. The same reaction that they have been investigating between baking soda and vinegar is revisited,...