What exactly are those glowing eyes in the night? Learners run an experiment to attract local wildlife and then document the number of visitors by identifying their tracks. They then analyze the data to draw conclusions about the types...

When we think of ocean exploration, many of us have visions of sunken pirate ships full of treasure or mysterious creatures of the deep. What really motivates deep-sea investigation? The first in a series of diverse six-part lessons...

Give your pupils a front row seat at the biggest light show in the sky this year! In addition to admiring the total solar eclipse, young astronomers can explain the phenomenon with a little help from an inquiry-based activity. The focus...

This physics pun really hertz, but this STEM lesson plan can help. The inquiry-based activity has young scientists create a testable question about electromagnetic strength; plan and implement their own experiments; and record and...

Believe it or not, biodiversity exists even in areas of disturbed habitat. An interactive activity challenges learners to look for species with a magnifying lens in an image of a city habitat. Pop-up images and descriptions explain how...

Arthropods are the stars of a fine science lesson. Learners look at the diversity, characteristics, adaptations, and important roles that these insects play in the Sonoran Desert environment. A terrific document called "Amazing...

Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...

A video about the impact of climate change on butterfly populations and a PowerPoint about butterfly and bird adaptations warm science learners up for the activity to follow. Using a variety of tools that reprsent unique styles of bird...

Investigate Hawaii's sandy shore ecosystem! Start by creating a vocabulary list and having your class complete a KWL chart. Next, pass out the "I think of" sheet. Each learner will then choose a word from a beach bucket and add it to...

Can you move like a photon? Young scholars use a maze to reproduce the straight line motion of a photon. The second in a six-part series of lessons on the sun has learners measure angle of incidence and refraction to determine the path...

It's getting hot in here! The first in a series of six lessons has learners model nuclear fusion with a simple lab investigation. Groups collect data and analyze results, comparing their models to the actual process along the way.

Second graders will study and explain the meaning of growth, development, and life cycle. They describe how plants grow and develop and observe an animal to show how it grows, changes, and reproduces throughout its life.

Teach the basics of mass spectrometry with a hands-on lesson. The fourth in a series of six lessons explores how mass spectrometry measures the ionic composition of an element. Learners then compare and contrast relative abundance and...

Be at the top of the food chain when it comes to understanding marine ecosystems. The 21st installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates marine ecosystems, ocean zones, and food...

Over several days, learners communicate and defend an argument regarding environmental justice issues in Chester, PA. After discussing the issue and viewing a video about the location of several toxic waste facilities in Chester, they...

Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...

Learners will love a weeks worth of bone study. They use bones and characteristics of bones to explore the evolution of hominoids. Bones are compared, categorized, and considered. A great way to bring physical anthropology and material...

Small but mighty! Learners explore the role of microbes in a healthy ecosystem. An engaging instructional activity asks pupils to design an aquaponics system that demonstrates that healthy microbes are necessary to maintain the ecosystem.

Why read about it when you can watch it happen? Bird cams make it possible for learners to experience the life cycle of a bird in real time! An engaging set of lessons provides activities to connect their learning to bird cam...

Using a miniature coral reef aquarium kit, young ecologists model this unique ecosystem. They research various coral reef organisms and their niches, and they culminate the project by working together to write a report. Use this activity...

Consider our energy sources: wood, coal, oil, uranium. Learners compare the pollution to energy produced for each. They practice fractional distillation of an alcohol/water mixture to simulate the process of refining crude oil....

To understand the impact coal mining has on the environment, pupils will extract chocolate chips from a cookie. Imagine the cookie is the environment and the chips are the coal. Instruct them to mine as many chips as they can, then have...

What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them. 

Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...