Young scientists gain a better understanding of space, the solar system and its vastness by creating a scale model. Students first need to calculate the distance between each of the nine planets according to the size of their scale. This...

Learn about damage associated with earthquakes and materials that best withstand a quake. A lab engages class members in the experimental design and construction of sturdy structures that can endure various earthquake...

Fourth graders draw a rough floor plan of a house to scale without using a ruler to determine measurements. They see how architects use scale to draw blueprints, and solve math problems using scale.

Students determine how much it would cost to build a pyramid using modern materials and ancient methods. They design scale drawings, models and submit final cost bids in an attempt to get the job of building a pyramid.

Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...

Students examine composition of dirty bomb and its possible effects on a city, and investigate simulations of such an event; students use computational and problem solving skills to assess damage and prepare report proposing solution to...

Students construct a cross section diagram showing elevation changes on a "cookie island." Using a chocolate chip cookie for an island, they locate the highest point in centimeters on the cookie and create a scale in feet. After tracing...

Young scholars examine the functions of the kidney and its place in the urinary system. They discuss how astronauts go the bathroom in space, examine labeled diagrams of the urinary system, and draw a large scale drawing of the...

Learners culminate a unit on measurement with a focus on area and perimeter. They design a floor plan of their dream room on graph paper showing the proper area and perimeter. They plan the budget for their room and make a 3-D scale...

A benthic habitat hosts a vast collection of organisms and its structure influences the biodiversity. Middle-school marine biology explorers will discuss how corals impact structure, and therefore diversity, on the ocean floor. They draw...

Students use compasses and grids to map the locations of artifacts found in a simulated dig site. In groups, they role-play as future archeologists excavating a school site. Groups begin at their assigned datum and site the artifacts...

Eighth graders identify and explain what Bernoulli's Principle is and draw diagrams to incorporate Pascal. They also perform simple calculations of density, buoyancy, and fluid pressure. Finally, 8th graders describe fluid pressure in...

Students make model caverns out of paper mache or clay. They bury them in a tray of sand, and test the models by dropping balls into them simulating as asteroid hitting the earth. They discuss the results of the activity in a whole class...