Introduce your class to Mars with a resource that provides information about its size, location, length of day, length of year, number of moons, and average temperature. Also includes is information about the lans for past...

Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...

What do Newton's Laws have to do with getting from Earth to Mars?The activities in this resource show how Newton's Laws work with rockets to get them into space. Background information includes facts about orbits and how orbits...

Create a scaled model of our solar system in your classroom! Scholars work collaboratively to build paper mache planets and hang them in their proper position to showcase each planet's location in the solar system.   

There's no need to stay inside; get out of the classroom and create a scaled map of the solar system on your playground field! In collaborative groups, scholars identify the distance between the sun and other planets, place planet...

Ever wonder why Pluto isn't considered a planet? Or how large the Earth is compared to the other inner planets? Explore the universe with a series of projects that simulate different aspects of our solar system. The activities require...

How much do you really know about our planet? Middle schoolers build up their prior knowledge about Earth, its placement in the solar system, its composition, and important geological vocabulary with an introductory earth science lesson.

How do you properly illustrate the extreme size difference between two planets—Earth and Jupiter? With the help of jellybeans, of course! Create a scale model of Jupiter's mass compared to Earth using a fishbowl, 1,400 beans, and a...

Writing a number is all in the notation. The resource introduces the class to scientific notation. Pupils learn the process of taking a very large or small number in standard form and write it in scientific notation. To practice,...

Saturn is really far away, but knowledge of its composition is within reach. Future astronomers learn how scientists use spectra to remotely determine the chemical composition of a planet or moon. They try out this concept by analyzing...

Using the Constitutional Convention as a model, learners create their own governments. Other activities to explore the American Constitution include creating posters to help explain the Bill of Rights. 

Fresh water is a precious resource. Most kids don't realize how little of the water on Earth is actually drinkable. This lesson will help to illuminate them on this important topic. They discus the ratio of water to land, where most...

Life on Earth is made possible by the unique composition of its atmosphere. Working collaboratively, a scale model is created as young scientists learn about the different layers of gas that surround the planet. Cards are included that...

You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...

Nano-nano! Nanotechnology can seem like it's from another planet! After learning about this tiny technology, collaborative groups experiment with how smaller particles affect chemical reactions. They do this by immersing a whole and a...

Volcanoes are among the most spectacular geological features on the planet. Jump into an exploration of these amazing phenomenon with this multimedia lesson plan series. Working collaboratively in small groups, young scientists view...

Groups of three scientists from the rocky planet Zog investigate the composition of soil so that they can take the information back to their home, create soil there, and begin to grow food.

Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...

Pluto, although no longer considered a planet, has five moons. Pluto's moon, Charon, is the focus of a resource that describes how the moon is viewed from the surface of Pluto. Photos help individuals see how Charon would look at...

Can you name the three planets with rings in our solar system? Everyone knows Saturn, many know Uranus, but most people are surprised to learn that Jupiter also has a ring. The third in a series of six teaches pupils what is around...

Is the ocean blue at all depths? Nope! Explore the science behind the light spectrum in deep, dark waters. The activity recommends watching The Blue Planet: Open Ocean—The Deep, but it's not integral, or you can substitute another clip....

A growing demand for sustainable food systems comes from schools and even some cities. So what are some solutions? Scholars consider four different ways to approach sustainable food solutions and list the pros and cons of each. The fifth...

Scientists discovered the first exoplanet in 1995 and by early 2018, they confirmed the existence of more than 3,700—that's a lot of data! As part of the PBS 9-12 Space series, scholars interpret data about exoplanets. They compare...

Help your class understand the design challenges when trying to land a remote spacecraft on a planet. Class members examine the provided information to understand how each component of a spacecraft is designed in order to safely land a...