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Minerals vs. Rocks
Fourth graders are introduced to the characteristics of a variety of minerals and rocks. As a class, they are shown rocks and minerals and asked to describe them as a geologist would. They work together to measure and record their...
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Cell Energy-Bubbling Plants
Middle schoolers discuss the process of photosynthesis in plants and that oxygen is produced as a by product. They observe underwater Elodea plants "breathing" in a hands-on activity. After setting up the experiment, they observe the...
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As a Matter of Fact
Students rotate through various hands-on experiment stations to explore the concept and properties of different types of matter. They compare some properties of solids, liquids and gases and describe how matter changes from one state to...
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What Do You Know!
Students experiment using a compass for navigation and consider how various instruments affect how we travel.
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Matter Matters!
Second graders experiment with heating and cooling and research the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas).
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See How They Grow: Plants And Their Parts
Young scholars discuss what plants require in order to grow, identify plant parts and their functions and discuss a video about plants. They conduct a controlled experiment with bean seeds and then record and observe the bean plants.
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Paper Clip Walk
Fifth graders investigate the behavior of magnetism using magnets. They discuss magnetic force, and conduct an experiment, testing how many paper plates can be stacked together before the force of the magnetic field no longer affects a...
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Phototaxis
Young scholars conduct lab experiment to answer the question: How will starving Dictyostelium Discoideum Slugs respond to white light? They determine whether the slugs are attracted to or repelled by the light.
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The Peanut Wizard
Peanuts inspire this lesson about George Washington Carver, called The Peanut Wizard in the included informational text. Class members read about peanuts and George Washington Carver and create a timeline of his life. In addition, pupils...
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Respiratory Attack Tag
Students experiment with the alveoli by showing how nicotine, tar and carbon dioxide can affect the lungs. They role play being nicotine, carbon dioxide, tar, alveoli and cough.
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Activity #8 Simulation of Oil Spills
Young scholars conduct an experiment to simulate an oil spill and identify the characteristics of oil in water. They evaluate the effectiveness of various cleanup methods. They discuss the how to clean up an oil spill, and what causes...
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Greenhouse Gas Lab
Young scholars compare the ability of a sample of carbon dioxide gas to
absorb thermal energy compared to a sample of air. They build a visual representation of the greenhouse effect to illustrate the heat-absorption of
atmospheric...
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Cartesian Diver Lab
In this Cartesian diver lab, students explain using text and diagrams how the Cartesian diver works. Students evaluate ways in making their lab design better. Students make predictions of how changing the variable would change the...
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Newton's Third Law of Motion
Learners explore Newton's 3rd Law of Motion. In this physics instructional activity, students participate in various experiments that demonstrate the idea of action/reaction, such as a balloon launch, a skateboard activity, and a spring...
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Rotten Truth
Students complete activities to study decomposition. In this decomposition lesson, students work in pairs to observe a decay buffet experiment. Students keep compost bag journals. Students define and discuss the process of decomposition.
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The Water Cycle
Students explore the water cycle. In this water cycle lesson, students experiment with a variety of activities to discover what happens during the water cycle. Students create their own animated versions of the water cycle...
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Desert Habitat
Students examine how desert plants and animals are adapted to life in the desert. They listen to the book, "Seasons of Saguaro," conduct experiments to demonstrate plant succulence, and create and draw an animal or plant that...
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Salinity
Learners define and discuss salinity, conduct classroom experiment to determine salinity of water sample by using hydrometer, record predictions, and demonstrate understanding of how salinity influences object's ability to float in water.
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Newton's Second Law of Motion with Balance Toys
Students discuss acceleration and deceleration and participate in brief demonstrations of the Second Law of Motion. They apply the law to a metal balance toy and a plastic balance toy by applying the same force then with different forces.
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Periodic Table of the Elements
First graders discuss, at their level, the concept of elements making up all matter. They discover the story of Dimitri Mendeleev and his discovery of the Periodic Table of the Elements. They locate and color some of the most common...
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Energy: Light -- Spinning Color Wheel
Second graders make spinning color wheels to determine how energy effects what colors look like. They paint or color a color wheel with the seven colors of the spectrum. Next, the spin the wheel to determine what happens. In order to...
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Air: You Cant See It, But Its There!
First graders state that air occupies space by performing experiments that show this principle.
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Science: Breathing in Space
Pupils determine the amount of air they use during rest and activity. They conduct experiments to calculate the number of breaths needed to empty a jug of water by exhaling through a tube into the container. Then, they figure how much...