Students examine Newton's three laws of motion to discover what causes it and how it changes. They conduct motion experiments by building catapults and constructing balloon rockets. Finally, they conduct peer studies correlating...

Second graders compare water conservation issues as they impact the past, present, and future in Nevada. In this water conservation lesson, 2nd graders perform and ice experiment to comprehend water collection differences. Students...

Students explore the historical event when Mansa Musa, Ruler of Mali, made the Hajj (or holy pilgrimage) to Mecca in 1324 AD. They create Web pages or PowerPoint presentations maps, charts, posters, and oral presentations with...

Young scholars explore how the Michigan Avenue Bridge works and the importance of it being perfectly balanced. They make a model of a bascule trunnion bridge and balance their bridge by calculating the weight of the necessary counter...

Class members learn how to estimate the total costs involved to design and build a bridge by including design, material, equipment, and labor costs. The activity includes a discussion about the trade-off between cost and aesthetics.

A little too much strain could cause a lot of stress. Groups conduct a strength test on clay. Using books as weights, pupils measure the compression of clay columns and calculate the associated strain and stress. Teams record their...

Bridge young mathematicians' knowledge of engineering and design. Pupils use two desks and a plastic sheet to simulate a bridge. After learning about energy transformations, they use available materials to design a sensor that detects...

Teams use the design process to design, build, and test a model levee to protect the town from a wall of water. A handout provides a price list for the materials learners can use to build their levee within a budget.

Differentiated instruction through leveled learning contracts boosts scholars' knowledge of volume and capacity. Participants split into three groups based on ability and interest before choosing three activities from their learning...

Young scholars examine the bridges of the United States. They discuss the concept of balance. They draw their own design of a suspension bridge.

Learners study bridges and design and build their own. They explore different types of bridges and build a basic beam bridge in pairs. After creating their beam bridge, they design a truss bridge and then build a suspension bridge and...

Students design a bridge. In this science lesson, students research different types of bridges and create a bridge using marshmallows, toothpicks and construction paper.

Students explore bridges and how they are constructed. After reviewing materials on bridges, they work in groups to record their findings. They design and construct a bridge using K'NEX or straws and predict which bridge will hold the...

Students build a model of a bridge and test the amount of weight it support. They identify different types of bridges: suspension, arch, girder, truss, cantilever, cable-stayed and moveable.

Students investigate making strong structures from paper. In this paper bridge activity, students experiment making bridges out of paper. Students fold paper many different ways to test its strength. Students discuss what they tried and...

Several times throughout history, groups of soldiers marching in rhythm across a suspension bridge have caused it to collapse. Scholars experiment with pendulums, resonance, and force to determine why this would happen. First, pupils...

Analogies are a great tool for teaching word relationships. For this instructional activity, learners complete 10 analogies using the bridge sentences provided to help them make the correct connections.

Positive and negative may be opposites, but what does that have to do with the words clean and filthy? Ask your pupils to consider word relationships as they complete the 10 analogies presented here. Note that the exercise gradually...

Junior oceanographers access the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Shipwreck Database and plot the locations of several shipwrecks. Shipwrecks are always an enthralling subject and this activity allows your learners to act as...

El Niño sure creates a stir when it comes around! Why not stir up your earth science class with this data analysis activity that examines the temperature and precipitation over the 2002-2003 water year. A tracking chart is provided...

Using photographs and a coral reef identification key, junior marine biologists compare changes in coral cover for a No-Take Area and the surrounding unprotected area. The data that is collected is then analyzed for richness,...

A plethora of information about the blue crabs of Chesapeake Bay will amaze and delight your marine biologists. They learn, through direct instruction, about the characteristics and life cycle of this fascinating arthropod. A highlight...

Introduce your mini-marine biologists to using databases. Tables of how many Chilean Sea Bass were caught and number of hours spent fishing are examined. Using the data, individuals calculate the "Catch per Unit of Effort" for each year....

Get your junior oceanographers to generate tidal prediction graphs on an interactive website. They will feel like experts in the field, or shall we say, experts in the ocean! This is a brief, but worthwhile activity that could be used to...