Get kids' heads spinning by challenging them to design a top that will rotate for a minimum of 10 seconds without leaving a 30-cm circle. Groups of learners collaborate through a planning stage, testing stage, and evaluation stage. Some...

Harness the awesome power of gravity. Scholars build a zip line to transport a ping-pong ball. The challenge is to get to the finish line in under four seconds. At that speed, individuals better be sure to strap on the harness!

Eating healthy can be a challenge, especially for people with special dietary needs. After learning about standard nutritional needs for adults, learners take on the role of a dietician and work together to create a menu for one of the...

Pretend to be an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Detectives deal with data and make decisions to determine the dawn of the disease!

In this summer challenge worksheet, student choose the correct answer from the four choices they are given in 9 examples. They choose from ideas and items related to summer in each one.

Host a design challenge of Olympic proportion! Junior engineers build their own bobsleds using simple materials. The activity focuses on kinetic and potential energy and how the center of mass affects motion on a downhill track....

Construction leads to habitat loss and local wildlife suffers. Scholars must build a reptile egg incubation device that meets many constraints. Various experiments help them discover the chemical reaction needed to reach...

In this weather worksheet, students use a weather map to answer ten questions about the information found on a weather map and what the symbols mean. They find the cities with the highest and lowest temperature as well as the cities...

What a festive way to examine what happens to the heart in different gravitational situations! Small groups place a water-filled balloon in different locations (on a table top, in a tub of water, and held in a vertical position), drawing...

Two scenarios are presented for chemistry detectives to decipher. Both require the use of an infrared spectrometer and focus on the examination of polymer materials. In the first, lumps in polyethylene bottles are analyzed. In the...

What's cooking? A sizzling STEM unit challenges scholars to build a solar cooker that can successfully cook an egg. The unit opens with a study of Earth's rotation, the sun's energy, and shadows. Pupils use a compass and thermometer to...

How many pennies can an aluminum foil boat hold? That is the challenge in a collaborative activity designed to explore the concept of buoyancy. Learners use aluminum foil to build makeshift boats and test the weight they hold before...

Students investigate the characteristics of simple machines. In this simple machine lesson, students investigate work as a product of applying constant force. They answer questions about what happens on Earth and what may have happened...

Young scholars discuss the benefits of the International Space Station. They evaluate the challenges the designers faced when trying to design the space station. Students discuss the use of scale models when designing large structures...

Students explore the challenges that are faced when transporting materials into space. They review the various forms of energy, including solar arrays, that are used on the International Space Station and how generating this energy calls...

Motion is the focus of ten hands-on activities that challenge scholars to build machines invented by Leonardo da Vinci. Following several steps, small groups work collaboratively to recreate machines including levers, pulleys, wheels,...

How does a scuba diver control whether they sink or float? Scholars observe the relationship between absolute pressure and depth below the surface in an undersea simulation. They control the diver size and depth to center of mass to...

Is this the end of the world as we know it? Pupils prepare for a coronal mass ejection during a lesson from the K20 Center. The activity combines video and Internet research in a collaborative assignment that focuses on public safety...

In this science challenge worksheet, students construct a parachute that will have the longest time in seconds and best accuracy when dropped from a predetermined height. Then they use the formula given to determine the calculations.

How much does your class know about the relationship between climate change and carbon dioxide? Science scholars explore the nature of greenhouse gases and rising ocean temperature through demonstrations, research, and experiments. The...

In this starfish activity worksheet, students respond to 10 multiple choice questions that require them to exhibit the knowledge they have regarding starfish.

Can you use X-rays to measure bone mineral density? This is the essential question that learners must answer in the first installment of a seven-part series. They brainstorm ideas about necessary background information and what they...

In this magnets worksheet, students read 11 definitions that pertain to magnets. From four choices, students choose the word that matches each meaning.