In this lesson plan, students will learn about kites and gliders and how these models can help in understanding the concept of flight. Students will design and build their own balsa wood models and experiment with different control...

Students will work in teams to design and construct outdoor air pollution detectors from everyday items. They will then test the designs for presence of pollutants in the air and communicate their results to the class.

As Charlotte uses her web to communicate, the students will also create a web to send a small message. The students will learn how a spider creates its web, and about the different types of webs spiders make. With this knowledge, the...

This resource offers short animated videos, interactive activities, and a collection of articles and links about the major issues surrounding sustainable agriculture and factory farming. Such topics discussed are pollution, animal...

Students learn about complex networks and how to use graphs to represent them. They also learn that graph theory is a useful part of mathematics for studying complex networks in diverse applications of science and engineering, including...

Students simulate disease transmission by collecting data based on their proximity to other students. One option for measuring proximity is by having Bluetooth devices "discover" each other. After data is collected, students apply graph...

Building on their understanding of graphs, students are introduced to random processes on networks. They walk through an illustrative example to see how a random process can be used to represent the spread of an infectious disease, such...

Learn about the traits of an engineer which include being good at math and science as well as being a creative thinker and good communicator.

Young scholars use simple materials to design and make model sailboats that must stay upright and sail straight in a testing tank.

Students work in teams to design a tabletop supply organizer inspired by the natural home of an insect species. Their prototype stores the group's classroom supplies (scissors, crayon boxes, pencils, and glue sticks). In addition to...

Read all about the Internet: connection, connection speeds, searching the web, what to do on the Internet, chat rooms and newsgroups, and its impact. Then take an interactive quiz to test your understanding.

An entertaining site that communicates ideas through cartoon drawings. Discover how simple machines and gadgets operate, such as fax machines and washing machines.

Explores how the Romans built and used their roads, how they were able to travel using ships and also what writing instruments they used.

Sound the alarm! Fire alarms and fire trucks are perfect examples of communicating with light and sound. Students will begin to understand the engineering principles behind why fire alarms and fire engines use both light and sound to...

Read about the remarkable actress Hedy Lamarr who, together with composer George Antheil, invented a technology that used frequency hopping to improve the effectiveness of Allied torpedoes during WWII. Their invention was not put into...

Start thinking about how to help make the world a safer place by studying biotechnology, in particular proteomics and genome study.

SPRK STEM challenges are fun, interactive activities that challenge students to use creativity and team-work to move through simple steps of the design process in order to build Sphero-based creations. In this challenge students will...

This instructional activity guides students to learn the science behind cloning, explore the benefits and consequences of human cloning, and communicate their knowledge and points of view.

A big name for a big job, the network systems and data communications analyst works with computer networks within companies. Science Buddies offers a career profile outlining the many duties of the systems analyst as well as the...

Welcome to Martha's STEM Stories! STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. You may already know that doing STEM means testing ideas, collecting data, making calculations, and drawing graphs and charts-but you...

Major support for Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This is a collection of four video lessons about Hedy Lamarr including her acting career and her inventions. Teaching materials are included.

What does innovation look like, and how can one generate innovative ideas in the classroom? This collection is built around "design thinking" and is intended to help educators and learners explore the invention of real, practical...

In this activity, learners work in teams with a range of materials to choose from to design and build a mobile that warns birds away from a window or a building.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has jurisdiction over several areas. Come and find out more about this powerful committee by checking out this resource.