Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.

Hate to vacuum, but enjoy using a vacuum pump? Explore a instructional activity that starts with a demonstration of boiling water at various temperatures by using a vacuum pump. Then scholars design their own experiments to measure vapor...

Explore human anatomy and physiology using models. Scholars study systems of the human body and design a display for a museum exhibit. To complete the activity, individuals create analogous models of their chosen human body systems.

Students extend their understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and testing of ships. students discover that most ships are constructed very similarly-whether they are schooners or destroyers.

It's time to go to Mars. Using the provided cards and mat, groups design a mission to Mars. The cards contain information about the different components of the launch and warn about a few mishaps that might occur along the way.

Pasta is great for cooking—and for making Ferris wheels. Aspiring engineers use an assortment of pasta types to create a functioning Ferris wheel. They keep track of the design process to refine their designs, if necessary. Let's hope no...

Litmus paper, why so blue? A chemistry lesson includes a pre-lab activity, practice calculating pH, an experiment measuring the pH in acids and bases, a titration demonstration, and a titration experiment. 

There's an app for that! Pupils learn to build an app that will store data on an Android. The lesson introduces class members to the tiny database, TinyDB, for Android devices. A video tutorial provides an example that uses the...

Experimental design can make or break an experiment. Young scholars analyze the pulse-chase analysis procedure by studying the Meselson-Stahl experiment. Using a video presentation, they discover how the pulse-chase analysis led to the...

Teach the class how to use a microscope to identify bacteria in food. Scholars explore the different parts of the microscope and learn how to determine total magnification. They walk step-by-step through the procedure of preparing slides...

Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine...

Examine the nature of landfills through experimentation. Scholars build miniature landfills and monitor changes over a six-week period. Observations allow individuals to draw conclusions about the different types of trash and their...

No chemistry lab? No problem! Scholars use a virtual lab to determine the solubility product of four different chemicals. They then use the results of their experiments to see if higher solubility product values equal greater solubility.

A set of instructions and a 100-point grading rubric have been designed for writing lab reports. Appropriate for middle schoolers, this lays out what to include for each of the six steps in the scientific method: title, hypothesis,...

Students reinforce science concepts learned throughout the year using Movie Maker. Eighth grade students work with fourth grade students in which they create a movie project about a science topic after completing a graphic organizer.

Eighth graders discuss the flight of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. They study artwork of various sculptors showing the concept of flight. They write a paragraph and design a papier-mache' sculpture that shows movement.

Levitation tricks have been documented from the early 1900s, so how do they do it? Scholars learn about the force of magnetism in an attractive resource. They watch videos and design experiments to understand the strength and...

Use an exciting role play activity to teach young chemists about the importance of heat transfer in maintaining homeostasis. They assume the role of a dog sled owner who has been abandoned and must fend for themselves with only a...

In collaborative groups, emerging engineers or environmental scientists plan and construct a water wheel or watermill that rotates for a total of three minutes. Everything you need to carry out this instructional activity is included:...

Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net...

When you have a cold drink and you notice the water forming on the outside, it is literally pulling the water from the surrounding air to form the condensation. After watching a demonstration of condensation forming on a glass,...

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...

What did the sea say to the boat? Nothing, it just waved. An inquiry-based lesson starts with a simple concept on the Archimedes Principle and challenges pupils to make something out of clay that floats. Then, they design...

Young scientists learn how to select a scale factor for a large scale model. Then they figure the scale for each of the planets and the distance between them. Finally, they construct a giant scale model of the solar system and answer...