Curated OER
Making Regolith
You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...
Curated OER
Food for Spaceflight
When astronauts get hungry in outer space, they can't just call and have a pizza delivered. In order to gain an appreciation for the challenges associated with space travel, young learners are given the task of selecting,...
Curated OER
Planetary Place Value
Third graders explore place value to the ten thousands place. This incredibly thorough, 24-page lesson has learners construct, order, and compare numbers to 9,999. This three-day lesson includes reteaching and extension activities...
PHET
Planet Designer: Retro Planet Red
What does the atmosphere on Mars look like? This fourth lesson in the series of five is designed for high schoolers. Scholars apply previous knowledge to add atmosphere to Mars in an online simulation. This comprehensive lesson includes...
Curated OER
Earth and Beyond!
Students investigate one or more of the following topics and develop a plan for the future regarding it: global warming, lunar exploration, space travel, Mars exploration, or terraforming. They disucss the audio files and the video that...
Curated OER
Can You Hear a Tree Fall in Space?
How does sound travel in space? Fifth graders investigate this question with a science activity, in which they research the properties of sound. Schedule a lab visit for individual Internet research, or include the activity after you...
Space Awareness
History of the Universe
Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Return to Earth: Build a Lander
Earth to all instructors: Here's a resource to use about spacecraft. After learning about gravity and air resistance, scholars create landers with padding to help capsules land safely on Earth. They test their creations by placing a raw...
NASA
What Do You Know About Mars?
Learn exciting facts about Earth's neighboring planet—Mars! Young scientists collaborate on a KWL chart about Mars, adding information as the activity progresses. Scholars listen while teachers read an article about Mars and watch...
Space Awareness
Continental Climate and Oceanic Climate
There's nothing better than a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. Scholars explore how water affects change in temperature using a hands-on experiment on climate. They use measurement tools to compare the continental and oceanic...
NASA
Moon Phases and Eclipses
Starry-eyed astronomers draw different views of the Moon in order to introduce its phases. Then they experiment with a ball and a lamp to recreate the phases. A demonstration ensures every pupil understands the process, and the...
Curated OER
Understanding the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
How did our universe really begin? Explore the Science Big Bang Theory and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) with this multiple activity-based lesson that demonstrates that the increase of density due to the decrease of temperatures,...
US Department of Energy
Building the Basic PVC Wind Turbine
Here is a comprehensive and well-written lesson plan that results in learners building a standard wind turbine. Once built, teens can design a variety of experiments to test different factors. This activity is a noble undertaking that...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Craters in the Classroom
Laws of motion apply both in space and on Earth. Young experimenters model object impact on the Earth and moon. They use data to determine the effect mass and velocity have on the resulting craters and how that relates to the energy of...
NASA
Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is...
Curated OER
Space Age Technology Comes to Earth
Both GPS and GIS are now used regularly in agricultural careers. Explore the new technologies that require higher education for those interested in agri-science careers. Upper graders examine how agriculturalists use new technologies by...
University of Colorado
Strange New Planet
The first remote sensors were people in hot air balloons taking photographs of Earth to make maps. Expose middle school learners to space exploration with the use of remote sensing. Groups explore and make observations of a new...
Space Awareness
Climate Zones
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...
NASA
Space-Based Astronomy on the Internet
Young scientists compile everything they have learned into a report in the fifth and final lesson in a unit on the visible light spectrum. Access to photos from observatories, telescopes, and satellites allows learners to compare...
Space Awareness
Measure the Solar Diameter
Scientists could measure the diameter of the sun before they knew its distance. Scholars construct a simple mirror box to measure the diameter for themselves. They compare this measurement with the official size, listed in a...
University of Colorado
Happy Landings: A Splash or a Splat?
Huygens spacecraft landed on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005, making it the farthest landing from Earth ever made by a spacecraft. In this hands-on activity, the 12th installment of 22, groups explore how density affects speed. To do this,...
Virginia Department of Education
Greenhouse Gas Modeling Activity
Why are greenhouse gases called greenhouse gases? Young Earth scientists learn about greenhouse gases though experimentation in the second installment of a 3-part series. They use lamps to model radiant energy as well...
Seussville
What Can Your Class Do?
Inspire scholars to do their part for planet Earth with a read-aloud of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, and variety of activities designed to boost the environmental activist in us all. Activities include writing poems about the Earth,...
National Science Teacher Association
Middle School Sampler: Science
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis...