All of the people in your class would agree that life would be different without the invention of the telephone! Study Alexander Graham Bell's most famous and influential invention through the primary source document of his...

How do you measure surface tension? The fifth installment of a nine-part series is an experiment where young scientists use tubes of different sizes to measure surface tension. They calculate the average and standard deviation of the...

Let's get a closer look at DNA and other molecular structures. The first lesson plan in the series of four introduces a variety of imagining techniques that engineers and scientists use to visualize molecular structures. The resource...

Present the class with a question on whether the water level of a pond will rise they take a large rock out of a boat and drop it into the pond. Groups come down on all sides of the question and try to justify their answers. The activity...

Biotechnology changes lives every day, but how did it all start? Learn about Cohen and Boyer's technique for recombinant DNA and the founding of this new scientific study. Then, scholars use the online interactive to discover how Hanahan...

Would you have done anything differently? Groups publish one-minute videos on their engineering solutions to the plastic problems. They self-reflect on their work throughout the unit. 

Scholars build robotic arms that swing back and forth and use them to collect velocity and acceleration data. To analyze the results, pupils compare data to the equations for angular velocity and centripetal acceleration.

Meet me in the tunnels. Scholars choose a tunnel entrance and mark it on their side of the cardboard. They describe the location to their partners and see if they can guess each other's locations. Punching a hole through the cardboard...

Time to test the prototype. Groups test their prototypes to the plastics problem under consideration. The results of the tests and peer feedback offer a means to refine the prototype.

Experiment with 3-D glasses to learn about stereo images and virtual reality. Scholars look at various images to determine if green/red or red/cyan glasses are preferable. They determine distances between images using the 3-D glasses and...

Groups suspend objects within layers of liquids to determine the densities of different liquids and compare them to the densities of objects calculated in Part 1. The groups then carefully test their calculations by layering the...

Introduce your high school scholars as to how to use counterclaims in argument writing. Learners explore this skill with collaborative efforts and technology. Together they explore the pros and cons of homework and develop a thesis for...

Future chemists practice laboratory techniques by creating a monochloramine solution. The objectives are to use of dilution, 9concentration, and measurement skills and to prepare a solution that will be used in a water treatment...

The left part of the boat is called what? An informative activity and accompanying slideshow presentation introduce middle schoolers to the terminology and parts associated with a sailboat.

Young engineers are instructed to design and build their own solar water heaters. Then, they calculate the efficiency and cost and compare them to commercially available models. This is a full unit for pupils to apply their knowledge.

Transform your class into a butterfly museum! Research different types of butterflies, their habitat, and life cycle. Interactive components such as PowerPoint presentations, Claymation movies, and webpages add pizzaz to the museum...

Engage young scientists in a project where high fashion meets engineering! Using foam core and hot glue, partnered pupils design and create a functional, fashionable pair of shoes. Groups then put the footwear through its paces using a...

What's the best way to learn how watersheds work? Build one! Combining engineering, the water cycle, and ecology concerns, the activity is the perfect fit for an interdisciplinary unit. Teams construct a model watershed with simple...

Help overcome challenges in eating pizza. Scholars work in groups to design a device that assists a physically handicapped person eat pizza. They build a prototype of such a device to test their designs before building. To...

You can breathe easily now that you've found a winning resource. Young biologists learn about the process of cellular respiration, primarily through teacher-led discussion and instruction. They also consider the concept of...

Introduce your class to the idea of magnetic fields around electrical wires with an activity that provides the information about the direction of a magnetic field around a wire carrying an electric current.

You can eat a solar cell? A unit on solar energy begins with a discussion about organic solar cells, followed by directions on how to build your own. After following the teacher's directions to build an anthocyanin...

Students make an eco-friendly vehicle to help make transportation better for the environment. In this transportation lesson plan, students learn how transportation inventions are bad for the environment. They then see how engineers have...

How can you teach a person about technology and engineering if he has never been exposed to the tools and devices used to create and construct? Learners with visual impairments examine a number of common tools, such as hammers, wrenches,...