Students examine water and what causes it to become hard.  In this water lesson students use the soap test and determine the mineral content and hardness of a sample of water.

Fifth graders investigate energy. In this biology lesson plan, 5th graders will learn about energy, fossil fuels, and renewable and nonrenewable resources. Students will be participating in three lab activities which are described in...

Students investigate the different levels of the rain forest by comparing it to an apartment.  In this ecology lesson plan, students practice using forest related vocabulary words and complete a vocabulary data sheet.  Students...

Students explore their senses. In this biology lesson plan, students will learn about their senses, what affects them, and how the brain works to control our senses in a series of lab activities.

That is living in the water? Groups of two to three view pond water with microscopes in order to find microorganisms. They draw pictures of the ones they find in their slides.  The groups compare their drawings to pictures of common...

What does stretching a balloon have to do with equilibrium? Groups explore preconditioning by stretching a balloon to a point of equilibrium. They then measure the amount of force required to stretch the balloon to the same point several...

What does an MRI machine have to do with a slinky? This activity challenges learners to run a current through a slinky and use a magnetic field sensor to measure the magnetic field. Groups then change the length of the slinky to see...

In this catalase activity, students read about how enzymes work in cells. Then students conduct an experiment to test for catalase activity in potatoes. This activity has 1 graph and 6 short answer questions.

Students research sharks, the food chain, and the water habitat shared by humans and sharks.

Students examine the importance of aseptic technique, become familiar with media plates, and general microbiology techniques. They study the benefits and dangers of bacteria and other microorganisms in their lives.

Students study the term photodegradability and how it applies to the 6-pack loop ring.  In this materials lesson students test photodegradability of the 6-pack plastic ring.

Students research the four geologic eras of Earth's history. In this extension on a fossils lesson, students research the different eras of Earth's history. Students use AppleWorks to create a bar graph containing information of the four...

Fourth graders experiment to determine how overpopulation effects ecosystems specifically plants. In this ecosystem lesson, 4th graders conduct an ecosystems experiment after listening to Claire Daniel's, Ecosystems. They watch a video,...

Students observe a picture containing patterns of animal tracks, infer what might have happened based upon the pattern of tracks, and write a story describing what might have happened.

Students determine where microorganisms might be found around their school. For this scientific investigation lesson, students collect cultures from various locations and place these in petri dishes. They incubate the cultures to see if...

Learners microscopically observe various subcellular components. They determine the effects of different salt solutions on Elodea plant cells. They detect the presence of chloroplasts, cell walls, and cell membranes of Elodea.

Young scholars recognize Michigan on a map and understand how its climate is affected by the Great Lakes. In this Michigan food instructional activity, students play a trivia game to identify the produce of Michigan. Young scholars...

Students explore the adaptations that birds have.  In this adaptations lesson students view a video and create a concept map of birds and their adaptive traits.

Eighth graders put their knowledge of rocks and minerals into perspective by seeing how minerals can be mined and the difficulties and costs of mining. They explore the environmental impacts of mining.

High schoolers investigate genetics and evolution of species. They simulate the breeding of birds using origami birds. In addition, using dice they introduce genetic variation into the species.

Students perform an experiment to demonstrate the principles of antibody-antigen binding, the secondary immune response, cross reactivity, and complement fixation. The materials to be used include antibodies from a rabbit that was...

Students consider the limitations of deep water oceanography and design an underwater habitat to support scientists while they complete long term studies under the ocean. In this engineering lesson, students are introduced to the...

Learners study protective coloration and camouflage in animals. They create examples of each and conduct simulation-type experiments to determine which is the most effective adaptation.

Students study the effects of water, salt water and heat on common household materials. They separate an emulsion and show that the materials are completely recoverable and observe the effect of acetone and water on polystyrene.