Turn aluminum cans into pickles! An engaging experiment has learners chemically change aluminum into a substance with many purposes including the manufacture of pickles. After performing the chemical conversion, the experimenters verify...

On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...

Students were involved in environmental service learning and they gathered information from academic buildings for a database. The data allowed them to use an establish baseline data on light use, recycling, and water fixtures in five...

Students examine energy issues. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students discuss nuclear power options. Students also discuss energy consumption and create energy reduction guides for students their own age. Many links to...

Students research how water is used to generate electricity. They investigate water's potential-to-kinetic energy transfer in hands-on activities about falling water and waterwheels. They take measurements, calculate averages and graph...

Students explore renewable energy by analyzing a diagram. In this fossil fuel lesson, students view a chart explaining the different energy consumption from automobiles and how they impact our environment. Students analyze a point based...

Young scholars explore the concept of environmental stewardship. For this science lesson, students calculate the barrels of oil that their family consumes in a year.

Students take a closer look at the environmental costs of flying. For this current events lesson, students research the noted Web sites regarding the Airbus, noise pollution, and oil use associated with airline travel. Students...

Students consider the positive and negative aspects of alternative energy.  In this physical science instructional activity, students consider the sources of energy they use everyday.  Students compare alternative sources of...

First graders discuss work, force, and energy. They study how work is done. Students discuss various types of work that are done. They act out how work is done. Student draw pictures of types of work they have done.

First graders study heat and light and how they come from various sources. They list sources of heat and light and identify the different energy sources as heat, light, or both heat and light.

Ninth graders identify problems and research potential solutions regarding the efficiency of energy use. They examine the potential problems associated with the use of electrical appliances. They brainstorm about practical problems...

Students examine energy use and the different construction materials used in their home.  In this sustainable choices lesson students study different materials and what a sound environmental choice would be. 

Students consider the relationship of temperature to environmental conditions and then apply their knowledge to a practical event. The task assesses students' knowledge and application of that knowledge to an additional situation.

Seventh graders design and conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrot for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic...

Students explore  the pros and cons of bio-fuel use. For this environmental stewardship lesson, students visit selected websites to discover what bio-fuels are and the effect they may have on the environment.

Students examine environmental and social impacts of products that consumers buy. In this environmental stewardship lesson plan, students play a game that requires them to consider real costs of products. Students consider the...

Students examine recycling efforts. In this environmental stewardship instructional activity, students trace recycling efforts and script a skit regarding incandescent light bulbs' effect on the environment.

Young scholars correlate surface radiation with mean surface temperature of several geographic regions. They observe how these parameters change with latitude and construct an understanding of the relationship of solar radiation to...

Pupils investigate the chemistry of coal. This lesson serves as a review of conservation of mass, simple reactions and equation balancing. During the lesson, students research chemical components of coal, as well as environmental health...

Young scholars design and construct a solar cooker. They use the Internet to research solar collectors and the process of changing light energy into heat energy.

Biotech engineers discover that changes in the DNA code for cell wall formation can help create crops better suited for biofuel production. They extract DNA from wheat germ. They decode paper strips with codes and relate the activity to...

Emerging environmentalists work in groups and pretend that each is a power company generating electricity for a community. They consider the costs of building a renewable electricity generator that will increasingly replace generating...

Open this lesson by reading together about primary and secondary batteries (such as nickel-cadmium cells), problems they can cause in the environment, and how humans can minimize the damage. Afterward, little ones examine a collection of...