Every living creature can leave a fossil record, yet most fossils belong to extinct organisms rather than ones currently living. Scholars learn about dating rock layers, fossils, and the environment of the past. Pupils understand that...

More of a mini-unit than a lesson, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...

Students trace the history of the development of Eugenics. In this social studies activity, students read and analyze a real life case. They write a paper about what they read.

Sixth graders investigate ancient civilizations by creating a research project.  In this world history lesson, 6th graders investigate historic civilizations developed close to important rivers of the near East.  Students...

Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...

Hedy Lamarr led a double life. Best known as an actress, Lamarr was also a brilliant inventor, responsible for the technology found in Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. After studying primary and secondary source materials, groups conduct an...

Explore U.S. geography with your class by viewing a documentary. Show a portion of the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks," and identify the individuals responsible for keeping the parks in order. Elementary and middle schoolers...

Ahoy, matey! Here is an engineering expedition that mini mariners are sure to be swept away by! After reading a brief description and history of periscopes, they work in crews to construct one. Use this activity to enhance a lesson on...

The U.S. produced enough wind energy in 2015 to power all of the homes in Alaska, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and...

Students research specific genetic disorders and create a pedigree of a fictitious local family in which Huntington's Disease is found. They predict inheritance and severity of HD and role play decision making process involving genetic...

High schoolers engage in a instructional activity in order to review some of the basic concepts of kingdoms and classification. They use research methods in order to find some of the information initially an use the notes to review for...

Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome. 

Stop the raindrops from getting into the house! Eager engineers learn about roofing history and waterproofing by nanotechnology. They get into groups and work on designing a waterproof roof for a small model house. The accompanying...

A neat handout immerses learners in the history of canoe making. After reading, small groups of mini engineers work to craft a canoe that will not be immersed! This is an ideal exercise in engineering design for your STEM curriculum or...

After reading about the history and science of personal floatation devices, patents, and intellectual property, engineering teams design a life vest for a can of soup. To evaluate which groups considered the need for waterproofing, hold...

Studying levers couldn't be more exciting! Learners build their own catapults and test the results as they make adjustments to the fulcrum. They compete against other groups to create the most accurate apparatus.

Sometimes science is puzzling. Using an online animation, individuals manipulate skeletal bones of an ancient species to recreate its skeleton. Learners complete the skeletal puzzle and learn about the process of paleontology in person...

Aristotle explained the idea of spontaneous generation, a concept which lasted almost 2,000 years before scientists proved it wrong. Scholars learn about the history of our understanding of the origins of life. They read examples of...

Tenth graders investigate that measurement is often an inact science. They explore ways utilize available information to form hypotheses. Students investigate how to test hypotheses using the HACH test kits.

Students define conservation, exploitation and preservation, identify legislation related to conservation and environmental issues, and identify leaders and organizations that were key to the conservation and environmental movements.

Test differences in writing instruments with this hands-on activity to demonstrate paper chromatography in action. The class performs an experiment on multiple writing instruments and determines the area of separation to discover an...

It's time to slow your roll! Can your class create a track that allows a marble to roll as slowly as possible? Teams of science scholars collaborate to design, build, and test their tubes while learning about gravity and friction.

What did Earth look like 4.5 billion years ago, and what was the climate like then? Scholars explore a view of Earth throughout history. They observe continents moving, temperatures fluctuating, and huge changes in ecosystems. A...

Dominate a lesson on genetic traits. Young scholars learn about the difference between dominant and recessive traits with an interactive lesson. An animation demonstrates Mendel's work on the inheritance of traits, and interactive...