Using a Maori legend, How Maui Tamed the Sun, youngsters are introduced to the importance of sunlight to civilization. Teach them about nuclear fusion that occurs to produce the solar energy we later receive on Earth as...

Eight activities make up a packet all about sun safety. Scholars mix and match how animals stay sun safe, dress paper dolls in appropriate summer clothing, make a cootie catcher, solve word puzzles, grow sunflowers, examine...

Things are about to heat up in your classroom! A kinesthetic lesson asks learners to play the part of the gases in the earth's atmosphere and interact with the sun's radiation. The focus is to learn the impact of the increasing...

How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...

How does energy from the sun make plants grow? Scholars move step by step through the processes that promote plant propagation during a detailed lesson. The resource illustrates ADP production and hydrolysis, then allows learners to...

Who needs a barbecue grill to cook hot dogs when you have the amazing power of the sun at your disposal? Engage young scientists in learning about solar energy with this fun activity that turns a used Pringles can into a solar...

How does the color of the sky change from blue to reds and oranges to black? An illuminating lesson explains how light travels through different mediums using the sun's light as an example. By examining diagrams and illustrations, pupils...

Scholars read a brief overview of what a terrarium is and how it creates the greenhouse effect, then click on a link to discover the materials and 10 steps they need to build their own.

Learners investigate how solar energy is converted into heat in part two of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build and test homemade solar cookers to boil water and cook rice. Pupils consider the impact of heat...

Three activities make up a solar system lesson that features the sun, its light, and the shadows it produces. Scholars step outside to discover the changes shadows make at different times of day, take part in a demonstration of...

Investigate a heated topic in environmental science. Scholars team up to play the parts of gas molecules in the atmosphere. As the teacher moves about, acting as the electromagnetic wave, learners react as their molecules would to the...

What happens to light as it passes through a hole? This is the main question centered around the designing of a solar eclipse dynamic art piece that uses a solar eclipse and paper to create a pinhole projection of the art.

Introduce teams to quantum dot solutions with an activity that has them expose solutions to a blacklight, observe the colors, and take measurements. Groups graph the data and analyze the dependence between particle size and...

Treat your class to a fun activity, complete with treats. Groups create a solar oven from a pizza box. They then use it to heat up some food ... that's what an oven is for, after all!

How do you make raisins? Do a simple experiment with your class that prompts them to set a bunch of grapes in the sun for a few days, and see what they find!

From bears and owls to chipmunks and trees, all life depends on the sun for the energy to survive. Young biologists develop an understanding of this big idea as they arrange this series of plant and animal picture cards into food...

Scholars examine, cut, paste, and sort 12 images featuring different types of movement in order to show what they know about energy—potential and kinetic. 

Hear from deep space. Pupils learn how satellites transfer information back to Earth. They learn about three different ways to modulate radio waves and how a satellite sends information with only 0s and 1s. Using sound, class members...

Create a scaled model of our solar system in your classroom! Scholars work collaboratively to build paper mache planets and hang them in their proper position to showcase each planet's location in the solar system.   

This activity asks learners to interpret data displayed on a graph within the context of the problem. Students are given three graphs that show solar radiation, or intensity of the sun, as a function of time. They are also given three...

Heat up some interest in solar energy. Young engineers create a water heater that runs on solar power (simulated by a lamp). Using thermometers, they determine the change in temperature before and after the water goes through the heater.

Did the image I drew match the image you saw? By simulating a satellite and a ground station, teams of two transmit data in the form of pixels in order to recreate an image. They use four different levels of brightness, creating slightly...

Explore the sun's ability to distill contaminated water with this simple set of classroom experiments. After filling two glass bowls, one with muddy water and the other with salt water, they are covered with plastic wrap and placed...

It's cloudy with a good chance of learning! An inquiry-based lesson begins with an exploration of transparent, translucent, and opaque materials. Young scientists then connect their learning to the different cloud types as they take the...