Curated OER
Solar Car Series: during What Part of the Day Can the Most Sun Power Be Collected?
In preparation for solar car races, middle schoolers attempt to discover what time of day the most solar energy can be collected. Begin by demonstrating the use of a voltmeter for measuring solar cell output. Take them outdoors to take...
University of Waikato
Water Runoff
Teachers demonstrate water runoff on a hill and its effect on soil erosion. Pupils observe as the instructor changes the steepness of the hill and see whether vegetation covers the soil. Learners then use their observations to make...
Concord Consortium
Pressure Equilibrium
All together now! Physical science pupils observe the effects of temperature and amount of substance on pressure and volume of a gas. The interactive resource guides learners through the Combined Gas Law, where they observe changing...
Concord Consortium
Forming a Molecule
What does it look like when two atoms bond? Mol-e-COOL! Aspiring chemists observe the interaction between two atoms forming a bond in an easy-to-use interactive. Individuals move atoms closer together and observe changes in attraction...
Curated OER
Bug's Eye View
Investigate the life of bugs and how they interact with the environment in this integrated science and language arts lesson. Young scientists construct mini environments in cages in order to make observations. This data forms the basis...
Smithsonian Institution
Weather Widget
What's so difficult about predicting the weather? Scholars work collaboratively to build a device that models how meteorologists use computers to forecast weather. Team members collect and interpret data while working together to...
Lesson Snips
Who Killed the Flowers?
This could be really good, or it could be really bad! The crime to be solved is, "Who went pee in the flowerpot?" Given four imitation urine samples, young chemists or crime scene investigators perform pH, glucose, and turbidity...
Concord Consortium
Boiling Point
Is it getting hot in here? Observe boiling from inside a beaker in an engaging interactive. Chemistry scholars heat and cool polar and non-polar solids and observe how molecules react to temperature changes. Your class' misconceptions...
Curated OER
Light Stick Chemistry
In groups of three with the lights off and the shades drawn, investigators place inactivated light sticks, in three beakers: one filled with ice water, another with lukewarm water, and the other with room temperature water. They wait...
Concord Consortium
The Temperature-Volume Relationship
What effect does temperature have on the volume of a gas? Observe the temperature-volume relationship through an animated simulation. The user controls the temperature, and a moveable piston reacts to increased or decreased thermal...
Concord Consortium
Charged and Neutral Atoms
Do charged and neutral particles behave differently as they undergo phase changes? Science sleuths examine two types of attractive forces using an informative interactive. Pupils can vary the amount of Van der Waals attraction present...
Baylor College
Energy for Life (Energy from Food)
Energy comes in many forms, but how do living things get the energy they need to survive and thrive? In a simple, controlled experiment with yeast, water, and sugar, groups make observations about how yeast reacts with water alone, then...
NASA
The Invisible Sun: How Hot Is It?
It's getting hot in here! The first in a series of six lessons has learners model nuclear fusion with a simple lab investigation. Groups collect data and analyze results, comparing their models to the actual process along the way.
Curated OER
A Model for Natural Selection- Spaghetti Worms
Does the early bird really get the worm? If so, which color of worm does it prefer? In an exciting and easy week-long field investigation, young field biologists set up a one square meter feeding area for birds. If you have a webcam,...
Biology in Motion
Evolution Lab
Evolution occurs though change over time, but can it go any faster? Scholars speed up the process of evolution and observe a simulation of 20 blue organisms fighting for survival. A graph displays the changes in phenotype over time. By...
Curated OER
Pond Ecology
A lab activity is a great way to incite thoughtful questioning and scientific processes. Pupils will collect organisms with a Petri dish, make observations, sketch the organism, ask questions, then attempt to identify the specimen...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Weather and Climate: What's the Difference?
Future weather forecasters collect daily temperatures over a period of time. Afterward, they compare their data with monthly averages, as researched on national weather websites, in order to grasp the difference between weather and...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Coffee Break with Nanoscience: Film Formation and “Coffee Rings”
Prepare scholars for micro and nanoscale investigations. A lab activity allows individuals to practice their experimental techniques while becoming to accustomed to the smaller scale of the materials. They also make decisions about the...
Concord Consortium
Oil and Water
If you don't get along with someone, it's said that the two of you are like oil and water. Why is this? Explore the phenomenon and explain the phrase in one resource! Science superstars first observe samples of oil and water together....
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
How Dry am I? Exploring Biomimicry and Nanotechnology
Help your classes feel like they can walk on water! An engaging inquiry-based lesson has young scholars experiment with different surface coatings. They make observations about their properties and how they relate to the surface tension...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Population Genetics, Selection, and Evolution
The Hardy-Weinberg principle states that alleles and genotypes remain constant in the absence of evolutionary influences. Scholars complete a simple hands-on activity applying the Hardy-Weinberg principle to sample data. They observe how...
Curated OER
Dante's Peak Movie Review
Middle or high school volcanologists watch the 1997 film, Dante's Peak. They make observations as they watch and then write a movie review, focusing on what was accurately represented. They also point out what facts were stretched by...
Colorado State University
Do Cities Affect the Weather? (Making a Cloud in a Bottle)
The dynamics of a city can have a drastic effect on the weather. A hands-on lesson asks learners to build a model to illustrate how city pollution provides a nucleus for condensation. The greater the pollution, the greater chance for...
Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach Lesson Plans
Immerse yourself in the world of giant bugs, rolling peaches, and brave little boys with an interdisciplinary unit on James and the Giant Peach. Young readers focus on the scientific themes of Roald Dahl's classic novel with bug hunts,...