Blow your learners' minds with a sweet lesson on nanotechnology that uses sugar to demonstrate the difference nanoscale surface area makes in dissolving and crystal formation. Plenty of supportive background information is read to...

Consider the relationship between side length and area as an input-output function. Scholars create input-output tables for the area of squares to determine an equation in the first installment of a three-part unit. Ditto for the area of...

Nano-nano! Nanotechnology can seem like it's from another planet! After learning about this tiny technology, collaborative groups experiment with how smaller particles affect chemical reactions. They do this by immersing a whole and a...

Students are introduced to the notion of surface area and volume. Students review surface area and volume by finding the area of a two-dimensional shape. They practice using the computer to create different surface area shapes.

How do you measure surface tension? The fifth installment of a nine-part series is an experiment where young scientists use tubes of different sizes to measure surface tension. They calculate the average and standard deviation of the...

Create a geometric playground. Pupils work through a performance task to demonstrate their ability to use geometric concepts to solve everyday problems. The accompanying engineering design lessons show teachers how the assessment works...

Join the fight to reduce plastic waste. A hands-on STEM activity first teaches scholars about the scourge of plastic waste. They then measure the dimensions of water bottles to calculate surface areas and volumes before using the surface...

Weathering is not necessarily a result of the weather. Scholars conduct an experiment to explore the effect of surface area and volume on the weathering process. They create their own sugar cube rocks using the same number of cubes—but...

What constitutes a good soap bubble? In the second installment of a nine-part series, scholars apply their understanding of surface tension to soap bubbles. They experiment to determine the best solutions to use for the...

Learners describe how temperature and surface area exposure affect the rate at which fuel is consumed. They explain why engineers want to know about the properties of a fuel when designing rockets. They create a bar graph of result data.

Students build a kite while integrating math and science. In this kite building lesson, students construct a blueprint and apply mathematical formulas while constructing a kite. They use appropriate flight and kite terminology to...

Students experiment with the concepts of surface tension. They participate in a number of different experiments that introduce them to surface tension. They work in a small group in order to conduct these experiments.

Keep everything under control. The lesson, the 16th segment in a 22-part unit, provides a more detailed look at the parts of a plane, specifically the control surfaces. Pupils learn about the construction of the wings and the tails and...

"Fore!" All right, no one really yells this out in miniature golf, but this well-defined activity will have your charges using lots of numbers in their unique design of a miniature golf hole. Included in the activity criteria is the...

Using the Twist™ application, elementary schoolers design their dream room. They follow the prescribed steps to calculate width, length, perimeter, and surface area in order to create a 2-dimensional representation of their dream room...

Try your hand at scale models. Scholars create a scale model of an object using a scale factor of their choice. As part of the project, they give presentations on their processes and calculations. This is the last installment of the...

Which modification is the best? Using the scientific method, pairs determine the effects of each control surface on the distance of a glider's flight. The activity, section 16 in a 22-part unit on aviation, allows pupils to gain a better...

Learners find the volume and surface area of a rectangular box (e.g., a cereal box), and then figure out how to convert that box into a new, cubical box having the same volume as the original. As they construct the new, cube-shaped box...

To go or to not to go — the question for a mission to Mars. This resource provides details for a possible manned mission to Mars. Details include a launch schedule, what life would be like on the surface, and how the astronauts would...

Build a scale model of a home built out of shipping containers. A hands-on activity has scholars watch a video about a home built from shipping containers and then design their own home. They build scale models of their designed homes...

Let's go fly a kite ... oops, a paper airplane! The 13th segment in an aviation unit of 22 relates the parts of an airplane to paper airplanes. Pupils learn the functions of the control surfaces of a plane to really make their knowledge...

Fourth graders develop an understanding of how engineers use wind to generate electricity. They will build a model anemometer to better understand and measure wind speed. They discover that engineers design wind turbines that generate...

Model an oil spill cleanup. An engaging engineering lesson has groups using aerogels to simulate an oil spill cleanup (vegetable oil in water). Along the way, they learn about nanotechnology and hydrophilia/hydrophobia.

Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.