California Academy of Science
Building Better Buses: Transportation Design Challenges
Scholars learn about a series of three challenges when they design a bus system for a small town. They determine the bus routes and then figure out the best type of fuel to use before considering the cost of going electric. Learners...
Curated OER
Math in the Wetlands Field Trip
Get your class out in the environment for hands on math activities. In this wetlands lesson, learners transplant native plants, calculate how much soil is needed, and perform math activities based on this experience. They then make...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Playing with Parachutes
This lesson certainly will not be a drag! Little engineers design parachutes that make use of air resistance and, as a result, slow the descent of the payload as much as possible. It is an opportunity to teach about many motion concepts:...
Curated OER
Transportation Systems: Two Liter Boat Activity
Learners design and build full-size boats made out of two-liter plastic bottles, chicken wire, and plywood. Then they race the boats, with the boat's designers "manning the hull", in the school's swimming pool.
Curated OER
Add and Subtract with Hudson River shipping
Rivers aren't just a place for animals to live, they also provide industrial transportation. The class will examine the Hudson River on a map, discuss all the commercial vessels that use the River to transport materials, then complete a...
Teach Engineering
Airplanes Everywhere: Land! Water! Sky! Oh, My!
How important is aviation? Using the background information, teachers provide the class with a brief history of aviation. The class discusses how airplanes are important to the area of transportation in the 17th installment of a...
Beyond Benign
Truckin’ to Your Table
Food takes a trip to the table. Class members choose a meal from a menu and calculate the total cost of the meal including tax and tip. Using a food origin card, pupils determine how far each of the ingredients of a meal traveled to end...
Curated OER
Simple Thermodynamics of Transportation
Students watch videos about various modes of transportation, they examine the energy transformations that occur in each, and they be introduced to the laws of thermodynamics.
NASA
Ascent: 50 Seconds to MECO
All systems go! With a video and a Google Earth tour as background, pairs investigate two graphs. The graphs display acceleration vs. time and velocity vs. time of a space shuttle launch. Using graphing calculators, the pairs take a...
Curated OER
The Mathematics of Convection: Nature's Model for Energy Production
High schoolers conduct a series of experiments to investigate density, buoyancy and climate. In this math lesson, pupils design and build a hot air balloon to demonstrate convection. They research and write a paper about solar chimneys.
California Academy of Science
Fresh Solutions: Design Thinking Challenge
How do people transport fresh water long distances to ensure everyone has access to it? The final lesson in the 10-part Fresh Solutions unit encourages individuals to design their own solution, or solutions, to that very problem. Groups...
Teach Engineering
May the Force Be With You: Thrust
Force the plane through the air. The lesson introduces the force on an airplane that makes it go forward. Pupils learn how Newton's laws of motion apply to flight in the eighth segment of a 22-part unit on flight.
Curated OER
Tens! Hundreds! Thousands!!! of Tons
Fifth graders take a close look at the types of ships that travel through the Hudson River Valley on the Hudson River. They utilize worksheets embedded in the plan in order to answer questions about exactly what is being shipped, and how...
Curated OER
H2O to Go to Go
Youngsters engage in a relay race where they dip a sponge in water, run to a bucket, and squeeze out the sponge. They have five minutes to take turns transporting water to the goal. Whey the time is up, each team measures the total...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis
Students conduct experiments with plants. In this photosynthesis instructional activity, students examine plants under different types of lights. They calculate the amount of dissolved ocygen concentration and compare it to the formula...
Curated OER
Summer Machines Activity: How Can We Move This Box of Blocks?
Students discover there's more than one way to move a heavy load. In this problem solving lesson, students use observation and problem-solving skills as they experiment with simple machines in order to transport loads.
Curated OER
Alaska Virtual Field Trip
Students participate in an on-line virtual field trip to the state of Alaska. In this U.S. Geography lesson, students research several Internet sites dealing with travel to Alaska and activities to participate in. Students create story...
NOAA
A Matter of Density
Larvae transportation on the New England seamounts is based on the density of the water. Scholars calculate density and graph salinity versus temperature to better understand the distribution of organisms in a water column. Discussions...
Curated OER
Calculating Your Foodometer
Students explore environmental issues by completing a food production class activity. For this carbon footprint lesson, students discuss the types of foods they eat, where they come from and what types of methods are used to transport...
Curated OER
Big Boats Up The River
Using boats along in the Port of Albany as the focus, learners practice adding single-digit numbers and interpreting data. This lesson comes with the worksheets, resource links, and other materials to make it a worthwhile experience.
Curated OER
Circles in the Landscape: Irrigating Oklahoma Crops
How do you grow crops in a area with insufficient rainfall? Why you irrigate, of course. Class members investigate irrigation systems by designing a system of their own. After examining irrigation related concepts, vocabulary terms, and...
Teach Engineering
Levers that Lift
Introduce your class to to the remaining three simple machines-- the lever, pulley, and the wheel-and-axle with a plan that includes the three different types of levers in the discussion of levers. The lesson continues with the...
Curated OER
The Nutrients Public Transportation System
Students investigate the human circulatory system by experimenting with hoses. In this human body lesson, students create a system of hoses simulating the circulatory system which they utilize to pass objects through. Students discuss...
Beyond Benign
Ecological Footprint
How does your lifestyle measure up in terms of your ecological footprint? Young ecologists examine their impact on the planet using an insightful online calculator. A short quiz asks users to rank the size of their homes, their energy...