Design protection from high-speed particles. The STEM lesson plan highlights why astronauts need protection from space debris. Pupils use the design process to design, build, and test a spacesuit that will protect a balloon from a...

Students perform mathematical calculations to design safety device or enclosure to protect an egg as it is rolled down a ramp at increasing slopes.

Angry Birds prepared them, but now pupils must prove their skills with projectiles! Scholars test different variables to determine which ones impact the distance the projectile flies. The experiment provides connections to kinetic and...

Who said teaching a STEM instructional activity had to be challenging? Incorporate a career and technology-centered car build into your upcoming force lesson plan, and your class will be moving down the road in no time! Pupils practice...

NASA's LCROSS mission is dropping a probe into a lunar crater. Groups design a system to travel down a zip line and drop a marble onto a target in the classroom. The groups then modify their designs based upon testing. 

Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative lesson, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets. They will design a...

Ron Toomer, a famous roller coaster designer, suffered from motion sickness. Pupils design their own roller coasters, learning about potential and kinetic energy in the process. Labs focus on the importance of drop height, energy...

In a nose-cone to nose-cone competition, which rocket will prevail? Teams form rocket companies to design and build a rocket while competing against other teams in an economic challenge. The team that comes up with the best benefit/cost...

Up, up, and away! Take your classes on a physics adventure. Learners explore the concepts important for flight. They experiment with the Bernoulli Principle while learning the forces that act on airplanes in flight.

Blast off! An engaging hands-on activity has pupils create rockets powered by Alka-Seltzer. They learn about the physics behind these rockets throughout the process.

Focus on the conservation of energy, specifically looking at gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy, with a lecture that involves having friends throw light objects at each other to determine which has more kinetic energy and...

Individuals design and build a set of shock absorbers to protect their astronauts when they land. Using a limited amount of supplies, pupils build a system that will keep two large marshmallows from flying out of a cup when it lands...

As part of a comprehension exercise, kids read a physical science article about motion and then answer a series of comprehension questions based on the passage.

Students calculate distance, velocity, acceleration and time on their fantasy trip to the black hold. They apply Newton's Laws of Motion and calculate circular motion. They discuss any questions that may arise.

Students continue their examination of how to make a human presence in space. Using Newton's Laws of Motion, they discover the difference a rocket's payload affects the launch of a rocket. They develop a balloon rocket and test its...

Students brainstorm a list of science discoveries and inventions that they think are important. They work in small groups, students examine 1-3 science discoeries more closely. Each group needs a recorder, and they answer three...

Students consider the first part of Newton's First Law of Motion, the Law of Inertia of objects at rest, which states that every object remains at rest unless acted on by a force. They perform hands-on experiments which demonstrate this...

How much time does it take to jump over three balloons? Pupils calculate the speed of tasks that require different motions. They determine motions for tasks such as walking, skipping, hopping, and jumping before creating a...

Fifth and sixth graders practice working in pairs to determine whether they can walk with constant speed. They test themselves, collect their data, draw graphs with their data collected, manipulate the data, and then draw conclusions...

Everything scholars will need to know about universal gravitation in order to be prepared for the AP Physics exam. is provided in this fast-paced video. Test taking tips and common misconceptions are also addressed in the film.

If a ski lift had rockets, imagine how fast it would be! Scholars let their imaginations take flight as they build models for such a ski lift. Rather than using a rocket, though, they'll use a much safer balloon as the power source.

Small groups use rubber bands to accelerate an Android device along a track of books. They collect the acceleration data and analyze it in order to determine the device's velocity. 

Using the 5E method for teaching about kinetic energy, potential energy, and conservation of energy, this two-week unit with many videos and possible extensions is sure to keep pupils engaged as they are learning.

Fourth graders use a matchbox car to push across a hard surface and observe what happens. They then push the car across a soft or rough surface and discover what happens. The two ideas are discusses as Newton's First and Second Laws of...