Curated OER
Wetlands/Migration
Students play a game of hopscotch as they simulate birds migrating north through wetlands. They compare the game to real bird migration and discuss how the health of the wetlands is proportional to the health of birds.
Curated OER
Lift Relationships
Students use FoilSim (downloadable) to determine how lift is affected by varying parameters on the Airfoil simulation.
Curated OER
Earthquake Epicenters and Magnitudes
Students work on a virtual earthquake to increase their understanding of seismograms, earthquake epicenters, Richter Magnitude and triangulation when finding the epicenter of an earthquake.
Curated OER
Carving Stone with Copper
Students explain the properties of copper as a material for making tools and explain the properties of different chisel points. They gain practice taking notes on qualitative and quantitative data.
Curated OER
What’s That, I Can’t Hear You?
Students investigate forms of energy as well as light and sound. In this science lesson, students participate in hands-on activities that require them to evaluate how sound affects astronauts in flight. A video of this lesson being...
Curated OER
The Effects of Environment on Plant Growth: Selecting Seeds for Survival on a New Planet
Fifth graders conduct experiments to compare seed germination and plant growth rates. They construct a hydroponic plant unit and a lighthouse. They care for the plants for a month and collect data for graphs. They write a report.
Curated OER
Sonar Mapping
Students use a shoe box to create a seafloor model and use cardboard for layering inside of the shoe box to simulate the ocean floor. They probe the ocean floor to simulate sonar echoes. Finally, students graph their data to get a...
Curated OER
Balloon Staging
Students explore rocketry using balloon rockets. They demonstrate how rockets can achieve greater altitudes by using the technology of staging. By using two inflated balloons that slide along a fishing line, they simulate a multistage...
Curated OER
Ocean Exploration
Learners explore a simulated ocean floor. In this environmental lesson plan, students take on roles of an ocean dive team exploring the ocean floor. Dive logs will be created and the learners will explore their sections of simulated...
Curated OER
Science 911: Car Crash Testing
Pupils explore, experiment and analyze the concept of using dummies in a car crash test. They collaborate in a series of tests designed to simulate what really happens in a two-car collision. Each student incorporates probability,...
Curated OER
Modeling Martian Motion
Students explore the difference between stars and planets and take on the role of these objects to simulate the relative motions of Mars and the Earth around the Sun.
Curated OER
Cold Fronts And Warm Fronts
Students simulate the movement of cold and warm fronts as they listen to a story about the weather and Mr. Sun. They brainstorm the characteristics of each type of front then write about which front they would prefer if they were a...
Curated OER
Paper Parachutes
Pupils participate in a simulation of a parachute-jump competition by making paper parachutes and then dropping them towards a target on the floor. They measure the distance from the point where the paper parachute lands compared to the...
Curated OER
Electrophoresis Analogy
Learners participate in a simulation of electrophoresis separation of DNA fragments. They link arms to form DNA fragments with each student representing a nucleotide. As they move through an obstacle course they discover how fragments...
Curated OER
Photocells II: The Photoelectric Effect in Photocells
Students discuss the principles of atomic structure that underlie the operation of a photovoltaic cell and explains how they apply to a photovoltaic cell's operation. An area of the classroom is staked off to represent a photovoltaic...
Curated OER
Striking Earthquake!
Students simulate strike slip faults using CEENBoTs. For this earth science lesson, students identify the fault lines and tectonic plates on a world map. They label the different parts of a fault line.
Curated OER
Best Nest Builders
Students construct a nest out of mud, string, sticks, and grass using only two fingers or two popsicle sticks to simulate a bird building a nest. They compare/contrast pictures of various bird nests and draw the differences between the...
Curated OER
What Are Endangered Species?
Students explore the concepts of endangered and extinct animals. In this animal protection instructional activity, students discuss and define the words endangered, extinct, and habitat. Students share why they think it is important to...
Curated OER
The Physical Environment
Fourth graders use damp sand, a baking pan, and water to simulate erosion. For this erosion lesson plan, 4th graders participate in a simulation to show what moving water does to land.
Curated OER
Converging Earthquake!
Students identify the fault lines and tectonic plates on the map. In this earth science activity, students simulate landscape formation using robots. They take a quiz at the end of the activity to demonstrate mastery.
Curated OER
Normal (dip-slip) Earthquake!
Students label the fault lines and tectonic plate boundaries on the world map. In this earth science lesson, students simulate ocean floor formation using CEENboTs. They explain the causes of earthquakes.
Curated OER
Development of a Nutritional Snack
Learners develop a new line of nutritional snacks. They work in teams to submit a proposal for a snack that not only tastes good, but is nutritional as well. Their end-product consists of four parts: background information, developing...
Curated OER
Treacherous Trash
Students recognize the harmful effects people have on the environment. In this environmental lesson, students simulate water pollution clean-up by using tangled objects and untangling them in a cooperative group. Students identify why...
Curated OER
Actual Airflow vs. Ideal Airflow: Stalls
Students use 3-D modeling techniques to observe the characteristic signature of the stall condition apparent on an airfoil at high angles of attack. They use FoilSim to compare the above with ideal airflow.