PHET
AM Radio Ionosphere Station
Tune in! Young scientists use an AM radio at home to monitor solar output. The long-term project would be ideal in a flipped classroom or as an out-of-class project.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Powers of Ten with the Blue Morpho Butterfly
Explore the powers of ten while examining a Blue Morpho butterfly wing. Learners discover there is a lot more than meets the eye when one looks close enough.
NASA
Gravitational Waves
Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created....
Education Outside
Papermaking
Imagine recycling food scraps and using them to make paper. The directions are all here in a seven-page packet that details several paper-making strategies.
University of Colorado
The Jovian Basketball Hoop
Can you listen to Jupiter on a simple radio? Turns out the answer is yes! The resource instructs scholars to build a simple radio to pick up the radio waves created when the charged particles from the sun hit Jupiter's magnetic...
Lerner Publishing
Living or Nonliving
It's alive! Or is it? Through a series of shared readings, whole class activities, and independent exercises children explore the difference between living and non-living things, creating a pair of printable books...
Wild BC
Is Climate Change Good for Us?
Is it really that big of a deal if the global climate undergoes a little change? Young environmentalists consider this very question as they discuss in small groups the impact of different climate change scenarios on their lives,...
University of Colorado
Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?
Did you know scientists can tell the age of an asteroid by looking closely at its craters? This final lesson of a six-part series focuses on two asteroids, Gaspra and Ida, in order to demonstrate the concept of dating asteroids. Scholars...
Journey Through the Universe
A Scale Model Solar System
Between the time scientists discovered Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet, it did not even make one full revolution around the sun. In two activities, scholars investigate scale models and their properties. Pupils find that it...
It's About Time
Refraction of Light
Don't shine like a diamond, refract light like a diamond. Young scientists use an acrylic block and a laser light to observe refraction. Advanced scholars figure the sine of the angles of reflection and incidence as well as mastering...
Carnegie Mellon University
Renewables Workshop
Youngsters examine resource maps to find out which states are using solar and wind power and discuss as a class various other renewable energy sources. They use a provided data table to record pros and cons to each technology, build and...
Prince William Network
Migration Headache
During this game, kids become migratory shorebirds and fly among wintering, nesting, and stopover habitats. If they do not arrive at a suitable habitat on time, they do not survive. Catastrophic events are periodically introduced that...
Curated OER
Water in the Biosphere
Environmental explorers examine the campus and take note of living organisms. Introduce them to the biosphere and the questions of the day: How much water can be found in the biosphere? A slide show helps you along, and even contains a...
Curated OER
The Water Cycle
Your class sets up a mini water cycle model to examine the process. Then they watch an animation, following a water molecule through the cycle. A well-developed lab sheet guides learners through the lesson and a PowerPoint presentation...
Curated OER
Water in Earth's Hydrosphere
Environmentalists test stream water for temperature, pH, and turbidity. Each group shares their information and then the class makes an overall evaluation of the water quality. A slide show sets the backdrop for the teaching portion and...
Wild BC
Maple Trees and Marmots
Kinesthetic activities simulate animal activity as the seasons progress in a lesson that introduces climate change to primary pupils. The kids role-play maple trees collecting what they need to survive, but as each year comes...
Curated OER
What is electrical energy?
Students distinguish between items with and without energy. In this energy lesson, students understand that natural resources power electrical apparatus and that energy needs to be saved.
Curated OER
Help I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up
Students examine how natural disasters impact humans and how to develop a disaster relief plan. They develop a list of natural disasters, and in disaster relief teams, create an emergency plan for their families to follow if a selected...
Curated OER
Be a Watershed - Create a Living River
Learners investigate water ways by conducting an experiment with classmates. In this natural resources lesson, students define a watershed and identify where large ones are located within the United States. Learners utilize...
Curated OER
Getting the Oil Out
Students discover ways of obtaining oil by participating in an experiment. For this natural resource lesson, students identify diagrams of oil derricks and pumps in order to visualize how oil is retrieved from the earth....
Curated OER
The Science of Tsunamis: Seeking Understanding in the Wake of Tragedy
Students use Internet research, articles, discussion and models to explore the dynamics of a tsunami. They focus on the 2004 Asian Tsunami and create posters illustrating their understanding of this phenomenon.
Curated OER
Science: Avalanche!
Eighth graders examine avalanches after reading excerpts from John Muir's book, "The Yosemite." In small groups, they conduct experiments with flour, sugar, and potato flakes representing different snow consistencies. Then, 8th graders...
Curated OER
Sexual Selection in the Animal Kingdom
Students research how sexual selection plays a role in driving evolution. They experiment how variation exists within not just obvious physical traits, but metabolically and behaviorally. They write a letter describing a problem, and a...
Curated OER
HOW SMALL AM I? THE SCIENCE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Students study nanotechnology and investigate the dimensions of a nanoscale. In this nanometer study lesson students will see how truly small a nanometer is by measuring things such as a piece of hair.