Lesson Plan
Florida International University

Designing an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV): Concepts in Lift, Drag, Thrust, Energy, Power, Mass, and Buoyancy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Engineer an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to study concepts of physics. Using household materials, collaborative groups design and build an AUV and then test Newton's Laws of Motion as they apply them in underwater environments...
Printables
Teaching Ideas

The Aztecs

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
Did you know the Aztecs had two different calendars? Or that Aztec men could have more than one wife? Find out more about this ancient civilization including how they lived, what they ate, and their cultures and beliefs with a set of 20...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Catapults

For Students 4th - 8th
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome. 
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Catapult

For Students 4th - 12th
Studying levers couldn't be more exciting! Learners build their own catapults and test the results as they make adjustments to the fulcrum. They compete against other groups to create the most accurate apparatus.
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Friction

For Students 6th - 8th
Friction and gravity are always at odds! Learners complete a set of activities to explore the relationship between friction and gravity. Groups make conclusions about the factors that affect the amount and type of friction between surfaces.
Lesson Plan
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Beyond Benign

Product Test

For Students 6th - 8th
It's the moment of truth. Previous lessons in the 24-part series had scholars design and develop shampoo formulas using chemical concepts. The 18th lesson asks them to test the function of their shampoos. To do this, they calculate the...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Airboats

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Don't let the resource blow you away. Scholars build airboats from basic materials and collect data on how far the boats move. They refine their designs taking Newton's laws into consideration.
Assessment
Illustrative Mathematics

Saving Money 1

For Students 2nd Standards
How many days will it take Louis to save enough money for school supplies and new pair of shoes? Focus on Common Core math standards with a two-part task that involves a word problem and counting manipulatives.
Lab Resource
Royal Society of Chemistry

A Microscale Acid-Base Titration

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Watch as acids and bases put smiles on their faces. Young chemists learn the concept of acid-base titration firsthand in a microscale experiment. Working groups collaborate, titrate, then use their data to determine the concentration of...
Activity
Royal Society of Chemistry

A Giant Silver Mirror Experiment

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Mirror, mirror, on the wall ... who's the best chemistry teacher of them all? You'll get the vote for certain after your class completes the Silver Mirror experiment! Partnered pupils use Tollen's reagent and glucose to silverplate a...
Lab Resource
Colorado State University

What Is a "Convection Cell"?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Round and round in circles it goes! A hands-on activity has learners recreate a model of a convection cell. They watch as the difference in density of their materials creates a current.
Activity
Vermilionville

Mardi Gras—Secondary

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Add a little glitter to your Mardi Gras celebration with a packet that includes information about the history of Mardi Gras. It also provides information about how different communities celebrate the holiday, as well as templates for...
Activity
DiscoverE

Tape Dispenser Challenge

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Help your class get out of a sticky situation! Future engineers explore existing tape dispensers and then design a new system for dispensing tape. To put these systems to the test, they build and evaluate prototypes of their designs.
Activity
DiscoverE

Trophy Triathlon Design Challenge

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Build a trophy and be a winner. Pupils build trophies that can support a sports ball of their choosing. Based on the ball choice, they figure out how the height requirement changes.
Activity
DiscoverE

Water Sampling

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What is the best way to test water quality? Using plastic bottles, scholars create monitoring sensors to test water quality. Creating three different sensors allows individuals to measure water quality at different water levels.
Activity
DiscoverE

Build a Plankton Net

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Give household materials new life by turning them into a plankton net. Scholars design and build a net to collect and filter plankton from water. They test out their creations by using glitter to represent plankton. The nets need to...
Activity
DiscoverE

Ocean Acidification

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Combat ocean acidification with bubbles. Young engineers create a system that reduces the acidity of water. Dry ice in water helps simulate ocean acidity, and blowing bubbles into the water results in a gas exchange that neutralizes the...
Activity
DiscoverE

Action Figure Diver

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Will your next buoyancy lab rise to the occasion? Make a splash with action figure divers! Teams of young physicists explore the relationship between mass and buoyancy by adding weights or balloons to achieve a diver that neither sinks...
Activity
DiscoverE

Design a Dome

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Do domed structures have advantages over their less-than-spherical counterparts? Junior architects explore the pros and cons of domes through a design challenge. Teams work together to plan, sketch, build, and test domes created from an...
Activity
DiscoverE

Design a Folding Solar Panel

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Solar energy is an amazing alternative ... but, not always particularly portable! Challenge young scientists to a folding solar panel build-off with an easy-to-execute activity. Scholars brainstorm around specific design needs, construct...
Activity
DiscoverE

Touch Down

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Protect the marshmallows! Groups create contraptions that will keep marshmallows in a cup, even after dropping them from a certain height. This is a fun way to model the shock-absorbing capabilities of spacecraft.
Activity
DiscoverE

Safe Landing

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Watch out below! Future engineers come up with methods to ensure that a ball in a cup stays in the cup even after dropped from a given height. It might be prudent to include some kind of shock absorber in the cup. Parachutes are a good...
Activity
DiscoverE

Conveyor Belt

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Convey your interest in conveyor belts. By considering different size tubes, groups create a conveyor belt that can transport boxes of candy at least four feet. Also, the conveyor belt must make a 90-degree turn—quite a difficult task!
Activity
DiscoverE

Design a Flotation Device

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!

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