Explore our world from within as you lead young scientists on a thrilling adventure. Pupils examine the location of plate boundaries to determine earthquake and volcano distribution around the globe and explore the cause of hot spots in...

How does additional daylight hours affect people and nature? With the help from the legend Maui and the Sun and a grand conversation, scholars complete a graphic organizer to distinguish between the positive and...

Use science to solve the mystery of the Poplar murder. Pupils use forensic botany to determine if a suspect could be the killer. By analyzing images from a Transmission Electron Microscope, learners determine if the material found on the...

Are the earth's oceans really just giant batteries, waiting for their energy to be harnessed? Middle school mechanical engineers will be shocked by the amazing amount of energy that forms around them after diving into part four of a...

Give young geologists an up close and personal look at volcanoes with a series of hands-on earth science lessons. Whether they are investigating the properties of igneous rocks, building their own volcanoes, or making...

What is one of the most exciting parts of a butterfly's life cycle? When it emerges from its pupa and dries its wings! This is a great activity little ones will love. They discuss what happens during the pupal stage of the butterfly life...

Discover the coldest animals in the world with a lesson about the Arctic habitat. Kids use a glossary and information sheet about animals found in the Arctic Circle to complete several activities, including tracking the lemming...

Is there medicine found in the organisms that live deep below the surface of the ocean? The fifth lesson in a six-part series has learners team up to research bacteria and the relationship it has with nearly every living thing on Earth....

Eukaryotes include humans, animals, and plants. Scholars learn about the parts of eukaryotic cells. They design models of a store and match the correct function of each part to the function of a part of the cell. They review their...

Mangroves are a nursery for a variety salt-water organisms. Learners explore the mangrove ecosystem through audio, video, and/or images, to see the organisms that live in this environment and make food chains pertaining to this...

Look at climate change around the world using graphical representations and a hands-on learning simulation specified to particular cities around the world. Using an interactive website, young scientists follow the provided...

Don't be caught in the dark! Young scientists investigate the causes of both solar and lunar eclipses using an interactive to help them understand the development of an eclipse over time. They then research facts and characteristics...

Investigate the relationship between temperature and pressure. Learners change the pressure of a sample of air and monitor its temperature. They learn that as air decreases its pressure, its thermal energy converts to kinetic energy.

What happens when genes change? Junior genetic investigators examine the effects of mutation in the third unit of a four-part Biotechnology series. Individuals discover the types of mutations through a series of PowerPoints, then partner...

Students research the tetrahedral kites invented by Alexander Graham Bell. In this components of flight lesson plan, students examine the kites made by Bell and his team. Students create their own kite and add them together as a class to...

Learners of many ages discuss how all organisms rely on other organisms for their survival. They construct a food web and energy pyramids, and write an informative essay about the food web that they have designed.

Demonstrate the movement of lithospheric plates due to convection in Earth's mantle. Learners then model the movements that occur along plate boundaries using colored clay. 

Stephen Perry invented and patented the modern rubber band in 1845. Young scientists put his discovery to work as they use rubber bands to observe entropy and enthalpy. They determine the change in free energy to figure out if it...

Examine the properties of light with a fifth grade science experiment. Pupils find out how light bounces off the surface of a mirror, as well as how a periscope works. For the science investigation part, kids build their own periscope...

Introduce your class to the layers of abstraction of the Internet with a lesson on the HTTP protocol. Pupils review previous lessons on levels of the Internet, then investigate new high levels by examining the HTTP traffic on...

Field trips require a great deal of advanced planning to be successful. Ensure the success of your trips with a step-by-step preparation guide that itemizes before, during, and after activities as well as extension and adaptation...

Students investigate the life cycle of a star and make conclusions based on evidence, research, and observation.  In this lesson on space and scientific investigation, students describe the relationships between science and...

Middle schoolers explore heat energy and how it is used to change the phase of matter, and discover that temperature does not increase or decrease until the phase change is complete. This extremely well-written plan is packed with great...

A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...