Compounds take on different properties than their elemental components. How can scientists determine those elements? A lab-based activity has learners explore several double replacement reactions to analyze compounds qualitatively. They...

Does your cat sneak up on you in the middle of the night? Maybe it would help if he glowed in the dark like Mr. Green Genes, the first fluorescent cat in America. In a fun and engaging lesson about genetic engineering, high school...

Host an exciting lab in which learners burn fruit rinds to better understand hydrocarbons. A reading passage and analysis questions wrap up the lesson. 

Tired of your students taking you for granite? Use a unit that offers multiple hands-on weathering and erosion labs and interactive activities. Some of the exciting lessons include planning a tour of Australia, using ice...

Building off young chemists' knowledge of the states of matter, kinetic molecular theory is the focus of the unit. Eight days of lessons including multiple demonstrations, one lab experiment, directed instruction, and worksheets,...

Young scientists create a simulation of Hubble's law. Introducing the Big Bang Theory using balloons and a simple lab worksheet, scholars complete a data table and perform analysis.

Thirty percent of the world's oxygen is produced by rainforests found throughout the world. Seventh grade learners explore the processes of photosynthesis and respiration through 10 days of labs, manipulatives, and discussions. They...

When making sweet tea, why do people dissolve the sugar in hot tea instead of cold tea? The class discusses the previous lab and builds upon it. Working in groups, they design an experiment to determine how temperature affects the...

Scratch and sniff an introduction to organic chemical reactions. A creative lesson has individuals study the esters commonly used in scratch-and-sniff stickers and advertisements. Following the lab procedure, scholars create the organic...

Who doesn't love a day at the zoo? Use an observation and inference lab to get young anatomists to recognize similarities between mammalian species based on brain structures. You provide the brains; this lesson provides set-up...

Don't go around and around with the same concept! A hands-on activity explores the vestibular system and circular motion. After spinning a group member, lab partners examine their eye movement. Making observations allows the group to...

Explore an exothermic reaction with a quick lab investigation. The activity builds on the previous lessons by examining an ingredient in many shampoos. Scholars record temperature data as sodium hydroxide and water interact.

What has more energy than a room full of pupils after a fire drill? This lesson plan! Explore the changes in energy during different chemical reactions, discover why some reactions feel cold and others feel hot, and tackle the concept of...

Precipitation reactions are always interesting. How about one that forms a precipitate using a gas? Chemists of any age will enjoy this twist on a standard solubility lab. Partners observe the lack of interaction between sodium...

Need a bright idea for an engaging lab? Watch your class light up as they explore the difference in efficiency between incandescent and LED bulbs! The resource makes use of simple materials and encourages learners to infer what's...

Clouds are nature's insulator! A lab investigation asks learners to use an infrared thermometer to measure differences in infrared temperatures. They find that pointing the thermometer at a cloud has a much different result than pointing...

Some reactions absorb heat while others release it. Young scholars investigate both types of reactions in a 12-lesson unit. Each lesson presents a lab investigation that monitors temperature and considers the types of reactions taking...

Enzymes have a need for speed! What happens when they are forced to slow down? A well-rounded lesson plan from the K20 Center examines enzyme activity through role playing and a lab. Biology scholars work in teams and pairs to understand...

We know plants assist in the water cycle, but how do plants get water from the ground into the air? Through a series of demonstrations or labs, scholars observe the movement of water through plants. They microscopically view the cells...

Help! Someone's trying to take my DNA! An interesting lab experiment has scholars use basic materials to extract DNA. By applying ethanol, cold water, and a protease enzyme, like pineapple juice, they pull strands of DNA from peas,...

Let the lab be a catalyst to learn about enzymes. Scholars create alginate beads filled with yeast. As part of an investigation into enzymes, they see how these beads provide a catalyst to the reaction of glucose into ethanol.

Everyone enjoys projectiles, and predicting where they land helps with future hands-on labs. Incorporating gravity into horizontal trajectories through both conceptual and mathematical practice helps scholars understand real-life...

The news often refers to a team of experts handling situations and outbreaks of illnesses. Young scientists learn about such a team as they train to prevent infectious disease outbreaks  Scholars meet three experts, learn about...

Understanding the life cycle of a mosquito helps us understand how to prevent the spread of diseases they carry. A lab investigation provides learners with the opportunity to track the two-week life cycle of the mosquito. Scholars make...