Eighth graders conduct an experiment that analyzes the physical and chemical characteristics of various water samples. They discuss the procedures and safety concerns for the water test, and test their water samples to determine if they...

Review basic vocabulary related to mammals. This short quiz game allows students to test their skills and understanding of scientific vocabulary. This game is appropriate for grades 5-7 and covers very basic concepts. 

Students explore and discuss the link between values and science. They read several articles on such topics as global warming, cloning, genetically modified crops and animal testing and then identify the subjective aspect of science in...

Middle schoolers examine the organic and inorganic components of soil. In this environmental science lesson, students identify the factors that influence soil formation. They collect soil samples, conduct tests, and analyze the results.

Design protection from high-speed particles. The STEM lesson plan highlights why astronauts need protection from space debris. Pupils use the design process to design, build, and test a spacesuit that will protect a balloon from a...

Water filtration — that's pure genius! Groups test the ability of a water filter to purify water by running chlorine contaminated water through a filter and measuring the chlorine concentrations as they filter the water. They then graph...

Space, the Final Frontier. The nine NASA-created challenges in this unit are designed to teach class members the engineering design process. Each challenge comes with teacher and student pages that can be used individually or as a...

Discover how the human body's digestive system works with a brain and stomach friendly activity. Scholars taste test a variety of foods to find out how they behave once in the mouth. Class members then play a game called Move That...

In collaborative groups, emerging engineers or environmental scientists plan and construct a water wheel or watermill that rotates for a total of three minutes. Everything you need to carry out this lesson is included: objectives,...

In May of 1981, the Winter Park Sinkhole in Florida first appeared and is now referred to as Lake Rose. Scholars learn about the causes of sinkholes through an inquiry project. Then, they analyze recent data and draw conclusions to...

When we think of ocean exploration, many of us have visions of sunken pirate ships full of treasure or mysterious creatures of the deep. What really motivates deep-sea investigation? The first in a series of diverse six-part lessons...

What is an alien's favorite game? All-star baseball! Scholars start defining living and non-living. Then, they conduct experiments to research if life exists, keeping in mind that life could be in many forms, not just human. 

Blue-tinted water is added to unknown liquids that have been tinted yellow to find out how they interact. This is a memorable activity that is part of an investigation on the properties of liquids, which is part of a unit on the...

Students examine the different properties that affect water quality.  In this pollution lesson students play a game, complete a hands on activity and computer lab. 

Learners investigate the growth of yeast in a sugar solution. They verify the pressure of carbon dioxide using bromothymol blue. Students are asked to describe the difference between the contents of the test tubes used and to explain...

Students explore magnetism. They make observations of everyday items regarding their magnetic attraction and use their experiences to make a prediction.

Learners examine the importance of vitamin c in their diets and the sources that it comes from.  In this vitamin lesson students complete hands on activities, interpret data and make a bar graph.

Emerging engineers read about Arduino software and how it can be used. Then they follow a nine-step tutorial to connect an Arduino board to a computer and put it to work! The objective is to code a program that will cause an LED to...

Every child's dream: stuffing as much candy into a bag as possible. Doing this, though, requires a nice sturdy bag. Scholars design the sturdiest bag they can and test the limits of those bag using a sweet treat!

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...

Join the tree house detectives in learning about the processes of the water cycle, water conservation, water treatment, and water as a limited resource.

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.

An average home produces twice as many emissions as an average car. Teach your class how to reduce energy consumption by replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Perform an experiment to compare...

Engage young biologists in exploring the mysteries of life with this collection of hands-on activities. Enlisting the help of numerous digital resources, students get an up-close look at the structure of plant and animal...