Exploratorium
Whack-a-Stack
Go wild as you hit a stack of wooden blocks to demonstrate Newton's first and second laws of motion. The blocks at the top of the stack stay put as you knock one at a time out of the bottom. Note, however, that you will need to...
Curated OER
Magnetic Levitation
A thorough investigation of magnetic levitation; this activity has four parts. First, physical scientists play with a wooden dowel and three disc magnets to review polarity and repelling action. Then they experiment with...
PBS
Zip Line
Slide all the way to the bottom. Using the design process, pupils create a carrier for a ping pong ball that will travel down a zip line. Learners test their carriers and determine solutions to issues they encounter to complete the third...
Curated OER
Respiratory System Model
The procedure for constructing a working model of the respiratory system is revealed in this resource. A wonderful approach would be to have biology learners work in pairs to create a model and write the suggested paragraph explaining...
Olomana School
Mixtures and Solutions: Paper Chromatography Experiment
Why does some ink bleed through paper, and other ink doesn't? Practice some paper chromatography to separate the colors from a pen with an interactive experiment for middle and high schoolers. Learners use a variety of solutions to track...
Curated OER
Glaciers Worksheet #2
A map of the Hudson River Valley is exhibited here. Arrows representing glacial striations are spread across the map for learners to analyze. They answer five multiple choice questions in response. The worksheet is a compact review of...
Curated OER
Understanding Topographic Maps
Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...
Curated OER
Up and Atom
"Up and Atom" is a mini-unit introducing middle-schoolers to the wonders of elements. Participants draw atom models, examine the periodic table, compare samples of metals to nonmetals, identify unknown elements, and more! The beginning...
Curated OER
Shells on the Mountain Top?
Students work in groups to remove fossils from sediments, classifying as many organisms and parts of organisms as possible into major groups. They study the data from each formation and make conclusions about the types of organisms and...
Curated OER
No Title
First graders listen as the book, "Tops and Bottoms," by Janet Stevens is read to them and then participate in a discussion about foods and where they grow. They draw a picture of a plant labeling the major parts of it sequential order.
Curated OER
Mountain Building
Teacher prepares four layers of Plasticine stacking layers on top of each other to create a model of how rocks within the earth can be folded creating anticlines and synclines below the surface and mountains and valleys on the surface.
Curated OER
Chemistry: The Case of the Sunken Ice Cube
Students examine a density demonstration involving ice cubes and beakers of water and alcohol. After observing how one ice cube floats in water and sinks in alcohol, they determine which mixture of the two would suspend the ice cube in...
National Science Teachers Association
Adopt-a-Dino
Earth historians research a specific dinosaur, write a paper about the Mesozoic era that it lived in, create an artistic rendition of the environment, and give a presentation in class about what they learned. Be aware that there are...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Small Scale Stenciling: Mask Lab
Investigate the procedure for developing computer chips! Learners use solar print paper to create both positive and negative images. They observe the effects of single and multiple exposures and compare results.
Curated OER
A Star to Steer Her By
Students determine their latitude using a protracdtor and/or cross-staff to find the altitude of Polaris.
Curated OER
The Water Cycle
Observe the stages of the water cycle by completing 3 activities. To help understanding of the water cycle your students can observe evaporation, the formation of frost, vapor and water and the process of distillation which is used to...
Cornell University
Bridge Building
Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.
DiscoverE
A Clever Way to Water
Your plants will survive without you. Scholars create a device that can water plants using a coiled string. Along the way, they learn about adhesion and cohesion of water. The challenge is to keep the plants alive for at least a week.
American Museum of Natural History
The Milky Way Galaxy
Just how big is the galaxy? Learners read information about the size of the Milky Way galaxy to better comprehend its size. Pupils develop an understanding of the number of stars in the galaxy by finding just how big a billion is and...
Cornell University
Constructing and Visualizing Topographic Profiles
Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...
Curated OER
Use Culinary Concoctions to Illustrate Geological Events
Incorporating food into your science lesson helps learners to visualize and taste the complex concepts of Geology.
Curated OER
Relative Age Dating
Modeling dough and paper cutouts in science class? Learn about how relative age dating concepts, like the Law of Superposition and cross-cutting relationships, can be used to describe the formation of sedimentary layers.
Curated OER
Erosion Patterns
Students explore erosion when there are multiple types of sediments. They view a soil separation demonstration jar before and after agitation to determine how and why the layers settled. In addition, they conduct experiments with a river...
Polar Trec
Ice Cores: Modeling Ice Sheets
Ice cores provide scientists with knowledge of historic melt layers, air temperatures, greenhouse gases, and climate stability. Scholars work in groups to build layers representing snow and ice over thousands of years. Then, groups...