Curated OER
Cosmic Mobiles: Recycled Art
If you have a little left over tinsel and aluminum foil, your class can create these fun moon and star mobiles. Poster board or recycled cardboard become your moon and stars; the tinsel gives them sparkle. This would be a great...
Curated OER
Linear, Square, and Cubic Units
Linear, square, and cubic units are all investigated as different types of packages are measured. The teacher will need supplies such as a box of aluminum foil, a package of ribbon, and a bag of mulch. The class determines the...
Curated OER
Aluminum Boats
Students study buoyancy with an in-class experiment. In this water properties lesson, students create a boat from aluminum foil and float it in a bucket of water. Students utilize coins to change the weight of the boat and...
Curated OER
Can Magnets Interact With Objects Through Different Materials
Second graders experiment with and explore magnets. They manipulate them to see how they react with other magnets and with other objects. They experiment to see how magnets work through different thicknesses of objects (paper,...
Discovery Education
It's Melting!
It's a race to the finish! Which ice cube will melt the fastest? Scholars discover the effect thermal energy has on melting ice. They experiment with melting ice cubes on different materials and learn that even at a consistent...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Insulation
Youngsters compare the heat-holding abilities of three different cans by insulating two with different materials and measuring the temperature change of hot water over a 20-minute period.
University of Colorado
Looking Inside Planets
Researchers use scientific data to understand what is inside each of the planets. The first in a series of six, this lesson builds off of that concept by having pupils use a data table to create their own scale models of the interiors of...
American Museum of Natural History
The Amazing Mundo
Rocks and minerals are great on their own, but they also turn into some pretty amazing stuff! An online lesson explains the different types of materials we get from rocks and minerals, including glass, plastic, and coins. An embedded...
PBS
Cloud Clues
It's cloudy with a good chance of learning! An inquiry-based lesson begins with an exploration of transparent, translucent, and opaque materials. Young scientists then connect their learning to the different cloud types as they take the...
Lake Afton Public Observatory
Shadows, Angles, and the Seasons
Shine some light on the topic of seasonal change with this collection of activities. Whether it's by measuring the change in the length of their shadows, or modeling the earth's orbit around the sun using a lamp and a globe, these...
Curated OER
Foil tooling - Oriental Art
Students view examples of copper tooling. They create a sketch the size of their copper. Students tape the top and bottom of the sketch to their copper and place a stack of newspaper under the copper. They trace all lines of their sketch...
Curated OER
Monoprinting with Foil
Young scholars create a monoprint. In this printmaking lesson, students use tempura paint on a piece of foil to create a picture. Then, young scholars place a piece of paper against the wet paint and press to make a print of the image.
Curated OER
Chemistry Day With Glitter Wands
First graders observe examples of the three states of matter and identify matter in each of the three states. They make glitter wands to remind them of the three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas. Pupils brainstorm and record...
Curated OER
Barge Building: What Floats Your Boat?
Students construct aluminum foil boats that float while holding the greatest number of pennies. They investigate the concept of water displacement, record their results, and watch a Bill Nye video on buoyancy.
Curated OER
Ships to a New World
Students experiment with buoyancy as a force. In this buoyancy lesson, students access an assigned website to examine the sailing vessels that came to the New World. They work as teams to build boats out of aluminum foil to see which...
Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Out of This World
Students learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. For this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students explore craters that objects of different sizes and weights (marbles, Ping-Pong balls, and aluminum foil balls) create.
Curated OER
Buoyant Boats
Students design and construct a boat out of aluminum foil and a few other simple materials. The boats then be tested by floating them in water, then adding mass until they sink. They explore the various shapes of boat construction.
Curated OER
Galaxy Mapping
Learners research the constellations and discuss their findings. Then they construct their own maps of the galaxy using paper, black paint, aluminum foil, etc. They make a 3-D map of their chosen constellation.
Curated OER
Olympic Solar Energy
Students use cardboard and aluminum foil to construct a solar oven that concentrates enough sunlight to cook a hotdog. They review the history and use of solar energy in relation to the Olympics.
Exploratorium
Hand Battery
Get hands-on in your physical science class by having learners conduct electricity with their own hands! By placing one hand on each of two different metals, a current can be generated and measured on a microammeter. Make an experiement...
PHET
Measuring the Interplanetary Magnetic Field
Scientists need to figure out how to measure interplanetary magnetic fields, but the magnetic field of the spacecraft is interfering with their readings. Scholars attempt to solve the problem that has perplexed NASA scientists for years.
Cornell University
Buoyancy
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting instructional activity, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test...
Curated OER
Light - Stop Faking It!
This well-designed presentation covers many important aspects of the science behind light. In it, pupils view slides that have a lot of the important vocabulary associated with science, slides of famous scientists who made important...