Building an Electric Motor

These are four classic activities used for instructing upper elementary electricians. The first involves experimenting with the Van de Graaff generator. The second is a series of hands-on experiences with static. In the third activity,...

Don't lift another finger, this physical and environmental science unit has everything you need to begin teaching your class about energy. Starting with a look at the greenhouse effect, these lessons and activities take young scientists...

The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years. The first lesson in a 10-part series teaches scholars about different forms of energy. They rotate through five stations with hands-on activities or experiments at each in order...

Energy is just energy, right? Explain various forms of energy to your young scientists by using an interactive experiment that contains common objects to demonstrate complex concepts. Pupils conduct experiments for radiant, thermal,...

I don't get electricity jokes, watts so funny about them? The 13th in a series of presentations covers energy, motors, currents, generating electricity, calculating electrical energy cost, transformers, and batteries.

Wow! Colorful and simple, these 160 slides introduce the various forms of energy, along with a relevant image. Some of the images are animations, which help beginning physical scientists to visualize the flow of electrons or energy! This...

One day's worth of sunlight can supply everyone on Earth with electricity for a year! Why, then, do we find ourselves in an energy crisis? Shine a light on solar energy with a short lesson and video. As part of a larger energy unit from...

Students create electricity. In this solar energy lesson, students role play how photovoltaic cells change sunlight into electricity.  Students discuss the experiment and create their own diagram of the model. 

What a wonderful way to explore motion and forces! Learners design a catapult, after watching a video and discussing types of catapults. This is a comprehensive and complete lesson with links to supplementary resources.

What are those shiny things that people are installing on the roofs of their houses? Learn about the structure, function, and logistics of solar panels, as well as the challenges of using the sun's energy as our exclusive power source on...