Inventions and Discovery

If your class is watching the Discovery streaming video Life Science:Bacteria, Understanding: Bacteria, or just studying bacteria, this might be a useful resource for helping students to discover the deeper impact of bacteria on their...

Here is an ambitious activity which has learners take a look at which nations came up with the most important scientific inventions/advancements during the 20th century. Focusing on group work, cloning is explored. All of the worksheets...

The man who invented the earliest examples of chemical engineering was an American-born, French-educated, free man of color before the Civil War, and went on to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. There is something of interest for almost...

From the start of the Industrial Revolution, it only took 147 years for someone to invent plastic. This may seem like a long time, but in the history of inventing or discovering new materials, this is incredibly fast. An informative and...

Leonardo da Vinci was not only one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he also made noteworthy contributions to the world of science. A video discusses some of his research, inventions, and his place in history. It...

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" This question guides Regina Dugan's exploration of amazing achievements in science and engineering that push the boundary of impossibility. From robotic hummingbirds and...

Students study the invention of the parachute and how Leonardo da Vinci came up with the design.  In this aerodynamics lesson students test the properties that make parachutes more efficient.

Young scholars research chosen scientific discoveries and then create an imaginative windsock model of the invention. Students describe how their technology was invented and the impact the invention made upon others. Young scholars...

Hot off the press! The Higgs boson may be proven to exist! In an ice cream "bar," two shady cartoon characters discuss the news. Since all particles are excitation of fields, the presence of this fundamental particle suggests that the...

Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...