Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the...

Scholars are introduced to the significant events that led to the development of today's modern forms of air travel. They create a timeline to identify the vital events that are related to man's flight. In addition, they research various...

Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...

As the great and hilarious Tim Minchin once said, "Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity." Science is more than just a guess; it is based on questions, observations, and evidence. High...

How do we protect crops and protect the environment at the same time? Using reading materials, learners explore the history of the use of pesticides and biocides. They create a timeline and then explore the current practices.

Lead your class in exploring their local communities as well as the general environment. As they determine continental distributions by investigating minerals, rocks, and fossils located in their local region, pupils construct...

"Have respect for the dead!" Scholars investigate how science and religion often clash. As they look into the laws of science and the laws of religion, the legal ramifications at the federal level of both play into an argument they...

Can you imagine Washington DC and London as close neighbors occupying the same continent? Learners will be fascinated as they step back in time and discover the evolution of the earth's continents and oceans from 4.5 billion...

More of a mini-unit than a lesson, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...

A number doesn't have much meaning without a standard of reference. Learners read about the history of developing standards to measure chemical and physical properties and complete reading guides to process the information. They focus on...

Using a variety of online resources, learners study life and society in California during the gold rush. They use a map to identify area where gold was located, explore pre-selected websites, describe mining practices, and create an...

Young scientists study the construction of a battery through experimentation. They engage in five experiments which combine to create a thorough study of the history of batteries beginning with a model of the first battery.

Don't get your classes all shook up about plate movement, instead use a thorough unit that guides learners to an understanding of plate tectonics. The lessons incorporate a study of the types of plate boundaries and their effects on the...

Study the chemistry of mining! Through nine lessons in the unit, learners explore different concepts related to mining. Their study ranges from rock and mineral analysis to the environmental impact of dynamite and the chemical reaction...

Can you move like a photon? Young scholars use a maze to reproduce the straight line motion of a photon. The second in a six-part series of lessons on the sun has learners measure angle of incidence and refraction to determine the path...

One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...

Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...

Students are divided into groups and follow directions of their group leaders and complete a worksheet while on site.

A video about the impact of climate change on butterfly populations and a PowerPoint about butterfly and bird adaptations warm science learners up for the activity to follow. Using a variety of tools that reprsent unique styles of bird...

Silver: more than jewelry, it's also a natural antimicrobial agent. An inquiry-based lesson asks collaborative groups to design and implement an experiment to test this property. Using samples of silver nanoparticles and a strain of...

Lead your class on a journey to the planet Jupiter and provide them with fun facts in the process. Learners explore radio waves emitted by Jupiter to further understand how this data helps our daily lives. They conclude by discussing...

Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...

When given too much data to simply memorize, it helps to sort it into manageable groups. The second lesson in the six-part series of Cosmic Chemistry challenges groups of pupils to take a large amount of data and figure out how to best...

The class will make observations to determine how environment has shaped the way particular birds and fish eat. They will view a series of photographs, read two short articles, and then consider how food availability has determined how...