Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...

Put the pressure on as your class endeavors to construct an indestructible submersible! By watching a video, participating in class discussions, and the applying the complete scientific process, learners design a capsule that is slightly...

High schoolers research the hydroelectric plant removal project that is underway on the Klamath River. They consider the replacement of hydroelectric dams with geothermal power plants and form an argument based on their viewpoints. Since...

What makes this lesson stand out from others about our personal energy use is the myriad of high-quality materials that support it. Find clear images, well-designed worksheets, links to related websites, and a presentation rubric for the...

Immerse your young marine biologists in the world of marine animals. The instructional activity includes several activities that are age-appropriate for preschoolers and kindergartners, including coloring pages, gluing feathers and sand...

Students work in groups to prepare a brief broadcast or print news report from one of five possible viewpoints about an environmental contamination scenario. Students are given basic information about a chemical spill in a small town and...

Students investigate that chemicals may affect different people in different ways. They also realize that their perceptions of dangerous materials may not be realistic and that the news media may not provide all the information needed to...

Over several days, learners communicate and defend an argument regarding environmental justice issues in Chester, PA. After discussing the issue and viewing a video about the location of several toxic waste facilities in Chester, they...

Beginning biologists place a drop of food coloring into water of differing temperatures to observe the effect on the diffusion rate. They remove the shells from raw eggs and then experiment with osmosis over the remaining membranes....

Students examine potential contamination on the environment due to products and by-products of a new industrial process. Students conduct a lab that explores the economic differences between choices of pollution cleanup and prevention.

Students rank a list of everyday risks to compare with classmates. They rate each risk on both its ability to be controlled and its observability in the environment. Results are graphed.

Learners identify possible sources of health risks, types of exposures, routes of exposure, and populations that could be affected after discussing water pollution and environmental health hazards. After discussion, students conduct a...

Students construct models that demonstrate potential sources of contamination. Students select one type of contamination model (septic system, sinkhole, landfill, disposal lagoon, leaky barrels, oil spill, agricultural contamination) to...

Your biology class plays the role of epidemiologist when a mysterious illness breaks out in Kildare, USA. Using interviews with doctors, patients, and local citizens, maps, the results from different materials sampling, they work to...

High schoolers compare the perceived and actual risks of getting skin cancer, while looking at ways to minimize these risks. They may have very little grasp of the severity of the threat of skin cancer or be unaware of the increase in...

Math and science meet in this lesson plan on hybrid electric automobiles. This 24-page resource provides everything you need for teaching a lesson plan that compares the use of internal combustion engines to hybrid electric engines....

Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree is a great way to cover multiple concepts in an elementary school classroom. Throughout this instructional activity, they learn about economic principles such as scarcity and goods, science principles...

Addiction is a big deal! Playing a game of cards helps learners understand the concept of addiction. Through their analysis, they examine the potential for addiction and how it varies for each individual.

How do scientists know what Earth's climate was like millions of years ago? Young environmental scholars discover how researchers used proxy data to determine the conditions present before written record. Grouped pupils gain experience...

Happy Pi Day! This collection of games, experiments, and activities leads participants through an exploration of the many aspects and attributes of that mysterious quantity, pi. Activities range from using statistical...

Here is a good instructional activity which aptly describes how to do the classic "Oobleck" lab with your young scientists. Unfortunately, the "Oobleck Investigation Sheet" in the plan doesn't open. However, this is a very clear...

The Mars Global Surveyor spent two years creating a mineral map of the planet Mars using thermal emission spectrometry. To help young astronomers understand this remote sensing instrument, have them simulate how data is collected and...

Here is a fabulous set of teacher's notes that will make your next hands-on gravity and force lab fun and interesting. These notes provide you with three activities that allow children to make and test hypothesis regarding force,...

Students identify how technology aids scientists in their research. Through discussion, they explain the various ways scientists use Aerogel to aid in their collection of high-speed particles. Through experimentation, students create...