This lab activity is geared toward experienced chemistry learners, in particular, those who are familiar with organic chemistry. They will create a synthetic elastomer  and then make observations and measurements of its different...

This in-depth organic chemistry lab walks learners through an investigation of the effect of initiator concentration on the resulting molecular weight of polystyrene. It is important that you use this instructional activity with...

Students determine the best solvent system for separating a methylene blue/sodium fluorescein mixture by thin layer chromatography. They conduct an initial TLC separation using ethanol and a different solvent mixture and analyze the data...

Redecorate a classroom on a budget. Middle schoolers rebuild a classroom after a disaster. They conduct Internet research to determine construction supplies needed and the most cost effective way to reach the predetermined results. They...

Designed as an overview of the benefits of a 4-H program, this presentation, created by faculty from Purdue University, would provide a terrific introduction. Those who are interested in starting a 4-H group or club could explore the...

Second graders learn about how the food is broken down in our bodies and the job of each body part involved in our digestive system. The utilize the CD ROM game, "Body Works." This wonderful game takes pupils through the human body's...

An excellent activity awaits your young scientists! In it, learners are invited to explore the world of pulleys, levers, and planes; simple machines that make lifting heavy things much, much easier. They watch video, and engage in...

Demonstrate lift to the class that is studying aerodynamics. In the stream of air produced by a blow dryer, little physicists place a wad of tissue paper and a spherical figure to compare. Or, if you have a vacuum cleaner and beach ball,...

Experienced chemistry technicians use then layer chromatography to discover how much of a free compound is left after each rinse cycle. Where this could obviously be used as a practice with chromatography technique, it can also be used...

Your older elementary students investigate electromagnetic energy and the electromagnetic spectrum. They will observe 7 items represented in the electromagnetic spectrum and make a poster of all the things the items have in common. After...

Firts graders distinguish between sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. They group the rocks into the appropriate group. This is one of the best-organized plans I've seen! Learners watch a PowerPoint presentation which is embedded...

Learn about George Washington Carver's important contributions to agriculture by studying the sweet potato. First graders read about the inventor's observations and prepare sweet potato slips for the class garden. Additionally, they...

Fifth graders define words. They create a dichotomous key. After carefully examining pill bugs, 5th graders record observations. They compare and contrast habitats of pillbugs.

Students investigate issues of degradation and weathering of polymeric materials during their useful life. They evaluate photodegradable plastics and their viability as an environmental solution for litter and investigate the qualitative...

Sixth graders use various resources to locate information for a database (name of planets, diameter of planets, etc.). They enter the data onto a prepared data grid. Use of Access to sort data is accented within this lesson. Students...

Students write a journal exercise that relates to pets. They collect information from each other in order to practice making and interpreting bar graphs. They Continue building different kinds of graphs with the group.

Young schoolers explore the concept of linear regression. They determine the mass and density of salt water. Pupils add salt to water and record the density as salinity increases, and perform a linear regression on the data to model the...

The threat posed by super volcanoes is explored in a short video that reviews the destruction caused by Mount Tambora in 1815 and by Peru's Huaynaputina in 1600. Think it can't happen again? The narrator contends that the explosive...

Is DNA still present after picking fruit or cooking vegetables? Biology scholars extract and collect DNA strands in an impactful lab. Working groups prepare their samples and compare their results to negative and positive standard...

Students calculate acceleration due to gravity with the measurements of the period of a pendulum or measurements of the time for an object to fall from different heights. They observe and measure the effect of air resistance on the...

Students investigate healthy eating habits by researching livestock. In this food sustainability lesson, students research the negative impact factory farming has on our environment due to pollution. Students define agricultural...

Students study the variables that affect the Earth's albedo.  For this environmental data analysis lesson students interpret and graph information and calculate changes. 

During a unit on density, pupils ponder whether or not temperature affects this property. By carefully inserting blue cold water and yellow hot water into a room-temperature sample, they will see the answer. Make sure to have done the...

Who says scientists are boring geeks? Certainly not the narrator of a short video who dishes up the scandals associated with Tycho Brahe, a Danish scientist and alchemist (now that's two labels you don't often see together) who used...