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Observe the radioactive particles all around you by building a cloud chamber using a clear container, dry ice, and a little rubbing alcohol.
What does the Sun do? Tell us, using the hashtag#ExplainTheSun
In this activity from IRIS, students explore a mechanical model of a fault to learn how energy is stored elastically in rocks and released suddenly as an earthquake.
In this excerpt from the book Science for Parents, learn how to visualize convection using stuff you’ve probably already got in your kitchen.
For this science club, we want you to explain something to us, something BIG…
Create small turtle navigators and use them to detect magnetic fields in this activity and companion game.
Use a measuring cup to figure out the density of snow.
A home holiday experiment that explores combustion using festive fuels such as fir, pine, spruce, and cedar.
Use a simulation from PhET Interactive Simulations to model force in a tugging competition and a pushed skateboard.
Go out and observe something interesting! Submit your in-depth observations with the hashtag #ObserveEverything.
Can you match each jumping spider dance to its vibratory song?
Use two play dough recipes to create "squishy circuits" and explore electricity.
Three approaches for using images as gateways to instruction in grades 4-16
In this lesson from the Chemical Educational Foundation, apply the concepts of pressure and Newton's laws of motion to build balloon rockets.
Add some pizzazz to your favorite clothing and accessories using some wire, tape, a battery, and an LED.
In this activity from Science Buddies, you will burn some metal salts to investigate what colors they make, then you'll explain to your family and friends how fireworks colors are made!
In this activity from Science Buddies, kids will create their own hula hoops and investigate how the hoops' masses affect how they spin. Which do you think will spin better, a heavy hoop or a lighter one?
In this activity from Science Buddies, you will experiment with how a kite's tail affects how it flies.
Experiment with the relationship between boiling point and the Leidenfrost effect using different aqueous solutions, a metal pan, and a little baby powder.
Learn how insects have inspired engineers to make a robot that walks on the surface of water. Design your own water-walking critter using thin wire, and test its effectiveness: how many paperclips can it hold up using surface tension?
Use the physical characteristics of ice to determine where and how several mystery samples could have been frozen.
Perform an experiment to determine whether smooth or wrinkled fingers are better at holding wet objects. The experiment requires only a water bottle, paperclip, and plastic ruler. Downloads: Video, student data sheet, illustrated instructions
By building their own pinhole camera, students will learn how cameras, telescopes, and their own eyes use light in similar ways.
Explore color by creating color-filtering glasses using paper and tinted cellophane.
In this activity, students will discuss the differences between the Bear Creek Wind Park and Bergey Windpower turbines. Students will learn the basic parts of a wind turbine and then build their own model wind turbine out of recyclable materials. Students...
In this activity, students will learn how an electromagnet works by making a simple one. Using this knowledge, students will design a diagram to make a working speaker using household materials. Then students will follow instructions on one method of ma...
Buildings that are called “green” or “environmentally sustainable” are designed to use energy as efficiently as possible. In Missouri, Washington University’s Tyson Living Learning Center achieves sustainability by incorporating green technologies in diff...
In this activity, students will use household materials to investigate and explore how the release of carbon dioxide gas from a chemical reaction can cause a small-scale explosion. Students then will experiment with variables to determine which factors la...
In this activity, students will perform several experiments, using simple materials to explore the properties of reflection and refraction and how they work in telescopes.
Astronauts are allowed to bring special “crew preference” items when they go up in space. NASA astronaut Don Pettit chose candy corn for his five and a half month stint aboard the International Space Station. But these candy corn were more than a snack; P...
A crystal is a natural solid made up of a repeated pattern of molecules connected together. Crystals can form through the slow cooling of molten material (gemstones), or when a warm gas such as oxygen cools down (snowflakes), or when a liquid that contain...
Sound is all around us. Everything we hear in our day-to-day lives has a distinctive sound, from the jingling of keys to the tapping of footsteps in a hallway. Sound is created when objects vibrate. These vibrations cause the air around them to vibrate, s...