Students explore their peripheral vision by reading large letters on index cards. Then they repeat the experiment while looking through camera lenses, first a lens with a smaller focal length and then a lens with a larger focal length. Then they complete a worksheet and explain how the experiment helps them solve the challenge question introduced in lesson 1 of this unit.

This personalized playlist lets students have voice and choice and move at their own pace as they learn about energy types and sustainable energy. The playlist is aligned to the NGSS Science and Engineering Practice Developing and Using Models. The final project is to develop and use a model of their choice to show and explain their learning.

An adaptable exploratory and reflective activity that works with all ages and uses the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS*), Asking Question and Defining Problems Practice and one of several possible Crosscutting Concepts to explore students’ awareness, prior knowledge and cultural experiences related to a phenomenon or Disciplinary Core Idea .

See how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics.

This activity is a hands on investigation in which students will construct, and launch a trebuchet.

This resource is a collection of videos taught using a LightBoard, a specialized glass that creates a transparent white board. It teaches scientific principles to quantitatively assess the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 in indoor spaces based on factors such as the occupancy, time, room geometry, mask use, ventilation, air filtration, humidity, respiratory activities, etc., as well as how these factors interact. This collection is suitable for learners with some undergraduate-level training in STEM, although some videos may also be accessible to the general public. Graduate students and professionals can watch optional videos with more challenging mathematics. A full MITx course with problems and bonus content is available for free on MITx Online.

Students explore the physics utilized by engineers in designing today's roller coasters, including potential and kinetic energy, friction, and gravity. First, students learn that all true roller coasters are completely driven by the force of gravity and that the conversion between potential and kinetic energy is essential to all roller coasters. Second, they also consider the role of friction in slowing down cars in roller coasters. Finally, they examine the acceleration of roller coaster cars as they travel around the track. During the associated activity, the students design, build, and analyze a roller coaster for marbles out of foam tubing.

Students are introduced to the physics concepts of air resistance and launch angle as they apply to catapults. This includes the basic concepts of position, velocity and acceleration and their relationships to one another. They use algebra to solve for one variable given two variables.

In a class demonstration, the teacher places different pill types ("chalk" pill, gel pill, and gel tablet) into separate glass beakers of vinegar, representing human stomach acid. After 20-30 minutes, the pills dissolve. Students observe which dissolve the fastest, and discuss the remnants of the various pills. What they learn contributes to their ongoing objective to answer the challenge question presented in lesson 1 of this unit.

Student groups use a "real" 3D coordinate system to plot points in space. Made from balsa wood or wooden dowels, the system has three axes at right angles and a plane (the XY plane) that can slide up and down the Z axis. Students are given several coordinates and asked to find these points in space. Then they find the coordinates of the eight corners of a box/cube with given dimensions.

This article highlights lessons and activities that ask students to plan expeditions to Antarctica. Students use math, science, and geography to plan their routes, clothing, and food.

In this media-rich, self-paced lesson, students explore the industries that produce and rely on advanced technology and assess how their goals and interests may make them well suited for a career in this cutting-edge sector.

After a brief history of plastics, students look more closely as some examples from the abundant types of plastics found in our day-to-day lives. They are introduced to the mechanical properties of plastics, including their stress-strain relationships, which determine their suitability for different industrial and product applications. These physical properties enable plastics to be fabricated into a wide range of products. Students learn about the different roles that plastics play in our lives, Young's modulus, and the effects that plastics have on our environment. Then students act as industrial engineers, conducting tests to compare different plastics and performing a cost-benefit analysis to determine which are the most cost-effective for a given application, based on their costs and measured physical properties.

In this activity, learners work in groups to determine the mass and volume of four samples: glass marbles, steel washers or nuts, pieces of pine wood, and pieces of PVC pipe. Learners then plot the data points on a large class graph of mass vs. volume to discover that data points for a particular material form a straight line, the slope of which gives the density of the material.

This article provides an overview of podcasts and suggestions for using podcasts in the elementary classroom.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explores the historical and current exploration of the Arctic and Antarctica and provides resources that help elementary teachers incorporate a study of polar explorers into their curriculum.

This article assembles free resources from the Polar Explorers issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5.

This free, online article, developed for elementary teachers, describes a Kindergarten polar science, standards aligned, unit centered on The Polar Express developing literacy, math, and science skills.