Children learn how seasonal weather changes affect everything, from the behavior of animals to the way we dress and play.
In this activity, learners investigate how different materials repel or absorb water. Learners use spray bottles to explore how everyday items like sponges, cardboard, feathers, etc. respond to water differently. This activity also introduces learners to the scientific method as learners make predictions about which materials will absorb or repel water.
In this activity, learners track their movements with jumping and leaping graphs. In part A, learners jump as high as they can and press their inked fingers or hands against a large true-to-life chart with vertical distance marked along the vertical edge. Learners compare the results. In part B, learners jump as far as they can and use masking tape to mark their spot on a true-to-life bar graph. Again, learners compare the results.
This 440-page report explores how students in pre-K through grade 8 learn mathematics, with a focus on number and operations, and recommends how teaching, curricula, and teacher education should change to improve mathematics learning. (A 39-page summary, Helping Children Learn Mathematics, is catalogued separately.) The authors identify five interdependent components of mathematical proficiency and describe how students develop this proficiency. The report presents a portrait of mathematics learning: research findings on what children know about numbers before they arrive in pre-K and the implications for instruction; details on the processes by which students acquire mathematical proficiency; what is known from research about teaching for mathematics proficiency and developing proficiency in teaching. Visitors to this website may read the full text online, download a copy (pdf), or purchase a hard copy.
This blog entry for Scientific American discusses a book aimed at very young students to submerse them in math experiences and activities. The authors also provide suggestions for parents to help their children create meaningful conversations about more advanced math topics. This blog entry contains a link to download the book in PDF format (for free or a donation) or to purchase the book.
During World War Two, a fierce battle between American and Japanese forces on Kwajalein atoll left a trail of debris on the deep lagoon floor. This lagoon now has one of the largest collections of well-preserved aircraft in the world. In this video, as part of the first ever film crew allowed onto this secret military base, Jonathan explores a B-25, F4-U Corsair and Dauntless dive bomber still sitting on the bottom of the ocean, as if ready to take off. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
In this activity, learners separate a mixture of pebbles, salt crystals, and wood pieces. They add water and pour the mixture through a strainer. The pebbles are left in the beaker, the wood is caught by the strainer, and the salt stays dissolved in the water. The main idea is that different physical properties of the components can be used for separating them, and that evaporation can be used to isolate a solute from a solution. This activity is currently used in the Nature of Matter Unit in OMSI's Chemistry Lab. Cost estimates are per 100 learners.
Test the buoyancy of an aluminum foil boat and an aluminum foil ball. Why does the same material in different shapes sink or float? This activity explores the fact that the amount of water pushed aside by an object equals the force of water pushing upward on the object.
In this demonstration, learners observe the effects of air pressure. They will watch as marshmallows inside a bottle expand as a vacuum pump removes air from the bottle. The marshmallows will rapidly shrink back to their normal size when the vacuum stopper valve is released. Learners will enjoy watching this highly visual demonstration. This activity guide includes a helpful video that demonstrates each step of the demonstration.
Investigate a flower's power of marketing by making an imitation flower that successfully signals a bee (or other pollinator of your choice) to visit. Try to determine what characteristics will attract a pollinator to your flower. Also available as an online game.
How long does a baby elephant stay with her mother? What do you call a baby goat? Young children learn some interesting facts about the lives of baby animals in this original video from KET.
In this arts and crafts activity about animals and animal characteristics, learners will design animal hats and role-play as animals. Through this dramatic play, learners will practice and develop problem solving, cooperation, symbolic thinking, language and personal expression skills. Use the suggested open-ended questions to encourage learner reflection about their animal hat and animals in general.
In this video, Jonathan treks all the way to Antarctica to investigate life south of the polar circle. Along the way he dives in the majestic kelp forests of Patagonia, where crabs rule the sea floor. Once he arrives in Antarctica, his adventures continue. He swims with penguins, dives under an iceberg, meets a massive jellyfish 3 feet wide, and has an incredible encounter with a Leopard seal, the apex predator of Antarctica. Part 1 finds Jonathan diving in Ushuaia, Patagonia in Argentina before boarding the ship to Antarctica, then he finally gets to Antarctica and meets some penguins! This program won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.
In this video, Jonathan treks all the way to Antarctica to investigate life south of the polar circle. Along the way he dives in the majestic kelp forests of Patagonia, where crabs rule the sea floor. Once he arrives in Antarctica, his adventures continue. He swims with penguins, dives under an iceberg, meets a massive jellyfish 3 feet across, and has an incredible encounter with a Leopard seal, the apex predator of Antarctica. Part 2 finds Jonathan continuing his exploration of Antarctica including an encounter with a Leopard seal. This program won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.
In this engineering activity, young learners investigate multi-level buildings. Learners observe buildings in their neighborhood and then, using simple household materials, create their own multi-level models. This activity (page 4 of the PDF) is part of the Curious George "Under Construction" lesson plan, which includes several activities that explore building engineering. Activities are connected to fiction and non-fiction books and include family extension projects.
In this "Sid the Science Kid" activity, learners make applesauce to explore irreversible change. Learners compare and contrast apples that have been changed by heat with apples that haven't been changed. This activity includes a "Sid the Science Kid" video showing how to conduct the investigation. Safety note: adult supervision required.
In this video Jonathan visits the New England Aquarium as a volunteer aquarist for a day to learn what it takes to care for thousands of fish in dozens of exhibits, up to the massive 200,000 gallon Giant Ocean Tank (GOT). What he finds is an eye openerŰÓitŰŞs not all fun and games. Maintaining an aquarium is serious work. But it does have its benefits, as Jonathan discovers while diving in the GOT and feeding the sharks. This segment won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
This open-ended art project allows learners to create their own colorful ice sculpture by using rock salt and food coloring on a solid block of ice. The entire activity is like a mini-science lesson because it teaches learners the physical reaction of salt on ice.
In this activity, learners listen to a story and tell a story of their own as they learn about the importance of elders in Native American cultures. Learners also discover that animals were often the subjects of stories. Native Americans understood the importance of animals to human life, observed them carefully and showed them great respect. Learners will enjoy listening to "How Chipmunk Got His Stripes" by Joseph and James Bruchac and then write and act out their own animal stories featuring a woodland creature. This activity is featured on pp.15-18 of the "One With the Earth: Native Americans and the Natural World" multidisciplinary unit of study for kindergarten through third grade.
The ability to ask and answer questions while reading is essential to comprehension. This article discusses instructional strategies used to teach questioning and provides many online resources. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which explores the seven essential principles of the climate sciences for teachers in k-grade 5 classrooms.
Squirrels and chipmunks are just two of the animals you might see. Backyard Wildlife, an original KET video, encourages children to explore the world outside their back door.
Squirrels and chipmunks are just two of the animals you might see. Backyard Wildlife, an original KET video, encourages children to explore the world outside their back door.
This interactive activity allows young children to investigate the concept of equivalence using a balance. Children balance a bird feeder and a bird house by placing bird food, cocoons or birds to make it stable in the middle. No numbers are used with this tool.
Experiment with force and pressure by building a balloon rocket. When launched, the balloon will run a track wherever you place the string. All you need is a balloon, clothespin, a straw, some tape, and some string, then get ready for take off!
In the open ocean around the Bahamas, pods of wild Spotted Dolphins frolic in the sunshine. Sometimes, they get bored and approach boats. In this educational video, Jonathan joins dolphin expert Wayne Scott Smith to learn how dolphins interact with each other. Jonathan learns how to play the Bandana Game, a game of -keep away- that the dolphins invented and like to play with Scott. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
In this activity, learners observe hard parts of sea creatures (shells, molts, etc.) to better understand marine environments. A series of questions is provided to help guide learners through observations, and there are suggestions for adapting the questions to fit older and younger audiences. Background information is provided about gastropods (e.g. whelks), mollusks (e.g. clams, mussels, oysters), echinoderms (e.g. sea stars, sand dollars), and crustaceans (e.g. crabs). The activity is written for use in a science museum or aquarium, but could also be used anywhere you can set out the examples and have learners interact with them. You could even adapt the activity for exploring outdoors at a tide pool or similar place.
In this outdoor activity, learners become beachcombers as they walk on a sandy beach in search of evidence of life. Learners gather examples and consider how the collected artifacts reached the beach. Learners then match their artifacts with the living organism that created each, while also telling stories about how the artifact might have been used. This activity can be done with learners of various ages, but the level of details in identifying and describing what its found can be varied according to age.
The stated mission of this blog is "To make the nightly math problem as common as the bedtime story." Each day Laura Bilodeau Overdeck and her husband John post an interesting fact or scenario about everyday life and related math problems at three readiness levels. They include a page of suggestions for how to use these problems with children. This is a good source of problems for teachers and parents, as well as a model for adapting problems to meet different needs.
As a group, learners investigate three packages which are all the same size and shape, but have different contents. One is filled with foam, one is filled with wood, and one is filled with metal. Learners are introduced to the concept of density, that objects with the same volume but different masses have different densities. Learners can extend their learning using one of the extensions provided: twenty questions to determine contents, determine the volume of the packages, determine mass and densities of the packages. Part of the 21-activity guide published by OMSI, No Hassle Messy Science with a Wow. All activities in this guide use household materials and all lesson plans include preparation directions, demonstrations, procedure sheets, cross-curricular connections, and scientific explanation of content.
This is an activity about waves. Using marbles, paper clips and rubber bands, learners explore how waves behave. This is an excellent activity to use to lead into discussion of waves of all sorts (sound, ocean, light).
In this activity, learners investigate different types of bird beaks using household items which mimic different beak examples. Participants will then learn how beaks are adapted to the type of foods a bird eats.
This is a tape and glue activity in which learners make binoculars that they can decorate and then use to go bird watching. The suggested questions encourage learners to share their knowledge, thoughts and feelings about birds. This resource also includes a brief explanation of how a bird's unique anatomy enables it to fly. Note: these are not functioning binoculars.
In this video, Jonathan joins Charlie Donilon on his shark charter boat in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and learns about how shark tagging has shed light on the biology of and behavior of Blue sharks. Tagging has shown that these incredible swimmers actually migrate completely across the Atlantic ocean. Jonathan tries his hand at tagging a shark and then swims with Blue sharks. We also learn that Blue sharks are not nearly as vicious as they have been reputed to be, and the divers are actually able to pet the sharks! Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
In this activity, learners develop an understanding of cylinders and volume as they compare two sizes of popcorn buckets.
In this activity, learners use their imaginations and experiment with different materials to create bug hats. Use the suggested open-ended questions to encourage learners to talk about what they know about bugs as well as to compare humans and insects. Learners will also discover that insects use antennae to touch, taste, and smell!
This iOS app ($) is a collection of 18 activities providing practice with a wide range of early math skills involving number, shape, and measurement.
Learners make bell bracelets, place them on their wrists or ankles, and then dance to the rhythms and sounds the bells make. Many cultures use ankle or wrist bells to make music during dancing. This is a useful activity in any unit on sound, music, or cultures.
In this activity, learners assemble large cubes to make nano-related images. Learners discover how different objects are related to nanoscience and nanotechnology.
In this hands-on activity, learners make a bridge out of a folded piece of paper and two blocks. Then they test their structure by stacking coins (and other things) on it, discovering how much weight the bridge can support before it collapses. This activity explores engineering, technology, architecture, weight, compression, tension, and balance.
This online interactive has three activities in the NanoLab (press the upper right button): Build, Zoom, and Transform. In Build, learners build increasingly complex molecules out of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, and is useful for connecting subscripts and the number of atoms, and for introducing 3D molecular structures which are automatically built. Zoom is a "powers of 10" zoom-in ranging from 10,000 kilometers to 1 nanometer. Transform is a simulation of water changing phase from solid to liquid to gas. Through exploration of the site learners form a better understanding of the composition of matter.