Build a Bobsled Racer Activity adapted from the Museum of Science, Boston‘s Design Challenges, a program of hands-on activities developed to help students and visitors explore the engineering design process, and from the version modified for classroom use by California’s Tech Museum of Innovation. Click on link to view the educator’s guide (.pdf) Summary Teams of students in grades 3 to 8 learn about friction, forces, and the engineering design process by building and testing miniature bobsleds to see which can race down an icy slope either the fastest or slowest. Grade level: 3-8 Time: 20 minutes for the activity, 10 minutes for setup and clean up. Learning outcomes After doing this activity, students should be able to: Standards International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Energy is the capacity to do work. Next Generation Science Standards The Challenge Design a bobsled to race down the icy slopes as quickly or as slowly as possible. Materials Procedure Before the activity Activity 1. 2.Create. 3. 4.
Monster Physics To say that my family loves physics type apps is an understatement. We own a couple of other apps similar to Monster Physics; though my family enjoyed playing the others they always wished it could do more. Well, along comes Monster Physics and problem solved! This awesome universal app contains features the other apps are missing; such as all of the parts are available from the beginning, no need to earn them before you use them in the free play area. One other feature is that the app is designed in a way that you are much more likely to learn about physics, concepts and how to apply them. Monster Physics teaches the user about physics in a way that is fun; the “Learn” section is dedicated to teaching you important physics concepts such as gravity, friction and speed and velocity; more importantly it explains the concepts in a way that kids can understand them and apply that knowledge in the missions portion of the app. Bottom line ▸ Create your own monster avatar ▸ Solve 50 fun missions
Digestive System, Digestion Information, Digestive System Facts, News, Photos -- National Geographic The digestive system is the series of tubelike organs that convert our meals into body fuel. In all there's about 30 feet (9 meters) of these convoluted pipeworks, starting with the mouth and ending with the anus. Along the way, food is broken down, sorted, and reprocessed before being circulated around the body to nourish and replace cells and supply energy to our muscles. Food on the plate needs to become a mashed-up, gooey liquid for the digestive system to be able to split it up into its constituent parts: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Moistening saliva fed into the mouth from nearby glands starts the process of chemical digestion using specialized proteins called enzymes. Once we swallow, digestion becomes involuntary. The esophagus empties into the stomach, a large, muscular chamber that mixes food up with digestive juices including the enzymes pepsin, which targets proteins, and lipase, which works on fats. Key Players
Activity: Robot Basketball Lesson courtesy of TryEngineering Summary In this activity, students in grades 5 to 12 learn about accuracy and precision by working in teams to design and build a robotic basketball player that can nail three free-throw shots in a row. Grade level: 5 -12 Time: Three or four 45-minute session Learning objectives After doing this activity, students should be able to: Understand and implement the engineering design process to solve a problemUnderstand the difference between precision and accuracyUse knowledge of simple machines to refine the projectile’s trajectoryCalculate accuracy percentages and use scatter plots to visualize precision Standards National Science Education Standards Content Standard B: Physical Science. Principles and Standards for School Mathematics Measurement Standard. Common Core State Mathematics Standards Materials Put all of the materials on a resource table: PreparationSet up the “Testing Zone.” Have 3 testing ping-pong balls in a cup at the starting line. Procedure 1. 2. 3.
Curious Little Apps :: The best educational iPad apps for kids Overview Monster Physics is an addictive creative app that encourages children to learn more about physics and explore physical phenomena that they will encounter in their daily lives. There are fifty missions where kids are challenged to complete tasks that involve a cute little monster, such as helping it reach some fruit to eat. Kids are free to use their creativity in the ‘Build It’ option, where they design inventions that allow them to experiment freely. Learning Outcome Children are encouraged to gain an intuitive understanding of physical phenomenon by trialling different strategies throughout the missions and by exploring the possibilities offered in the ‘Build It’ section. Children can also read a section that explains physics terminology in language that we believe that older children can easily comprehend. This app suits kids who enjoy engaging in open ended tasks and those who learn through play as it encourages creativity throughout. Usability More info Fun Factor Negatives
Your Free Stuff: Handouts, Worksheets, and Coloring Sheets | Science With Me! Get it Now! Your Free Stuff: Handouts, Worksheets, and Coloring Sheets Dear Parent, Thank you so much for your interest in our free handouts and worksheets. You should know that this is just the tip of the iceberg – if you like what you see here, then you’re going to absolutely love our Activities Bundle! Anyway, without further ado, here’s the material. (Bookmark this page, so that you can come back whenever you need!) Printable PDF/JPEG Cartoons All About Air Air is Matter.Air Expands When Heated & Contracts When Cooled.Air Weighs Something.Air Pushes in All Directions.Air Moves.Air Has Volume.Fire Needs Air To Burn.Air Has Pressure – Card,Water & GlassAir Has Pressure – Fountain BottleAir Has Pressure – Hovercraft Science Experiments For Kids How do plants drink? Learn About Laboratory Apparatus Learn About Laboratory Apparatus – Download the Worksheets Learn about the Butterfly Learn About Electricity Learn About the Human Skeleton Learn About The Skeleton – Download the Worksheets inShare0
Energetic Water Curious Little Apps :: How It Works: Machines by Geek Kids Overview As parents and educators we are constantly responding to questions of how and why. With the help of How It Works: Machines children can get a close look at how nine different everyday machines work, including a car, a hair dryer, a lawn mower and a vacuum cleaner. They are encouraged to assemble these devices by dragging pieces of the inside mechanics of different machines to their illustrative see-through structures. Then they sit back and watch the parts work together and listen to their sound effects. Learning outcome How It Works: Machines encourages children to find out about how different machines work by watching their parts functioning together. This app suits inquirers – children who have an interest in finding out more about how the world works. Usability This iPad app is very simple to navigate. More info This iPad app encourages children to: Fun factor Children will be amazed as they see how machines that they have used before actually work. Negatives The Bottom Line
Planets For Kids - Solar System Facts and Astronomy 2nd Biannual NGSS STEM Education Conference Download the conference schedule and a map Session 1 Arms & Arteries: Adventures in Biomechanical Engineering Looking for ways to integrate engineering into your life science and biology classes? Try biomechanical engineering! Join us as we engineer ways to unclog arteries and construct prosthetic arms while incorporating key scientific principles and NGSS Science & Engineering Practices along the way. Download Session PDFs Session 2 Environmental Engineering: Life in the Bay Water Together we’ll design and build tools for exploring bay water. Session 3 Seismic Engineering Feeling a little shaky on how to teach engineering in your earth science unit? Session 4 Build a Battery of Batteries Come explore the physics and chemistry of simple batteries! Session 5 Build a Better Motor We’ll start by taking apart a spring-powered motor to see how it stores and releases energy, and then we’ll take apart a small electric motor to see how the magnets, wire coils, and electrical connections are arranged.
Easy {and Fun} Catapult for Kids to Make A catapult for kids to make is what we are featuring today! What kid doesn’t want to launch something across the room? Build a catapult to develop this love even more. Kids Activities Blog hopes your kids love this activity as much as our own do. Catapult for Kids to Make Before building our craft stick catapult, I showed my 3 year old how to turn a spoon into a catapult. Supplies needed: 7 craft sticks3 rubber bandsa milk capcotton balls {or other objects to launch} I then showed him pictures of catapults from Google images. Build a Catapult Stack 5 craft sticks together, and rubber band the ends.Stack 2 craft sticks together, and wrap a rubber band around the very end.Separate the 2 craft sticks. Catapult Science Now create a simple experiment using the catapult of your choice. Launch an object from the catapult multiple times and measure how far it travels each time.Launch different objects from the catapult and measure how far each object travels.Compare catapults. More Kids Activities
Graphing Average Speed with Superworms | Kesler Science My favorite lab in our force and motion unit is called graphing average speed with superworms. I’ve done this lab for the last several years in my class, and it’s always a hit with the students. The kids like it because they are working with a live organism, and it really helps solidify the concept of graphing motion. During the lab students record data from the path of superworm (species of darkling beetle). Every 10 seconds for a minute they are responsible for recording the position of the worm. After they data collection process is over the students are asked to find different measurements and fill out their data tables. Once the data table has been filled out students will create a position/time graph, and a distance/time graph. I like doing this lab on a larger piece of paper so the data from the experiment and the graphs are all visible on the same piece of paper. About The Author Chris Kesler