Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 104)

Household Water Usage

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How much water do you use? Conserving water can do more than save your parents' money, it can also save freshwater ecosystems, wetlands, and watersheds. Some companies are trying to help fix the problem by making low flow faucets and showerheads. How well do they work? How much water can you save? Go to the hardware store to buy a few of the water saving products. Compare the amount of water that you run over a period of time to determine how much water you can save. Which water saving… Read more

How Can Life Survive on a Planet with Extreme Tidal Locking?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wondered what life might look like on other planets? Life might need to survive conditions that would seem very extreme to us. Such conditions likely exist on planets that orbit abundant red dwarf stars. These planets can undergo tidal locking, which means one side is a perpetual, freezing night and the other is a perpetual, scorching day! How does life stand a chance? In this science project, you will test what extreme temperatures microscopic life can survive to model some of… Read more

How Direct Reprogramming Can Transform One Type of Cell Straight into Another

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

In the first decade of the 21st century, scientists found ways to make one adult cell type turn into a completely different cell type. This has huge implications for the medical field, including being able to take some cells that a person could spare, such as skin cells or blood cells, and turn them into another cell type that might be much more important for that person to have, such as cells to make a new kidney. How are scientists able to accomplish this amazing feat of "reprogramming" the… Read more

How Dirt Cleans Water

STEM Activity

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Did you know that more than half of the bottled water sold in America is labeled as “spring water,” but only a fraction of this water naturally flowed from a spring? The FDA allows the sale of groundwater that is sucked up by hydraulic pumps that are installed close to a spring as “spring water.” In the year 2014, this was about six billion gallons of water, a number that increases each year. That is a lot of water! You might wonder how water is stored under the ground,… Read more

How Do Engineers Solve Problems?

Video Lesson Grade: 3rd-5th

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In this fun video lesson, students will pretend to be engineers at an engineering company that constructs paper airplanes. They will identify the criteria for success from provided readings and define the constraints on their solutions. Using the engineering design process they will prototype, test, and deliver their best paper airplanes. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

How Do Flowers Develop?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Flower development is an important part of plant growth. When a plant has reached maturity, it needs to develop flowers in order to reproduce. The male and female parts of the flower have specialized structures for reproduction that develop as the plant matures. How do flowers develop over time? Which structures develop first? You can answer these questions by dissecting the flowers of a gladiola. Gladiola flowers grow and develop along the stem, with the most mature flowers opening at the… Read more

How Do Food Preservatives Affect the Growth of Microorganisms?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This project uses liquid cultures and agar plates to investigate the effects of different concentrations of a food preservative on microbial growth. Read more

How Do Melting Polar Ice Caps Affect Sea Levels?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever noticed that if you leave an ice cube out on the kitchen counter and come back to check on it in a while, you find a puddle? The same thing happens to ice in nature — if the temperature gets warm enough, the ice melts. In this science activity, you will explore what happens to sea levels if the ice at the North Pole melts, or if the ice at the South Pole melts. Does melting ice at either cap contribute to a rise in sea levels? It is an especially important question for… Read more

How Does a Hovercraft Hover?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever ridden on a hovercraft? It is like gliding on a cushion of air! In fact, this is exactly what is going on. A hovercraft is a vehicle that glides over a smooth surface by hovering upon an air cushion. Since a hovercraft can travel on top of flat land or water, it is an amphibious vehicle. In this activity, you will get to build your own mini hovercraft using a CD or DVD, a pop-top lid from a plastic bottle, some glue, and a balloon. How will different amounts of air in the… Read more

How Does Packaging Affect the Ripening of Fruit?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Why do different types of fruits come packaged in different ways? In this project, you will experiment with different ways of packaging fruit to see if it has an effect on the freshness of the fruit. Will a different kind of packaging allow the fruit to stay fresh longer? Read more

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