Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 26)

Make Your Own Kinetic Dough

STEM Activity

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32 reviews

Kinetic or Magic Sand is easy to find in stores, and fun to play with at home! But did you ever wonder what’s so magical about magic sand? You shouldn’t be surprised to hear that the magic is actually science! You can create your own version of this fun mixture with just a few kitchen ingredients. Get out your magic wand and get ready for some science! Read more

Make Your Own Marshmallows

STEM Activity

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41 reviews

Whether you are huddled around a fireplace, or drinking hot chocolate after a day in the snow, nothing says fun quite like a marshmallow! Even its name is soft and spongy! Have you ever wondered how marshmallows are made? Long ago marshmallows were actually made from a plant, the marshmallow plant, but today we usually make them using a few key ingredients, namely gelatin, corn syrup, and sugar. In this appetizing activity you will get to explore what ratio of sugar to corn syrup produces… Read more

Paper Bridge Design Challenge

Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-2nd

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Your students have probably walked or ridden over a bridge at some point in their lives. In this engineering activity they will design and make bridges out of folded pieces of paper, and test how much weight they can hold with pennies. How does the shape of a bridge affect its strength? Let your students explore and find out with this lesson! This lesson can be expanded to a second lesson looking at how the material a bridge is made out of can change its strength; see second lesson for details. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

K-2-ETS1-2. Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
K-2-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Paper DNA Model

STEM Activity

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Ever wondered how DNA, the genetic blueprint of a life-form, can encode and pass on the information on how to grow and maintain that life-form? Just like a cookbook contains a complete recipe for a dish, DNA stores the recipe for the life of an organism. Although each human has a unique DNA sequence, the DNA in all of us is about 99.9% identical! In this activity, you will make a model for a short section of DNA—enough to get a sense of what DNA is like and how it encodes life. Read more

Popsicle Stick Trusses: What Shape is Strongest?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever driven across a bridge or seen a building that is under construction and noticed the large metal support beams? What about all the wooden beams in a house that is under construction? Did you notice how sometimes the beams formed different geometric shapes, like triangles or squares? In this project you will be a structural engineer and make your own “support” shapes out of popsicle sticks. What shape will be the strongest? Read more

Predict Air Quality with Machine Learning

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Air pollution is a growing issue, especially in cities, due to the rise of industrial activities, increased fossil fuel consumption from things like car use, and natural events like wildfires. This pollution is measured by the Air Quality Index (AQI), which shows how clean or polluted the air is. But what if we could predict changes in AQI to help communities plan ahead to protect people who are at risk from air pollution? That’s where machine learning comes in. In this project, you will… Read more

Reaction Rates: When Surface Area Matters!

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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How does surface area affect the speed of a chemical reaction? Let your students find out in this sizzling lesson plan! In this project, they will explore this correlation by crushing Alka-Seltzer® tablets into different sized particles and measuring how long it takes for them to dissolve in water. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

HS-PS1-5. Apply scientific principles and evidence to provide an explanation about the effects of changing the temperature or concentration of the reacting particles on the rate at which a reaction occurs.

Take a Candle Carousel for a Spin

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever ridden on a carousel, or a merry-go-round, at an amusement park? On a carousel, you usually get to take a seat on a wooden horse or other animal that spins around and around as the carousel is turned on and powered by electricity. Another smaller type of carousel that people can have in their homes is a candle carousel, which is powered by heat from candles. In this science project, you will get to make your own candle carousel and investigate how the spinning speed of the… Read more

Tallest Paper Tower Challenge for Grades 6-8

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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Teach your students about the engineering design process with this fun lesson plan. They will design and build the tallest possible tower using nothing but paper and tape, but there's an additional twist on this classic activity. The tower must support a heavy weight at the top without collapsing! Teachers, note that elementary and high school versions of this lesson plan are also available. The 2021 Engineering Challenge is over, but you can still try out this fun challenge with your… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

Teaching Machines to Understand Sign Language

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Can AI understand human language? In the future, AI could aid in emergency interpretive service in the hospital when translators aren't available. But can current AI algorithms understand non-verbal languages like sign language? In this science project, you will test whether AI can learn sign language gestures or phrases to see if it can be used for interpretation. Read more

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