Paper Roller Coasters - Fun STEM Activity!

Have you ever ridden a roller coaster? Have you ever wanted to design your own? There are plenty of expensive toys and even video games that will let you build your own coasters—but in this project you'll make one out of paper and tape, and learn about roller coaster physics along the way! Read more

What goes up, must come down in this thrill-seeking lesson plan! How much energy does a roller coaster car need to make it through a loop? In this lesson your students will learn about kinetic and potential energy as they build their own roller coasters from simple classroom materials. Read more

Inspire students of all ages to enjoy STEM when you let them loose in a creative makerspace! These hands-on engineering activities use simple materials and encourage students to brainstorm, problem solve, and innovate. Enabling Exploration Community makerspaces… Read more

Our free STEM lesson plans can help you plan successful remote learning instruction. Here are 12 picks for science and engineering lessons to consider right now. Schools in many areas remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and many schools will finish out the school year with remote learning. Students and teachers may not be gathering in traditional classrooms, but teaching students about physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, and other subjects… Read more

Join Science Buddies this summer for virtual summer camp! Each week, we'll highlight fun STEM themes for kids of all ages, including suggestions for simple hands-on activities, book picks, and more. We'll keep you inspired all summer with creative and innovative science and engineering activities — for free. This week: big-top science with fun activities that tap into the spirit of the local fair, circus, or amusement park. Carnival STEM Amusement… Read more

Bring home hands-on science exploration with convenient STEM kits from Science Buddies! Set kids up to explore robotics, computer programming, chemistry, physics, and more! As you plan for summer break, consider the value of hands-on science and engineering kits for keeping kids occupied, engaged, and learning! Camps and summer programs are great, but hands-on science and engineering kits can create powerful, flexible, self-paced learning opportunities… Read more

Use these free lesson plans and hands-on activities to explore potential and kinetic energy with students! What happens when you stretch a rubber band and let it go? Why? Explaining how energy is stored and transferred and how that relates to the movement and momentum of objects in motion involves understanding potential and kinetic energy. This is an area of science where getting hands-on with the storage, transfer, and release of energy really helps… Read more

Inspire and support a love of STEM with science and engineering kits and books! These 15 STEM ideas make great gifts for hours of STEM fun, learning, and discovery. What will the kids in your life explore, make, create, and innovate? Are you already thinking about holiday gift ideas for the young people on your gift list? Science and engineering kits and books make great gifts at any time of the year. With quality STEM kits and books, kids of all ages… Read more

Looking for last-minute STEM ideas for the end of the year, for after testing, for a classroom warmup, or for a rainy day at home? Try these paper-based STEM activities! Science Activities that Use Paper! Doing science and engineering activities doesn't have to require lots of materials. If you are looking for something to do with students in the classroom or with kids at home, an engaging STEM learning experience might be just a stack of paper… Read more

Check in each week at Science Buddies this summer for our Awesome Summer Science Experiments series! Each week, we'll highlight a few activities for awesome science and engineering kids can do at home. We've got a whole summer of fun STEM themes lined up for kids of all ages — for free. This week: awesome summer science experiments for crazy, clever contraptions kids can build and put to use. Awesome Clever Contraptions The activities in Week 6… Read more

Use these free STEM lessons and activities to help students get hands-on building, testing, and exploring the science of energy and the different types of potential and kinetic energy. From the classic snake-in-a-can prank to stretching and shooting rubber bands across the room, bouncing a basketball, or rolling a marble down a ramp, kids know energy in motion when they see it. The world is full of energy, and energy is constantly being used,… Read more

Plan your school year with ease! Choose from 200+ free science and engineering lesson plans for K-12 teachers! Science Buddies first started developing NGSS-aligned educator lesson plans in 2017. Our free Lesson Plans help K-12 educators confidently teach science and engineering concepts to students. Today there are more than 200 plug-and-play lessons on our site to support educators teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Lesson… Read more

Inspire students to think like engineers with hands-on building and design challenges! Spark interest and build engineering design skills with one of these free engineering projects for middle school students. 16+ Engineering Design Projects to Inspire Middle School Students! Engineering design projects and challenges are a great way to ignite student interest in STEM. When students tackle an engineering design challenge, they are encouraged to… Read more

Challenge high school students to think like engineers and design, build, and test their own solutions to one of these free engineering projects. 11+ Engineering Projects for High School Students! Engineering design projects and challenges are a great way to ignite student interest in STEM. When students tackle an engineering design challenge, they are encouraged to brainstorm, design, build, test, problem solve, troubleshoot, tinker, innovate, and… Read more

Use these free STEM lessons, projects, and activities to teach about simple machines with hands-on science experiments to investigate how levers, pulleys, ramps, screws, and wheel and axle systems offer mechanical advantages that make it easier to perform tasks. What Are Simple Machines? A simple machine is a machine with few or no moving parts that makes it easier to perform a certain type of work. Simple machines do not create energy, which must be… Read more