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Excellent activity for grades five and up.  "Students work as teams in mission control and aboard a spacecraft as they test their decision making skills and solve problems during this innovative, inquiry based, space-themed science and math simulation." This activity could meet MANY science standards and math standards including the Design Process, The Nature of Science, and Reading for Literacy in Science.  For the purpose of this assignment, I am assigning it to: 6.2.4  With regard to their size, composition, distance from the sun, surface features and ability to support life, compare and contrast the planets of the solar system with one another and with asteroids and comets.  6-8.RS.1:  Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science texts.   6-8 RS.3:  Follow precisely a multi-step procedure when carrying out experiments or taking measurements.

Roughly every other year, the Challenger Center in Brownsburg gets a grant and invites us to visit for free. Unfortunately for your cohort, we went last year, but I'll invite you back next year if they get another grant. We usually go on a Saturday morning and IT IS AWESOME! I love being in Indianapolis with these fabulous resources available.

This is an excellent lesson that can be modified a number of ways.  I find that it fits well with Science and Technology Standards 2.4.1 and 2.4.2.   2.4.1:  Identify parts of the human body that can be used as tools. 2.4.2:  Identify technologies developed by humans to meet human needs.  Investigate the limitations of technologies and how they have improved quality of life. Students could identify how teeth can be considered a tool.  They could discuss the toothbrush (and its evolution to items like Sonicare.)  The experiments will help them understand the limitations of the toothbrush, and how their choices affect their teeth.

Forecast the Weather with a Weathervane - 4th Grade Learn about Earth Science as well as meteorology through making your own unique weathervane! Supplies: Old business card, 1 straw, ruler, scissors, clear tape, pencil, stickpin, 1 liter plastic bottle, sand, compass, black permanent marker.

Student create a product for a bicep strain that provides assistance to the muscle so that it does less work to bend the arm. The students are divided into groups to created their product, using the steps of the engineering design process: ask, imagine, plan, create, improve.

1.3.4 Describe how animals' habitats, including plants, meet their needs for food, water, shelter and an environment in which they can live. 1.3.5 Observe and describe ways in which animals and plants depend on one another for survival. 1.3.2 Observe organisms closely over a period of time in different habitats such as terrariums, aquariums, lawns and trees. Draw and write about observations. 1.4.3 Construct a simple shelter for an animal with natural and human-made materials.

Have students look up a prototype online that mimics a human musculoskeletal system.  Have them share with the class the purpose and prototype. Next, as a class students will create a model hand using simple materials such as string, paper, and a pen or pencil.  Have the students create this hand and see how the "tendons" mimic the musculoskeletal system in a real human hand.

This activity is unique because it combines science with a practical application that provides a solution to a problem. In this activity, students will be put a small bowl of hot oatmeal into a plastic baggie, test the temperature, and seal it.  Then students will place three sheets of aluminum foil or three sheets of newspaper over the baggie.  After 15 minutes the students will re-test the temperature using a thermometer and discover which material saved heat!

Mystery Canisters: Lab and worksheet to record observations. Students maniuplate three film canisters to make them sink, float and hover in the water. This is an exploration of Mass.

Simple demonstration on how gears work and can create great conversation on how they work and what they have meant to society. 

Students design and build four boats from squares of aluminum foil. Each team decides which one of their four boats holds the highest number of dice. Each team should record their findings and observations, as well as ways to improve their designs.

Students can build a water wheel and see the force of water in motion. They can also experiment with different forces and see how they affect the water wheel.

In this project, you will learn how to measure the work done on an object. You will determine the effect that a simple machine has on work. You will also determine the effect of the direction of the force on work.

This is a familiar activity!  This fun activity teaches students about harnessing potential and kinetic energy!  Very good for students who need to learn or like to work in teams!  Also would be fun on a family night.

In this activity, a metal rod can be made to roll back to you automatically when pushed away. This activity deals with stored energy. The students can construct their own metal rods.