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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.

Construct a Weather Spinner: - Earth Science Intro to Natural Sciences - your child will learn to see details and patterns in atmospheric conditions.  A simple weather spinner provides an accessible tool for your child to improve her observation and analysis ability, important scientific skills she will use for the rest of her life. Supplies: White tag board or poster board, pencil, crayons, markers, or colored pencils, and a metal brad.

Recycled Wire Hanger Bird Feeder - Life Science Science craft project reusing old wire clothes hangers and discarded kitchen fat or peanut butter. Supplies: Lightweight with coat hanger, large lemon, wire cutters, sturdy needle-nose pliers, old junk saucepan, or peanut butter.

Students will be able to witness what a solid and liquid are all the while being intrigued and engaged because of the use of ice cream. Great activity for grades K-1. They will be able to witness the science behind what makes a liquid and a solid. Represents the nature of science as well.

Make Meringue Science! Use simple experiment to turn egg whites into a delicacy: fancy meringues. Supplies: 5 eggs, 1-1/2 cups of sugar, 8 tsp cream of tartar, 2 small bowls, 1 large bowl, hand cranked egg beater, and cookie sheet.

Leaf Investigators: Backyard Science - purpose to explore and learn This activity uses categorization skills to sort the leaves by shape, color and size.   Materials: Leaves, small bag for leaves, and magnifying glasses (optional)

Ever wondered how a submarine can control when it rises and sinks in the water? Build a Cartesian diver to find out! Named after French philosopher and physicist René Descartes, this classic science experiment is a great way for kids to see the principle of buoyancy at work. And with such a simple set-up, it's a fun and inexpensive way to dive into physics!

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.

The Lincoln High Dive: 5th Grade Science Experiment Newton's first law states that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.  This experiment also illustrates gravity. Supplies: A Lincoln penny (or other small coin), a piece of card stoic or stiff paper, a film canister, baby food jar, or other similar size container with a mouth slightly larger than a penny, a pencil or pen, and scissors.

This activity is an awesome life science experiment that students can use for the rest of their lives- making compost! Compost is a great way to deal with waste that often ends up in landfills.  In this activity students will watch different kinds of vegetation decompose and turn into rich, useful soil! This could even be used for a class or school garden!

Great idea for true life applications! (Literally...life science!)

Really simple activity that is easy to do and great practice in counting and measuring as well as science. Can be a lot of great discussion about what the balloons will do. 

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.

Watching the winter snow pile up on a grassy yard is nice, but investigating it is even better! Boost your child's science and observation skills by guiding her through this winter weather-filled project. She'll chart the amount of snow or hours of rain that have fallen at your house this winter using a ruler, measuring tape, or even her hands! This ongoing seasonal graphing activity will even enlist her math skills and organization ability.

Design a Great Glass Xylophone! - science experiment Explore the effect of varying amounts of water in each glass Supplies: 6 tall glass glasses, bottles, or jars (preferably the same shape and size), food coloring or colorful soft drink mix, metal spoon, wooden spoon, or wooden popsicle sticks, jug

Keep a Horizon Calendar - Earth Science Many cultures used the rising and setting sun to create calendars. Observe the setting sun once a week for as long as you can to come up with your own calendar. Supplies: 11 X 17 inch piece of white paper, pencil, compass, watch, and clear view of the western horizon (where the sun sets)

Earth Science Activity which includes exploration and exercise. Children will be engaged because they are exploring the outdoors. They will find one object from nature that begins with 1 letter from the alphabet and put these items in a flip book, and write about the items. Great for alphabet skills, earth science skills, and writing skills.

In this activity students compare the mass and volume of different liguids by pouring the liquids into the same container and seeing which ones are "heavier" and "lighter."

Density - or mass per volume - of a liquid is an important scientific concept that can be viewed with the naked eye. We see it all the time with oil and water. Oil has a different density than water so the two liquids do not mix. In this experiment your child will look at a number of liquids with different densities and compare them all to water. She'll build her science skills and learn one of the most fundamental scientific concepts she'll use for years to come.

Make Your Own Ant Farm: - Life Science After completion of ant farm, spend days or weeks observing these amazing insects. Supplies: Small glass bowl or jar, glass fishbowl, sand, loose soil, sugar, water, 20 ants (from the same colony), rubber band, cheesecloth, black construction paper, bread crumbs, masking tape, and spiral notebook.

K-3 could do this project, but require more research, writing, or drawings of the project about habitat, colony structure, body-parts and function, etc.

Write in a science notebook. make predictions and observations about the bubbles. Gather data and record in notebook.

Crow Creativity: 5th Grade / Can you solve a problem as creatively as a crow?  Download PDF 1. Build a tricky tube puzzle to find out if your friends can solve a problem like a crow. A clear plastic tube is best, but a paper towel roll, cut down to about 8 inches, will work too. 2. Make a basket out of tin foil. The basket should be big enough to hold a small cookie. 3. Tear some strips off a roll of duct tape. Lay the roll of tape flat on a table and fit the tube inside the center of the duct tape roll. Then use the duct tape strips to tape the tube in place so that the tube stays upright. Tape along the side. Do not cover the openings of the tube in tape. 4. Put a cookie in your basket and drop the basket into the tube so it goes to the bottom of the tube with the handle facing up. 5. Place about 5 twist ties or a piece of long metal wire next to your tube. 6. Find a friend to solve this problem. Tell your friend that there is a cookie at the bottom of the tube. Your friend can have the cookie but has to get the cookie out of the tube first without lifting up the tube. If you are using a paper towel roll, let your friend look inside the tube to see how it's set up.  Supplies: See Downloadable PDF

Upper elementary students to middle school students could create a trick tube or similar experiment that a friend or critter (squirrel) has to solve.