This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center shows how integral satellites are to everyday life and describes the different types, including orbital and geostationary.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a geologist digs a trench along the San Andreas Fault to reveal three thousand years of earthquake history. Information from the layers of sediment may help geologists to predict earthquakes.

This article provides background information that will help teachers present the science associated with the study of climate, past, present and future. The magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured around the recognized principles of climate literacy. The author explains the science concepts included in the principle related to climate study and research and also identifies additional sources of information.

This list of carefully selected books for grades K-5 highlights nonfiction about climate proxies, those preserved physical characteristics, such as fossils, that scientists use to reconstruct past climates. Also highlighted are a few books that provide information about two past climatic events -- the last ice age and the Dust Bowl. In each issue of the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, the virtual bookshelf recommends books that accurately portray the theme drawn from the principles of climate sciences.

In this activity, students will compare their lives on Earth with a virtual experience on Mars. They will begin by using their five senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste) to illustrate and describe various aspects of their lives on Earth. After similarly describing their virtual time on Mars, they will consider the biggest similarities and differences between their “time” on the two planets. They will then create a newspaper article or news report script that strives to help their audience understand what life is like in this deep-space colony.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In this video produced for Teachers' Domain, Chi-An Wang, a mechanical engineering graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, describes her process when working with New Balance to design a new triathlon shoe.

In this video from Science City, meet Eduardo Torres-Jara, a postdoctoral associate in electrical engineering and computer science at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab. He describes his work on innovative robots that use tactile feedback to locate and grasp objects.

Interactive Lecture Demonstration to illustrate that impulses are larger in elastic collisions than in inelastic collisions if other factors are the same.

For this experiment, students use a DC motor as a generator and various shaped turbine designs to test which design produces the most electrical power. Using a fan to generate the "wind", students attach different blades made of folded paper or card stock to the motor to see how much power is generated.

During the lesson, students will learn the basics of electricity and circuits and build their first circuit using Snap Circuits. If students do not have access to Snap Circuits, this lesson can be completed using anything that provides students the ability to connect the following components: Power source ( 9V battery); Conductive material (wires, aluminum foil, paper clips, etc.); An “output” device for the electricity (flashlight lightbulb or holiday light); A switch (two metal thumbtacks and a paper clip, aluminum foil and a paper clip, etc.).

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Electronics Kit, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

During the lesson, students will learn about series and parallel circuits and how they are used for different purposes. If students do not have access to Snap Circuits, this lesson can be completed using safe household materials that provide students the ability to connect the following components: Power source ( 9V battery); Conductive material (wires, aluminum foil, paper clips, etc.); An “output” device for the electricity (flashlight lightbulb or holiday light); A switch (two metal thumbtacks and a paper clip, aluminum foil and a paper clip, etc.).

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Electronics Kit, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

During the lesson, students will learn about slightly more advanced circuitry concepts such resistance, motors, and LED’s. They will conclude the lesson by creating the wiring for a helicopter. Note: See Additional Resources in this lesson's Facilitator Guide for ideas to complete this lesson with common household items. While the circuits may not be identical, students will still be able to understand the basic concepts of a circuit.

Estimated time required: 2-3 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Electronics Kit, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

During the lesson, students will learn about speakers and integrated circuits. Note: See Additional Resources in this lesson's Facilitator Guide for ideas to complete this lesson with common household items.

Estimated time required: 2-3 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Electronics Kit, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the introduction of electric power to the United States. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

In this activity, the students will complete the grand challenge and design an electromagnet to separate steel from aluminum for the recycler. In order to do this, students compare the induced magnetic field of an electric current with the magnetic field of a permanent magnet and must make the former look like the latter. They discover that looping the current produces the desired effect and find ways to further strengthen the magnetic field.

In this animation produced by WGBH and Digizyme, Inc., see how molecules of DNA are separated using gel electrophoresis, and how this process enables scientists to compare the molecular variations of two or more DNA samples.

Use a series of interactive models and games to explore electrostatics. Learn about the effects positive and negative charges have on one another, and investigate these effects further through games. Learn about Coulomb's law and the concept that both the distance between the charges and the difference in the charges affect the strength of the force. Explore polarization at an atomic level, and learn how a material that does not hold any net charge can be attracted to a charged object. Students will be able to:

This is the first of two lessons of “Elements of a Community” in which students will engage with and explore two artworks: the painting Landscape with Garage Lights by Jerome Myers and the Chinese figure Camel made from Terracotta. They will also create an original work of art based on their interpretation of the two artworks which then can be scanned for inclusion in a CocoCast “cast.” In this first lesson, students will preview a “Sneak Peak” of Landscape with Garage Lights and the Chinese Tang Dynasty Camel in their classroom.

By engaging with and exploring a work of art, first virtually via CocoCast in the classroom, then in person in the art museum, young students are empowered to share their own prior knowledge, use critical thinking skills like prediction, comparison, and sequencing, and better notice details of the world around them. The art museum becomes a part of their own community, just like the corner store, the library, and the school.

Estimated time required: 1 class period.

Technology required for this lesson: Augmented Reality, Internet Connectivity, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

This is the second and last of two lessons of “Elements of a Community” in which students will engage with and explore two artworks: the painting Landscape with Garage Lights by Stuart Davis and the Chinese figure Camel made from Terracotta. They will also create an original work of art based on their interpretation of the two artworks which then can be scanned for inclusion in a CocoCast “cast”. In this first lesson, students will preview a “Sneak Peak” of Landscape with Garage Lights and the Chinese Tang Dynasty Camel in their classroom.

By engaging with and exploring a work of art, first virtually via CocoCast in the classroom, then in person in the art museum, young students are empowered to share their own prior knowledge, use critical thinking skills like prediction, comparison, and sequencing, and better notice details of the world around them. The art museum becomes a part of their own community, just like the corner store, the library, and the school.

Estimated time required: 1 class period.

Technology required for this lesson: Augmented Reality, Internet Connectivity, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

Students will use critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills to create an emoji. The Vectr graphics software used in this activity helps students develop a STEM mindset. It is important to allow students to work through the process as independently as possible with the facilitator acting only as a guide.

Estimated time required: 1 class period.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop.