Under the "The Science Behind Harry Potter" theme, a succession of diverse complex scientific topics are presented to students through direct immersive interaction. Student interest is piqued by the incorporation of popular culture into the classroom via a series of interactive, hands-on Harry Potter/movie-themed lessons and activities. They learn about the basics of acid/base chemistry (invisible ink), genetics and trait prediction (parseltongue trait in families), and force and projectile motion (motion of the thrown remembrall). In each lesson and activity, students are also made aware of the engineering connections to these fields of scientific study.

In this video segment from NASA, robotics researcher Ayanna Howard uses engineering to improve the intelligence of robots in space exploration.

This article aligns the concepts of Essential Principle 2 of the Climate Sciences to the K-5 content standards of the National Science Education Standards. The author also identifies common misconceptions about heat and the greenhouse gases effect and offers resources for assessing students' understanding of interactions among components of the Earth system. This article continues the examination of the climate sciences and climate literacy on which the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured.

This article identifies age-appropriate national science education content standards and curriculum connections for introducing complex concepts contained in Principle 7 of the Essential Principles of Climate Sciences. The principle describes consequences of climate changes on Earth systems and human lives. The content standards will help teachers determine appropriate topics for their students. A number of resources from the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle are highlighted for their connection to the science curriculum in the early grades. In addition, the article identifies common misconceptions about weather and the water cycle often held by students.

Students learn that buoyancy is responsible for making boats, hot air balloons and weather balloons float. They calculate whether or not a boat or balloon will float, and calculate the volume needed to make a balloon or boat of a certain mass float. Conduct the first day of the associated activity before conducting this lesson.

Harry estimates how long it will take him to get to the front of a long ticket line in this Cyberchase video segment.

Students explore material properties in hands-on and visually evident ways via the Archimedes' principle. First, they design and conduct an experiment to calculate densities of various materials and present their findings to the class. Using this information, they identify an unknown material based on its density. Then, groups explore buoyant forces. They measure displacement needed for various materials to float on water and construct the equation for buoyancy. Using this equation, they calculate the numerical solution for a boat hull using given design parameters.

Explore the concept of evaporative cooling through a hands-on experiment. Use a wet cloth and fan to model an air-conditioner and use temperature and relative humidity sensors to collect data. Then digitally plot the data using graphs in the activity. In an optional extension, make your own modifications to improve the cooler's efficiency.

In this NASA video, scientists describe how the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment will sample and track the Sun's ultraviolet irradiance, providing a detailed time sequence of extreme ultraviolet output -- data that can provide advance warning for potentially disruptive energy bursts.

In this adapted video segment, ZOOM guest Tommy takes us on a tour of the Florida Everglades. He describes what makes a wetland biome unique, including the soil, precipitation, and biodiversity.

How much radiation are we exposed to every day? Find out in this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE.

In this video segment adapted from NASA, students in Matsuyama City, Japan, interview Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri about life and work aboard the International Space Station.

This is a field investigation where students experience Newton's 3rd law of motion.

In this activity, students are presented with two objects that have different constant speeds and that will race each other. The students must determine which object will win the race, as well as either how much time elapses between the objects crossing the finish line.

This activity is an inquiry lesson where students investigate objects and their associated sound due to vibration. Students will write their observation and interpret how and why sound vibrations occurs.

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast investigates how the pitch of sound changes when they strike a variety of glasses filled with different amounts and types of liquids.

Can a fresh lemon power a digital clock? In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast shows you how this can be done and, in the process, discover how kids can be a part of an electric circuit.

This in class worksheet is designed to get students to think about and manipulate different accelerations in their head. Students work together with written descriptions of velocity and acceleration and draw the vectors in part one, and then turn that around in part two where they write descriptions of a car's motion based on the vector pictures they are given.

Students will create their own barometer in this activity and use it to discover atmospheric pressure and its relationship to the boiling points of liquids.