When a food company is offering a new product, changing ingredients, or researching potential products, it is important for the company to know what the consumer reaction is likely to be of the product. Become food panelists to determine if you can taste the difference in two fruit smoothie products and determine if there is a statistical significance in the data collected from the taste test. This unit features 3 lessons and 6 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Scientists and engineers work together to “industrialize” the use of agriculture products. Oil and protein from plants can be turned into many products. Design some new products using items from around your house. Then use soy protein to create a new bio-based material. This activity is one of several from a 4H Agriscience Biotechnology Series. This unit features 1 lesson and 1 file. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Trans fat is out, so back to the drawing board. In this unit, students will explore the chemical behavior of molecules related to the structure by 1) examining how the structure of high-oleic oil changes its performance characteristics, 2) learning methods of representing the structure of a molecule, 3) exploring research on high-oleic oil and 4) conducting a study of their own to compare high-oleic oil to regular refined soybean oil sold to consumers for cooking purposes. This unit features 3 lessons and 13 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

What is your favorite food? Chances are a soybean product is being used to process it or, if it’s a meat dish, was used to feed the animal. Other living things (microbes) help to make our food, too. Check out these activities to see what’s cooking! This unit features 4 lessons and 18 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Make biodiesel and create a scale model of an anaerobic digester, while investigating bioenergy and how it is produced. This unit features 5 lessons and 16 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

If the atmosphere is about 80% Nitrogen (N2), but plants cannot use that form, how do they get nitrogen? In this unit, students plant and care for soybeans under one of five different nitrogen/microbe regimes.

As the plants grow, students analyze and maintain records of their plant’s progress. Students will become familiar with the vegetative and reproductive stages of the soybean (more information and pictures of these stages can be found at the OSU crop extensions sites). Students keep records of the dates in which they observe these reproductive transitions. This unit features 2 lessons and 7 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Investigate various milk sources and their composition through core disciplines of Science, Math, Social Studies and Language Arts to discover the availability of milk types within multiple cultures that serve as a complete food source and help to ensure food security. This unit features 6 lessons and 10 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Soap made from soybeans? Sunflowers? Olives? Plant oils have different “fatty acids” that determine the characteristics of your soap—is it creamy? bubbly? hard? soft? It is the oil in plants that makes different kinds of soap. Try this easy, melt-and-pour soap recipe to get started. This activity is one of several from a 4H Agriscience Biotechnology Series. This unit features 1 lesson and 1 file. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Current trends in consumer behavior show that people want to eat healthier and are looking for simple ways to transform their diets. High oleic soybean oil features lower saturated fat while maintaining 0 grams of trans fat, which may lower cholesterol and support heart health. This unit features 2 lessons and 6 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Become a “farmer” on a journey from pre-planting to harvest to see what decisions farmers are making every year as they farm. Growers across the country are gaining access to more and more data about their farms. The data is being gathered through equipment or other precision agriculture techniques, then it must be analyzed so that decisions made will be based on evidence. Scientists in all disciplines use the same practices as farmers. This unit features 5 lessons and 27 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Soybeans contain several components which innovators and entrepreneurs find valuable when creating greener products. What are the chemical building blocks in a soybean? This unit features 4 lessons and 6 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Students act as lab technicians working for a cosmetic company and learn the names, functions and units of common lab and measuring equipment by generating soy-based beauty products. Students will learn how to use SLOPs to create soy-based beauty products and research STEM career fields within the cosmetic industry. This unit features 5 lessons and 5 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Have you ever looked on a food label and seen soy products on it, even though it wasn’t made from soybeans? This unit explores the various uses of soy in foods and how soy can be used to accomplish various functions in food science by asking students to measure the nutrient content of various foods, determine the function of soy in foods, and shows how fermentation of soy can be used to make different foods. This unit features 4 lessons and 17 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Grades 7-12. Compostable plastics are a new generation of plastics that are biodegradable through composting. They are derived generally from renewable raw materials like starch (e.g. corn, potato, tapioca etc), cellulose, soy protein, lactic acid etc., are non-hazardous/non-toxic in production and decompose back into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass when composted. Some compostable plastics may not be derived from renewable materials, but instead made from petroleum or made by bacteria through a process of microbial fermentation. This unit features 3 lessons and 2 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

This activity is a classroom lab where students will conduct a controlled activity resulting in the growth of salt crystals, showing a dramatic physical change.

This expository article, written for students in grades 4-5, explains why ice floats and how this is essential to life on earth. Modified versions are available for younger students.

Compiled by Kyle Gray, University of Akron, 'krg10@uakron.edu' and David N. Steer, University of Akron, 'steer@uakron.edu'

In this ZOOM video segment, join Hana as she learns traditional Japanese drumming with her Taiko group.

This article provides links to lessons and units about birds, bird characteristics, and penguins. Ideas for literacy integration are included, and all lessons are aligned to national standards.

This activity is a classroom demonstration activity in which students make predictions and explore the concepts and applications of heat transfer and heat absorption.