The purpose of this exercise is to learn how to think about gravity, learn about scientific methodology, and transition from the Aristotelian to Newtonian to Einsteinian understanding of gravity.

The purpose of this exercise is to learn how to think about gravity, learn about scientific methodology, and transition from the Aristotelian to the Newtonian understanding of gravity.

Students learn about how biomedical engineers create assistive devices for persons with fine motor skill disabilities. They learn about types of forces, balanced and unbalanced forces, and the relationship between form and function, as well as the structure of the hand. They do this by designing, building and testing their own hand "gripper" prototypes that are able to grasp and lift a 200 ml cup of sand.

This activity is a laboratory investigation where students observe images produced by concave and convex lenses, and how light travels through the lenses.

Concepts underlying the first of the Essential Principles of the Climate Sciences are aligned with topics typically taught in the elementary grades. This article identifies lessons that will help elementary students develop an understanding of how Sun's light warms Earth and how variations in daylight hours are associated with seasonal change. This article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle.

This article highlights lessons and activities for elementary students about heat, insulation, and how animals and people stay warm in cold environments.

This activity is an introduction to the concept of levers, the classes, and their parts using the musculoskeletal system.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a team of archaeologists and engineers explores different uses of the lever by recreating the engineering feats of the ancient Easter Island peoples.

In this activity, students will explore the diverse signs of life that can be hidden in water. After reading articles and creating a news report to help them understand the significance of water on Mars, they will observe pond water under a microscope as they search for single-celled and multi-celled organisms. They will then select an organism to research more in-depth as they further consider the role that each organism plays in its ecosystem. The session will wrap up with a class discussion around whether scientists should further study the water on Mars for signs of life.

Estimated time required: 2-3 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: .

The project is used in two courses, both with the theme of understanding the environmental implications of our use of energy, exploring personal energy use, and learning about the types of energy available to Canadians. One is a face-to-face course for Education majors, the other is an on-line course available to all upper-level (3rd and 4th year) students.

This five-week project asks students to examine the environmental outcomes of their lifestyle choices, to investigate and try out more sustainable choices, and to write about their experiences.

I use the Lifestyle Project in my Introduction to Environmental Issues class. This 3-week project asks students to make changes to their everyday environmental habits. This helps students realize that they have control of their lives and they can make decisions and make changes if they want to. And, given this empowerment, students can think about their impacts on Earth and their obligations to the planet and our society.

This three-week project begins with a measurement of "baseline" consumptive behavior followed by two weeks of working to reduce the use of water, energy, high-impact foods, and other materials. The assignment uses an Excel spreadsheet that calculates direct energy and water use as well as indirect CO2 and water use associated with food consumption.

How can you lift a heavy metal table using air? In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members succeed in lifting a table using their own breath and a few plastic bags.

This activity is an experiment where students learn about angles of reflection and use that knowledge to reflect a light beam around obstacles to a target across the classroom.

This video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science describes how astronomical distances can be measured in units of light-years, and how the finite speed of light allows astronomers to study how the universe looked long ago.

This video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science demonstrates the law of reflection by showing how light energy is reflected off both smooth and rough surfaces at predictable angles.

This self-paced unit for students in grades 6-9 provides an opportunity to explore basic electrical circuits and demonstrate the new knowledge by wiring a lamp, explaining the components of the lamp that are important for the flow of electricity, and completing a schematic of the lamp circuitry.

This is a small group kindergarten activity where students determine what film containers sound the same by using their sense of hearing.

This resource presents the text of one of Aristotle's "Physics can be read online or downloaded by individual chapters in MP3 or PDF format. In addition, each chapter has downloadable support material which focuses on various reading skills and strategies.