Make your classroom electrifying with activities and information spanning chemistry and physics content. Everything from equilibrium to electricity and reactions to rocketry at your fingertips.
It’s all about the interactions among land, water, living organisms, the atmosphere, and beyond. Mine activities, information, and helpful hints for ESS.
Teach a class like forensic science where you have to apply physics, chemistry, and biology content? We have interdisciplinary activities and tips to help.
Brush up on the latest instructional strategies and pedagogy with information from our teaching partners, instructional designers, and academic consultants.
Investigating a PhenotypeIn this activity, students investigate a phenotype that is not so conspicuous, and they perform a simple chemical test to reveal the underlying basis of the phenotype. View »
Periodic Table MysteryP is less dense than S. S is an alkali metal. E is a noble gas. In this activity, students generate a periodic table from clues and predict the missing properties of several elements based on the elements’ locations in the table.
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Petri Dish Electrolysis ActivityIntroduce your students to reduction-oxidation reactions and some of the basic terms of electrochemistry (such as electrode potential, anode, and cathode) with this activity—creating electrolysis in a petri dish. View »
Plant Biodiversity Field ActivityThis field activity introduces students to biodiversity through the study of plants and animals in a designated area. But here’s the twist—instead of using a quadrat to designate the area of study, students use a Hula Hoop® instead. View »
Single-replacement Silver DecorationsFor this single-replacement reaction, you immerse copper wire in silver nitrate. Crystals of silver metal form as the solution turns blue. View »
Investigating Seed GerminationThe story of how a seed becomes a plant is fascinating to young students. These activities for grades K-4 will help your students explore the process of germination, seed structure, and early seedling growth. View »
Seed GerminationIn this inquiry activity students in grades 5-10 design and conduct an experiment to investigate factors that may affect seed germination. View »
Wisconsin Fast Plants® and Product TestingIn this inquiry activity, students conduct experiments to determine if a commercial product effects the germination of Wisconsin Fast Plants® seed. In doing so they practice basic science skills including collecting and graphing data, interpreting data, and doing serial dilutions. View »
Chemoween and Other Spooky ScienceTreat your students to some spirited demos and hands-on activities, and celebrate Halloween as the finale to your October science explorations. View »
More Paper Clip ChemistryWho knew the common paper clip could be such a versatile teaching assistant? This activity uses several paper clip styles to help students understand empirical formulas and relative masses. View »
Teaching Chemistry with ManipulativesManipulatives can help students (especially visual and tactile learners) understand abstract concepts by allowing them to “see” a chemical structure or process. We offer 2 ideas for creating manipulatives and how to use them. View »
Strawberry DNA ExtractionIntroduce students to DNA with this activity. A discussion of how this DNA extraction procedure works might also touch on the plant cell wall, the cell membrane, and DNA's lack of solubility in ethanol. Includes materials list and step-by-step instructions. View »
Traffic Light ReactionThis demonstration is a twist on the classic blue bottle reaction, and you use it to review reaction rates. View »
Easy Variation and Natural Selection Lessons with Wisconsin Fast Plants® Seed DisksExplore a technique that makes teaching variation and natural selection lessons with Fast Plants® easier than ever. In this activity, students examine the effects an abiotic environmental change (salinity) has on an experimental plot of Fast Plants®. Includes detailed background information and instructions. View »
A New Approach to Teaching Atomic TheoryFor chemistry teacher Siobhan Julian, teaching the history of atomic theory by lecture “was dry and tedious and boring for everyone involved.” Then she took a fresh approach—one that focuses on doing science to learn science history. View »
End the Year with an Outdoor ClassroomEverything’s better in the great outdoors. Celebrate the warmer weather and engage your students during the final stretch of the school year with these fun activities. View »
How Do We Grow? Light vs. DarkReinforce your K–5 instruction on structure, function, matter, and energy flow in plants with an easy 5-day lesson that uses Wisconsin Fast Plants® seed disks, which require no soil or special lights. View »
Schoolyard Field StudyConduct a field study of your schoolyard with this activity. It’s an opportunity for students to apply what they’ve learned throughout the year. Students work in groups of 2 to 3 over several class periods. View »
ChromoSock™ MeiosisWhat if understanding meiosis were as easy as folding laundry? In this activity, students use special socks to model chromosome behavior during meiosis. View »
Development of Latent Fingerprints with Silver NitrateUse the “magic” of science and a standard lab chemical to develop invisible fingerprints in your classroom while covering chemical reactions and solubility tables, the science of fingerprint examination, and human physiology. View »
Bee-ing an Engineer with Wisconsin Fast Plants®Looking for a great STEM lesson for your K-2 classroom? This fully reproducible guide will help you and your students learn about pollination, engineering, and animal and plant interactions! Includes teacher guide, students guide, and correlation to NGSS Standards. View »
Using Algae Beads as a Model for PhotosynthesisIntroduce students to photosynthesis with fresh water algae. By creating algae beads (made of algae and sodium alginate solution), they indirectly observe the change in concentration of oxygen in beads that are exposed to different amounts of light. View »
Wisconsin Fast Plants® Monohybrid Crosses InquiryIn this scientific inquiry activity, students germinate F2 generation Wisconsin Fast Plants® seeds and identify the phenotypes and possible genotypes of the F2 generation plants. View »
Introduction to Wisconsin Fast Plants® PhenotypesIn this inquiry activity, students investigate phenotypes using Wisconsin Fast Plants® seeds. After the seeds germinate, students identify the phenotypes and the possible associated genotype. View »
PhotosynthesisIntroduce students to photosynthesis in a visual way. As Elodea uses carbon dioxide from an initial solution, a change in pH occurs, causing a color change in the solution. View »
Thermochemistry: An Endothermic ReactionIn this thermochemistry demonstration, students observe an extreme, spontaneous endothermic reaction between 2 solid compounds, measure changes in temperature, and make observations. View »
Carbon SnakeIn this teacher-directed demonstration of an exothermic reaction, students observe the dehydration of a carbohydrate using concentrated sulfuric acid. View »
An Inquiry into Seed GerminationThis NGSS-aligned activity is a student inquiry into factors that affect seed germination.Use it as an introduction for plant studies in biology or as an environmental impact investigation in earth science, environmental science, or agricultural science. View »
Hydroponic Nutrient SolutionAfter a structured investigation of a hydroponic technology, students design an experiment to test different nutrient solutions. View »
Elephant ToothpasteThis demonstration showing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by iodide ions, provides students with visual evidence of a chemical reaction. View »
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