Browse by Grade & Topic: Grade 3-5

Control the path of a drop of water as it travels through the water cycle. Many alternatives are presented at each stage. Determine how the water moves from one location to another, and...

Try to classify a dozen different rock samples based on their appearance. Common characteristics of each major rock type are described. Rocks also can be classified by where they formed.

Understand the phases of the Moon by observing the positions of the Moon, Earth and Sun. A view of the Moon from Earth is shown on the right as the Moon orbits Earth. Learn the names of...

Investigate the growth of three common garden plants: tomatoes, beans, and turnips. You can change the amount of light each plant gets, the amount of water added each day, and the type of...

Launch a charged particle into a chamber. Charged particles can be added into the chamber to influence the path of the moving particle. The launch speed can be changed as well. Try to match...

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Explore our solar system and learn the characteristics of each planet. Compare the sizes of planets and their distances from the Sun. Observe the speeds of planetary orbits and measure how...

Observe and measure the properties of a mineral sample, and then use a key to identify the mineral. Students can observe the color, luster, shape, density, hardness, streak, and reaction to...

Observe the populations of grass, prairie dogs, ferrets and foxes in a prairie ecosystem. Investigate feeding relationships and determine the food chain. Bar graphs and line graphs show...

Lift food using ants with the help of a slanted stick. The steepness of the stick, the number of ants, and the size of the item being lifted can be varied. Observe the effect of friction on...

Recreate Galileo's famous experiment by dropping objects off the Tower of Pisa. You can drop ping pong balls, golf balls, soccer balls or watermelons. Objects can be dropped in air or no...

Where does energy come from? How does energy get from one place to another? Find out how electrical current is generated and how living things get energy to move and grow. Trace the path of...

Go on an African safari and observe a variety of animals walking and running across the savanna. Videotape the animals, and then play back the videotape to estimate animal speeds. Which...

Heat or cool a container of water and observe the phase changes that take place. Use a magnifying glass to observe water molecules as a solid, liquid, or gas. Compare the volumes of the...

Trace the path of blood through a beating heart and the network of blood vessels that supplies blood to the body. Take blood samples from different blood vessels to observe blood cells and...

Measure the height, diameter, and circumference of trees in a forest. Count growth rings to determine the age of each tree. Grow the trees for several years and investigate how growth is...

Observe and measure transverse, longitudinal, and combined waves on a model of a spring moved by a hand. Adjust the amplitude and frequency of the hand, and the tension and density of the...

How do scientists measure and describe the weather? In this introductory lesson, students will practice using a thermometer, anemometer, rain gauge, and hygrometer to record weather...

Explore life in the hive by meeting workers, drones, and the queen bee herself! Visit flower patches to determine the best sources of food, and then perform a waggle dance to let the other...

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In this introduction to coding, program a rover to explore the surface of Mars. Start by using tiles to create simple programs involving moving forward or backward, turns, jumps, loops, and...

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Design a house to withstand an earthquake and protect the people living inside. Select a location in San Francisco, then choose the design and materials for a foundation, frame, walls, and...

Test your hearing range by listening to low-, medium-, and high-frequency sounds. Compare the relative loudness of sounds at each frequency to create an equal-loudness curve. In a quiet...

Develop an understanding of ocean tides by comparing the depth of water near a dock to the positions of the Moon, Sun, and Earth. Determine the influence of the Moon and Sun on tides, and...

Plant seeds and watch how many sprout. Examine what factors affect germination. Vary the amount of heat, water, and light the seeds get. Practice designing controlled experiments and using...

Create circuits using batteries, light bulbs, switches, fuses, and a variety of materials. Examine series and parallel circuits, conductors and insulators, and the effects of battery...

Observe and manipulate the populations of four creatures (trees, deer, bears, and mushrooms) in a forest. Investigate the feeding relationships (food web) in the forest. Determine which...

Observe solar and lunar eclipses as the Moon orbits Earth. The full and partial shadows of the Moon and Earth can be displayed, and the Moon can also be dragged around Earth. See what the...

Find the effect of length, mass, and angle on the period of a pendulum. The pendulum is attached to a clock that can be adjusted to tell time accurately. The clock can be located on Earth...

Use a lever to lift a pig, turkey, or sheep. A strongman provides up to 1000 newtons of effort. The fulcrum, strongman, and animals can be moved to any position to create first-, second-,...

Imagine a gigantic pitcher standing on Earth, ready to hurl a huge baseball. What will happen as the ball is thrown harder and harder? Find out with the Gravity Pitch Gizmo. Observe the...

Use a balance to measure mass and a spring scale to measure the weight of objects. Compare the masses and weights of objects on Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and the Moon.

Create aliens with different traits and breed them to produce offspring. Determine which traits are passed down from parents to offspring and which traits are acquired. Offspring can be...

Observe frogs jumping around on colored lily pads. Find, test, and reason about patterns you see in their jumping.

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Measure the temperature and oxygen content of a pond over the course of a day. Then go fishing to see what types of fish live in the pond. Many different ponds can be investigated to...

Digestion is a complex process, involving a wide variety of organs and chemicals that work together to break down food, absorb nutrients, and eliminate wastes. But have you ever wondered...

Explore acceleration, speed, momentum, and energy by sending a sled down a hill into a group of snowmen. The starting height and mass of the sled can be changed, as well as the number of...

How do scientists measure and describe the weather? In this introductory lesson, students will practice using a thermometer, anemometer, rain gauge, and hygrometer to record weather...

Build a home to survive a flood or a hurricane and protect the people inside. Choose materials and a design for the foundation, frame, walls, and roof of the house. Add "extras" such as...

Learn how to determine the mass of an object using a triple beam balance. The mass of a variety of objects can be determined using this simulated version of a common real-world laboratory...

Point a laser at a mirror and compare the angle of the incoming beam to the angle of reflection. A protractor can be used to measure the angles of incidence and reflection, and the angle of...

Play the role of a piece of rock moving through the rock cycle. Select a starting location and follow many possible paths throughout the cycle. Learn how rocks are formed, weathered,...

You are a bird hunting moths (both dark and light) that live on trees. As you capture the moths most easily visible against the tree surface, the moth populations change, illustrating the...

Explore the laws of motion using a simple fan cart. Use the buttons to select the speed of the fan and the surface, and press Play to begin. You can drag up to three objects onto the fan...

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Drag bar magnets and a variety of other objects onto a piece of paper. Click Play to release the objects to see if they are attracted together, repelled apart, or unaffected. You can also...

Observe the steps of pollination and fertilization in flowering plants. Help with many parts of the process by dragging pollen grains to the stigma, dragging sperm to the ovules, and...

Lift a variety of heavy objects (armchair, safe, piano) using pulleys and a rope. Systems of one, two, four, or six pulleys can be used. Up to six people can be used to pull on the rope,...

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Shine a powerful flashlight on a variety of materials, and measure how quickly each material heats up. See how the light angle, light color, type of material, and material color affect...

Follow the path of a carbon atom through the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. Manipulate a simplified model to see how human activities and other factors affect the amount...

Everything we know about the world comes through our senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. In the Senses Gizmo, explore how stimuli are detected by specialized cells, transmitted...

Compare average temperatures, precipitation, humidity, and wind speed for a variety of locations across the globe. Explore the influence of latitude, proximity to oceans, elevation, and...

As an agricultural scientist, students help a strawberry farmer who is having problems with low fruit production. Students learn about the factors involved in fruit production including...

Measure the time required to write a word when the mouse behaves in a normal fashion and when the direction of motion is reversed from left to right, up to down, or both. Run several...

Observe the population of rabbits in an environment over many years. The land available to the rabbits and weather conditions can be adjusted to investigate the effects of urban sprawl and...

Study the thickness of birds' beaks over a five-year period as you control the yearly rainfall on an isolated island. As the environmental conditions change, the species must adapt (a...

Control the intensity of red, green, and blue spotlights. Additive colors can be observed where the spotlights overlap. The RGB value of any point can be measured. Just about any color can...

In 1915, Alfred Wegener proposed that all of Earth's continents were once joined in an ancient supercontinent he called Pangaea. Wegener's idea of moving continents led to the modern theory...

Use a wheel and axle to move a heavy load. Find out how many athletes it takes to move the load under different conditions. The radii of the wheel and the axle can be adjusted to help study...

Two flasks hold colored water, one yellow and the other blue. Set the starting temperature of each flask, choose a type of material to connect the flasks, and see how quickly the flasks...

Measure the volume of liquids and solids using beakers, graduated cylinders, overflow cups, and rulers. Water can be poured from one container to another and objects can be added to...

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Explore a wide variety of cells, from bacteria to human neurons, using a compound light microscope. Select a sample to study, then focus on the sample using the coarse and fine focus...

Compare average temperatures, precipitation, humidity, and wind speed for a variety of locations across the globe. Explore the influence of latitude, proximity to oceans, elevation, and...

Observe how different colors of light are reflected or absorbed by colored objects. Determine that white light is a combination of different colors of light, and that one or more component...

Using the scientific method, control the environmental conditions for a fictional alien organism in order to learn how the organism responds to changes in conditions. Sunlight, water, and...

Move spots of yellow, cyan, and magenta pigment on a white surface. As the colors overlap, other colors can be seen due to color subtraction. The color of most things you see--such as cars,...

Move the Earth's crust at various locations to observe the effects of the motion of the tectonic plates, including volcanic eruptions. Information about each of the major types of plate...

Study the thickness of birds' beaks over a five year period as you control the yearly rainfall on an isolated island. As the environmental conditions change, the species must adapt (a...

Measure the mass and volume of a variety of objects, then place them into a beaker of liquid to see if they float or sink. Learn to predict whether objects will float or sink in water based...

Observe the tilt of Earth's axis and the angle that sunlight strikes Earth on June 21 and December 21. Compare day lengths, temperatures, and the angle of the Sun's rays for any latitude....

Use a powerful flashlight to pop a kernel of popcorn. A lens focuses light on the kernel. The temperature of the filament and the distance between the flashlight and lens can be changed....

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Design your own trebuchet to fling a projectile at a castle wall. All of the dimensions of the trebuchet can be adjusted, as well as the masses of the counterweight and payload. Select a...

Once light enters the eye, it must be focused on the retina. Manipulate the pupil diameter to regulate the amount of light that enters then eye, then change the lens shape to focus light....

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Create a graph of a runner's position versus time and watch the runner complete a 40-yard dash based on the graph you made. Notice the connection between the slope of the line and the speed...

Learn why the temperature in the summertime is higher than it is in the winter by studying the amount of light striking the Earth. Experiment with a plate detector to measure the amount of...

Create a graph (bar graph, line graph, pie chart, or scatter plot) based on a given data set. Title the graph, label the axes, and choose a scale. Adjust the graph to fit the data, and then...

Study the production and use of gases by plants and animals. Measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in a test tube containing snails and elodea (a type of plant) in both light and...

Mix the primary colors of light by using red, green, and blue lights. Use pieces of colored glass to filter the light and create a wide variety of colors. Determine how light is absorbed...

Use dichotomous keys to identify and classify five types of organisms: California albatrosses, Canadian Rockies buttercups, Texas venomous snakes, Virginia evergreens, and Florida...

Weathering is the breakdown of rock at Earth's surface through physical or chemical means. Students will learn about the different types of mechanical and chemical weathering, then use a...

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Observe how photoreceptors on the retina are stimulated by different colors of light. Determine that cone cells are stimulated by specific colors of light and enable us to see color, while...

The Secret Service has arrested suspects accused of counterfeiting coins from the year 1915 valued at $50,000 each. The students act as a forensic scientist to investigate the crime scene...

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There has been an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in a small town. This disease is caused by legionella bacteria that proliferate in contaminated water supplies. Students take on the role...

Create a graph of a runner's position versus time and watch the runner complete a 40-meter dash based on the graph you made. Notice the connection between the slope of the line and the...

Chemical changes result in the formation of new substances. But how can you tell if a chemical change has occurred? Explore this question by observing and measuring a variety of chemical...

Explore how river erosion affects landscapes in the short term and over long periods of time. Describe the features of mountain streams and meandering rivers, and use a floating barrel to...

As a national park ranger, students must restore the ecosystem of a park back to normal. They interact with populations of many organisms including wolves, deer and bees. Students learn the...

Control a simulated person running on a treadmill. Your challenge is to use clothing, exercise, and sweat to maintain a constant body temperature as air temperature goes up and down....

Explore erosion in a simulated 3D environment. Observe how the landscape evolves over time as it is shaped by the forces of flowing water. Vary the initial landscape, rock type,...

As a bee scientist, students help a honey farm that has low honey production due to wasps. Students learn about bees, heredity and traits to determine which traits will help the bees defend...

A farmer in Africa is having problems with elephants eating her corn and cotton crops. As a wildlife biologist, students learn about animal group behavior and relationships of elephants and...