Explain that science does not always follow a rigidly defined method ("the scientific method") but that science does involve the use of observations and empirical evidence.
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Just Right Goldilocks’ Café: Temperature & Turbidity | This is lesson 3 of 3 in the Goldilocks’ Café Just Right unit. This lesson focuses on systematic investigation on getting a cup of coffee to be the “just right” temperature and turbidity level. Students will use both the temperature probe and turbidity sensor and code using ScratchX during their investigation. |
Just Right Goldilocks’ Café: Turbidity | This is lesson 2 of 3 in the Just Right Goldilocks’ Café unit. This lesson focuses on systematic investigation on getting a cup of coffee to be the “just right” level of turbidity. Students will use turbidity sensors and code using ScratchX during their investigation. |
Just Right Goldilocks’ Café: Temperature | This is lesson 1 of 3 in the Just Right Goldilocks’ Café unit. This lesson focuses on systematic investigation on getting a cup of coffee to be the “just right” temperature. Students will use temperature probes and code using ScratchX during their investigation.
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Set Sail with STEM: Exploring Wind and Water Movement as Energy with Sailboats | Come sail away with this STEM activity! Students will use hands-on inquiry to find out more about wind and its effect on sails. Through trial and error and based on data collected, students will design, build, and race their own vessel or "sailboat" across the boundless waters of a kiddie pool. Students should gain a better understanding of how moving water and air are sources of energy and can propel objects forward at varying rates of speed. |
Caution! School's a Zoo! | This is a fun science lesson that teaches children about inherited animal behaviors through observation and direct instruction. Students then use their new skills to write a news article explaining what school might be like if teachers or students had different inherited and learned behaviors. This lesson can be integrated into reading and includes an opportunity for writing across the curriculum. |
Follow the Water Lesson 1: Filtration Station | Water is essential for human health, but it can sometimes be contaminated. Water filtration can filter out contaminants and impurities making water much safer to consume. But what is the best way to filter water? Students will participate in a water filtration engineering challenge to try out different combinations of materials to find which works best. This lesson was developed by the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science with support from the Weo Foundation. |
Introduction To The Nature Journal | In the lessons here, students exercise the observation skills that are essential to writing, visual art, and science. First, they try to use evocative language in describing pictures of birds from the Smithsonian's National Zoo. They go on to record observations and to make hypotheses as they follow the behavior of animals on the National Zoo's live webcams. They can watch the giant pandas, the tigers, the cheetahs, the gorillas, or any of a dozen other species. |