Cardboard Automata are a playful way to explore simple machine elements while creating a mechanical sculpture. This activity was inspired by the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, a group of automata builders based in England. Artists like Paul Spooner, Keith Newstead, and Carlos Zapata build beautiful narrative pieces using elegant mechanisms based on cams, gears, springs, and linkages. Working with simple materials, this activity is easy to get started, and may become as complex as your mechanical sculpture ideas.

There are two types of catalysis reactions: homogeneous and heterogeneous. In a homogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants. In a heterogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in a different phase from the reactants. This activity addresses homogeneous catalysis.

Make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. Change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or filter white light. View the light as a solid beam, or see the individual photons.

This is a laboratory exercise designed to allow students to further investigate the light spectrum. This lab is used to have students view the light spectrum first hand as opposed to using lecture alone.

This lab activity is designed to allow students to experience what an increase in mechanical advantage means. Students determine the mechanical advantage of three pulley set-ups. Students also measure the work input and output, then calculate the efficiency. Finally, students determine the relationship between the mechanical advantage and the efficiency of the pulleys.

In this interactive activity, learners build computer models of atoms by adding or removing electrons, protons, and neutrons. It presents the orbital model of an atom: a nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons with electrons surrounding it in regions of high probability called orbitals. Guided tasks are provided, such as constructing a lithium atom and a carbon-12 atom in the fewest possible steps. The activity concludes with a model for building a charged hydrogen atom (an ion). Within each task, students take snapshots of their work product and answer probative questions. This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology.

Elementary grade students investigate heat transfer in this activity to design and build a solar oven, then test its effectiveness using a temperature sensor. It blends the hands-on activity with digital graphing tools that allow kids to easily plot and share their data. Included in the package are illustrated procedures and extension activities. Note Requirements: This lesson requires a "VernierGo" temperature sensing device, available for ~ $40. This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology. The Consortium develops digital learning innovations for science, mathematics, and engineering.

In this physical science lab, students investigate whether or not chewing gum should be considered eating. Students plan their own experiments for this lab. They use the law of conservation of mass to reason that the portion lost of the original mass of gum must be swallowed. Students determine the portion of original mass of gum. A student lab sheet and CER template are provided.

The lessons in this module are empirical – abductive. The teacher helps students identify the activity of substances within pizza dough. The teacher announces the students will conduct chemical reactions to explore how matter is conserved during a chemical change. After the class compares their reasoning, the teacher provides clarifying and direct instruction with videos, guided practice and supported computer simulation practice for students to learn to balance chemical equations. Students complete a problem-based investigation to apply their learning by writing, testing and explaining a lab procedure that will help an absent classmate to gather evidence and gain an understanding of the Law of Conservation of Matter. This module was developed by Patricia Kramolisch as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

Successful completion of this cooperative learning activity requires the active involvement of the individual, the small group and the entire classroom (collaboration). The goal is to make a simple task as complicated as possible by constructing a single complex machine.

In this activity, learners conduct an oxidation experiment that turns old pennies bright and shiny. Learners soak 20 dull, dirty pennies in a bowl of salt and vinegar for five minutes. They rinse half the pennies with water, then compare the rinsed pennies to the unrinsed after all pennies sit and dry for about an hour. Learners also observe what happens when they submerge a screw and nail in the liquid compared to a nail only half-way submerged.

In this activity, learners use crayons to draw conclusions about rocks and the rock cycle. Learners form crayons ((which can be "weathered"--heated, compressed and cooled--like rocks) into models of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks.

In this short lab, students observe the movement of an air bubble in a small level, attached to a toy truck, as it is moved from a stop, to a steady speed and back to a stop. This gives a visual to the concepts positive acceleration, zero acceleration and negative acceleration.

By the end of this module, the students will be able to explain (using physical models and computer simulations) the components of electrical circuits, the purpose of each component, and the differences between series and parallel circuits.This module was developed by Christina Owens as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

In this electrochemistry activity, learners will explore two examples of electroplating. In Part 1, zinc from a galvanized nail (an iron nail which has been coated with zinc by dipping it in molten zinc) will be plated onto a copper penny. In Part 2, copper from a penny will be plated onto a nickel.

In this activity, learners conduct a simple experiment to see how electrically charged things like plastic attract electrically neutral things like water. The plastic will attract the surface of the water into a visible bump.

Explore the concept of evaporative cooling through a hands-on experiment. Use a wet cloth and fan to model an air-conditioner and use temperature and relative humidity sensors to collect data. Then digitally plot the data using graphs in the activity. In an optional extension, make your own modifications to improve the cooler's efficiency.

As technology has evolved over time so has the understanding of the structure of the atom. This module focuses on how the model of the atom has changed over time using The Atomic Theory Timeline including the historical contributions of the scientists involved. This module was developed by Tracey Nipper as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

This activity includes reading a non-ficiton book and trying the experiments with air listed in the book. Students will record their observations regarding the experiments in an observation journal.

This in class worksheet is designed to get students to think about and manipulate different accelerations in their head. Students work together with written descriptions of velocity and acceleration and draw the vectors in part one, and then turn that around in part two where they write descriptions of a car's motion based on the vector pictures they are given.