Students will build a functioning circuit using play-dough in order to understand what and why circuits work.
Tinkercad is a free online application that quickly allows students to virtually design three-dimensional objects and create files for 3D printing.
This lesson introduces and provides examples of the eight types of energy.
Students will investigate heat through demonstrations, discussions, and simple examples. Students will understand that the source of all energy for the earth comes solely from the sun. They will also be able to distinguish mechanical and electrical sources of energy in everyday life activities.
In this hands-on experiment, students will test the effects of static charge on different objects such as paper, yarn, sawdust and puffed rice. They record their findings on a data sheet and hold a class discussion to share results. Extension activities and web links are included.
In this STEM lesson, student pairs design and construct small, wind-powered sail cars using limited quantities of drinking straws, masking tape, paper and beads. Teams compete to see which sail car travels the farthest when pushed by the wind (simulated by the use of an electric fan). Students learn about wind and kinetic and renewable energy, and follow the steps of the engineering design process to imagine, create, test, evaluate and refine their sail cars.
In this lesson, students rotate to three learning stations that will give them opportunities to experiment with static electricity. An extension activity and family connection are included.