This activity engages students to better understand the impact of transmission by invasive species. Using dice, poker chips, and paper plates, an entire class mimics the spread of an invasive species within a geographic region. The activity can be modified and conducted at the K-16 levels.

This paper reports on the results of several geotechnical engineering-related science activities conducted with elementary-school students. Activities presented include soil permeability, contact stress, soil stratigraphy, shallow and deep foundations, and erosion in rivers. The permeability activity employed the LEGO NXT platform for data…

A visual demonstration of the difference between hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces has been developed. It involves placing a shadow mask on an optically clear hydrophobic plastic dish, corona treating the surface with a modified Tesla coil, removing the shadow mask, and visualizing the otherwise invisible message or pattern by applying water,…

This is the second in a series of articles discussing the "Doing-Based Learning" study. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which U.S. public school elementary and secondary education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students are doing activities in their classrooms. The first article (Moye,…

An educational demonstration shows the combustion of carbon to carbon dioxide and then the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon. A melee diamond is the source of the carbon and the reaction is carried out in a closed flask. The demonstration helps students to realize that diamonds are made of carbon and that atoms do not change or vanish in…

This column features profiles of award-winning science programs and teachers. In this month's issue the author shares his experience of working with a university researcher. Third-grade students benefit from this relationship and learn about the nanoscale through up-to-date science equipment. (Contains 1 resource and 10 online resources.)

Cost-effective, easily replicated program is a win-win situation for high schoolers who teach science and for their elementary students. The thank-you letter from Leslie, a grade-schooler in San Diego County's Ramona Unified School District, speaks volumes about the excitement generated by "Celebrate Science"--an innovative,…

A hands-on, minds-on inquiry chemistry experiment was developed for use in K-12 schools that enables students to combine the chemicals of their choice and observe the results. The chemistry involved is water based and builds upon acid-base, double displacement, and iodometric detection of starch reactions. Chemicals readily available in the…

Following on from taking part in the successful "Getting Practical: improving practical work in science across the primary-secondary transition" CPD project, Uplands Community College with Wadhurst and Ticehurst Primary Schools in East Sussex worked together on developing the CPD--focusing on effective practical work across the…

Art and science are sometimes viewed as opposing subjects, but are united in many ways. With an increased awareness of the benefits of interdisciplinary studies in education, it is desirable to show students how different subjects impact one another. Visual arts are greatly connected to chemistry in several ways. Pigments are usually synthetically…

How can a science concept be taught in a way that generates interest, gives students the opportunity to consider other possibilities, does not lock them into one way of doing or seeing things, and gives them some ownership of their learning? These authors searched high and low for the perfect activity to illustrate a key concept for their partner…

For the past five years, teachers from four Houston-area school districts have joined together in a professional learning community (PLC) to improve their science teaching. Through the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) Regional Collaborative for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching, the teachers strengthen content knowledge and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a hands-on science curriculum, which integrates mathematics and supports English language development, on third-grade students' mathematics achievement--specifically the measurement subscale of the statewide assessment. The data drew from a larger five-year research and development project…

What students and teachers often ask is, how are nano-sized materials made when they are so small? One answer is through the process of self-assembly in which molecules, polymers, and nanoparticles connect to form larger objects of a defined structure and shape. Two hands-on experiments are presented in which students prepare capsules in real time…

"Slowmation" (abbreviated from "Slow Animation") is a simplified way of making an animation that enables students to create their own as a new way of learning about a science concept. When students make a slowmation, they create a sequence of five multimodal representations (the 5 Rs) with each one contributing to the learning…