"Making" has been used to describe an internally motivated iterative design process that embodies notions of playful building and tinkering. Recently, interest in applying making to PK-12 education has increased. As schools add facilities dedicated to making, there is a need to support teachers in effectively utilizing these makerspaces.…

Describes the organizational framework, didactic and methodological considerations, and the content of a four-day astronomy project in a secondary West German school. Presents information on the media used and related literature. Appended are the instruments of observation. (DB)

This article offers quick, inexpensive activities for teaching concepts in three basic areas of the elementary science curriculum (air, sound, and light) with instructions for assembling more sophisticated laboratory tools (e.g., an electroscope and a balance scale). Hands-on science activities that use household items are described. (SM)

Students should have some experience with science carried out over time periods of several months or an entire school year. Presents suggestions to help teachers start their own bank of ideas for long-term science activities. (PR)

Presents detailed descriptions and diagrams for having students build their own hot air balloons. Describes the educational benefits of the balloon building. (PR)

Presents detailed descriptions and diagrams for having students build their own miniature box kites. Describes the educational benefits of the kite building. (PR)

Describes how a teacher can give their students the challenge of designing and building model balloons or blimps. The project helps students learn the basics of balloon flight and what it really means to be "lighter than air." (PR)

Describes a Lexington, Kentucky, kindergarten science project that employed the Reggio Emilia approach of long-term open-ended projects steered by children's interests and group discussions. The children's investigation of how caterpillars make cocoons included direct observation of the metamorphosis process, construction of child-sized cocoons,…

Describes a student project to build a car powered by the energy in a mousetrap as part of a unit on simple machines. (PR)

Presents detailed descriptions and diagrams for having students build their own syringe-powered rockets. Describes how the students can learn about variables that influence the stability of the rockets flight. (PR)

Describes how photographs of students' faces can be used to produce booklets, posters, and newsletters to enhance science class projects. (PR)

Science fairs can be used to advance a student's scientific knowledge, sharpen laboratory techniques, practice statistical analysis, and gain a better understanding of the process of science. This article describes an outline for developing a science fair that covers the objectives above and develops library and writing skills as well. (PR)

Discusses how to teach children about electricity via home projects involving electricity games. The concepts of circuits, conductors, and insulators are illustrated by having students build their own game boards. Instructions for making a telegraph and learning the Morse code are provided. (SM)

Describes ScienceFest, a program that teams up students and teachers in an effort to create and perform original science-related plays. (PR)

Students explore the workings of the lever, wheel and axle, and the inclined plane as they build simple toys--a bulldozer and a road grader. The project takes four weeks. Diagrams and procedures are included. (PR)