Earth and Space Science

Design and build a shelter to keep animals safe in severe weather.

Lesson: Five 45-minute sessions

Students will explore the elements by designing a wind maze, a device that can direct the wind along a specific path.

Lesson: 90 minutes

See first-hand how tectonic plates interact and the consequences. (Lab Connection: Engineering for Earthquakes Lab)

Lesson: 45 minutes

Write a proposal to the mayor for a device that prevents product and profit loss caused by earthquakes.

Lesson: Four 45-minute sessions

Design a wind detection device, an anemometer, that could warn community members of the strength and direction of high winds during a wildfire.

Lesson: 90 minutes
Unit: 150 minutes

Apply computational thinking to create or modify a computer program in Scratch that shows how the moon appears throughout the lunar cycle.

Lesson: 180 to 240 minutes

Explore the properties of materials by designing a barrier that will protect a satellite from colliding objects.

Lesson: 60 minutes

Make an argument supported with evidence for a solution to the environmental issue of coastal erosion.

Lesson: Five 60-minute sessions

Use this video and prompt to spark engagement: Greenhouse gas pollution in the environment traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere and creates climate change. What are the main sources of pollution you see? What do you see in your daily life that creates pollution?

Create a storm drain cover that can keep trash out while letting water pass through in order to protect our waterways. (Lab Connection: Down the Drain Lab)

Lesson: 45-60 minutes

Build and develop a scale drawing of a rain catchment system that will help conserve water. Explore challenges associated with drought in California and how water conservation can be part of a solution.

Lesson: Five or six 60-minute sessions

Use this video and prompt to spark engagement: What other things do you know that contribute to climate change?

Play a game that shows the complicated cause and effect relationship involved in major environmental decisions.

Activity: 20+ minutes

Explore how to problem-solve when approaching large-scale, multidimensional issues like climate change.

Lesson: 90 minutes

Examine environmental issues through the lens of four emerging technologies. Working in teams, students consider the challenges these technologies might face if they were adopted in their own communities.

Lesson: Three 60-minute sessions

Design a device that removes garbage from the ocean while minimizing the number of animals collected.

Lesson: Five to seven 50-minute sessions

Build a bridge over a variety of terrains to determine how different designs affect stability and strength.

Lesson: Five 50-minute sessions

Design a Mars terrain navigation test using coordinate planes to help NASA prepare for the next rover mission.

Lesson: Four 50-minute sessions

Educator demonstration of how convection currents in the Earth’s mantle cause tectonic movement. (Lab Connection: Engineering for Earthquakes)

Lesson: 20 minutes

Create a storm drain cover that can keep trash out while letting water pass through in order to protect our waterways. (Lab Connection: Down the Drain Lab)

Lesson: 45-60 minutes

Build and develop a scale drawing of a rain catchment system that will help conserve water. Explore challenges associated with drought in California and how water conservation can be part of a solution.

Lesson: Five or six 60-minute sessions

Play a game that shows the complicated cause and effect relationship involved in major environmental decisions.

Activity: 20+ minutes

Design a device that removes garbage from the ocean while minimizing the number of animals collected.

Lesson: Five to seven 50-minute sessions

Make an argument supported with evidence for a solution to the environmental issue of coastal erosion.

Lesson: Five 60-minute sessions