This Nim-like interactive Flash game provides an opportunity to practice basic addition and subtraction while developing strategic thinking through generalization and by applying knowledge of factors and multiples. It can be played against the computer or a friend. Players take turns adding a whole number from 1 to 4 to a running total. The player who hits the target of 23 wins. Computer settings allow changing the target number, the range of numbers to add, who goes first, and whether the player reading the target wins or loses. The Teachers' Notes page offers suggestions for implementation, discussion questions, ideas for support, and links to related games.

This video segment adapted from NOVA features the youngest rock formations in the Grand Canyon, lava dams, and how they are subject to the eroding power of water.

In this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about the effects of gravity as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson falls through a virtual hole through Earth's center.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a meteorologist explains how an unusual weather pattern led to one of the most devastating floods of this century.

How do greenhouse gases affect the climate? Explore the atmosphere during the ice age and today. What happens when you add clouds? Change the greenhouse gas concentration and see how the temperature changes. Then compare to the effect of glass panes. Zoom in and see how light interacts with molecules. Do all atmospheric gases contribute to the greenhouse effect?

Metals are grouped according to their characteristics. This video segment uses the periodic table for an in-depth discussion.

This expository article, written for students in grades 4-5, explains why ice floats and how this is essential to life on earth. Modified versions are available for younger students.

This problem encourages children to identify and describe a pattern and to extend the pattern into a general rule. Using an applet, learners try to discover the number of garlic cloves being planted if the arrangement into various rows always finds that there is one left over. The Teachers' Notes page offers rationale, suggestions for implementation, discussion questions, and ideas for support and extension.

In this activity, students explore number decomposition and the powers of two. They play a number guessing game, and by the presence or absence of the secret number on each of six cards, the number can be found. An applet has the computer play the trick with the learner. The Teachers' Notes page offers rationale, suggestions for implementation, discussion questions, and ideas for support and extension.

In this ZOOM video segment, join Hana as she learns traditional Japanese drumming with her Taiko group.

This article provides links to lessons and units about birds, bird characteristics, and penguins. Ideas for literacy integration are included, and all lessons are aligned to national standards.

In this video adapted from the National Science Center, observe a demonstration to discover how helium gas is inert and hydrogen gas is reactive.

In this investigation, students visualize and compare volumes in solids composed of unit cubes and look for patterns in the measurements. They work systematically to organize and analyze the results. Ideas for implementation, extension and support are included.

The unit “mole” is used in chemistry as a counting unit for measuring the amount of something. One mole of something has 6.02×1023 units of that thing. The magnitude of the number 6.02×1023 is challenging to imagine. The goal of this lesson is for students to understand just how many particles Avogadro's Number truly represents, or, how big is a mole. This lesson is meant for students currently enrolled in a first or second year chemistry course. This lesson is designed to be completed within one approximately 1 hour class; however, completion of optional activities 4 and 5 may require a longer class period or part of a second class period. This lesson requires only pencil and paper, as the activities suggested in this video place an emphasis on helping students develop their “back of the envelope” estimation skills. In fact, calculators and other measuring devices are explicitly discouraged. However, students may require additional supplies (poster board, colored pencils, markers, crayons, etc.) for the final optional/assessment activity, which involves creating a poster to demonstrate the size of a mole of their favorite macroscopic object.

This video is the second lesson in the How Cold Is Cold? BLOSSOMS series and examines the properties of materials under low temperature conditions. The video consists of a series of fascinating demonstrations with liquid nitrogen, which boils at 77K (-196 C -321 F). These demonstrations include the following: What goes up, may not come down; Is that supposed to be cold? - thermal insulation; Some properties of liquid nitrogen; Making ice cream - the slow way and the fast way; Try not to explode: expansion of liquid nitrogen and the ideal gas law; Making the air cold: phase changes and the affect on volume; No frozen fingers: the changes in mechanical properties; Resistivity at 77K; The magic magnet: the Meissner Effect; Cautions in using liquid nitrogen

In this set of addition and subtraction word problems students are encouraged to find their own way to solve the problems. This enables students to discover the strengths and weaknesses of different solution methods and to see how multiple methods all arrive at the same answer. Included with the problem set are tips for getting started, the solutions, a teacher resource page, and a printable student page.

This illustrated essay from A Science Odyssey Web site explains the science behind radio waves, including the role of electrons and electromagnetic fields.

In this video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science, observe demonstrations of the fundamental idea that light travels in straight lines.

In this fast-paced NASA Brain BitesŒ_íěÖ video, an astronaut demonstrates the impact of microgravity on the use of tools in space.

This video segment adapted from the Space Telescope Science Institute shows what the Hubble telescope found when it stared at a single, nearly empty spot in the sky for 10 days in 1995. The unexpected result was a picture of a multitude of galaxies stretching into the distance.