Please contact me for an email conversation on hands-on science ideas for your classroom.
Activities that you might want to try in your classroom (easy to obtain materials, and well tested)
Chemistry
Soda drink, extending to comparisons and graphing for older grades (note: need tall tubes for extension activities).
Glue. Free play for younger grades, quantitative assessment for older grades.
Physics
Jumping stick. Simple toy to show forces, chains of forces, and energy transformation.
Electric circuits. Light and heat for younger grades, energy forms for intermediate grades, electricity for older grades. (time for initial prep, but then shoebox-kit ready for use)
Biology
Camouflage challenge, outdoors or inside.
Outdoor hunt for soil animals, following up with worm or wood bug study.
Earth Science
Landforms: building a mountain from a contour map.
Solar system to scale.
My favourite activities to bring to classrooms
New favourite: Sustainable practices workshop with activities on fossil fuel combustion chemistry and ocean acidification, then circuits with wind turbines and solar panels.
Constant favourite: Roller coasters for marbles. Forces for younger grades, energy transformation for older grades.
Constant favourite: Jumping stick
Heat sensitive sheets to explore heat radiation and conduction.
Camouflage challenge - simple materials, effective. Can be done outdoors or inside.
Separating a heterogeneous mixture - messy, good extension points.
Bridge structures and forces. Relates to bridges around us and good free play extension.
Motor free play with arty free play extensions.
Chromatography of coloured markers with art extension.
Bones and skeletal system lesson - note students need to handle my bones with care.
Lego evolution
Sedimentary uplifting (with optional fossil discovery model)
Build a play dough mountain from a contour map
Heat Convection lesson with candle spinner
Free play pulleys
Mixing solids and liquids free experimentation. Messy and effective. Make it quantitative for older grades.
Flower colour chemistry. Try in the spring with petals fallen from rhododendrons and roses.
Light stations