Welcome to Tuesday as we begin a new week of school. Charlie has been out of school for a small break. Which means tomorrow we will need to make up the days we missed. To make it easier I have put together a list of Homeschool Science Resources we can use.
Age Range: 5-18 (Grades K-12, with parental supervision)
This ad-free website, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, provides free, quality science lessons, hands-on activities, printables, interactives, teaching aids, and links to science resources for grades K-12. All of the resources can be used online or printed to use offline.
When you get to the website, you’ll see some featured activities and resources. Click on “Lessons” located on the menu at the top of the page to access an archive of learning resources that cover:
- Earth Science
- Physics
- Astronomy
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Health/Medicine
- Engineering
- Technology
You’ll even find resources for Social Sciences, Mathematics/Statistics, and Careers.Click on “Tools” to find interactives that help you:
- Explore 29 different structures in the brain with a 3D Brain App
- Learn about solar and lunar eclipses
- Find out about the science of the Olympic winter games
Don’t miss the “Afterschool” section that offers free science experiments you can do at home to learn about geysers, classifying organisms, honeybees, forces, sound, gravity, and more.
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Age Range: 5-18 (Grades K-12, with parental supervision)
Your kids will enjoy the free science activities, lessons, videos, projects, experiments, cool facts, quizzes, and games available at this terrific website! They’ll learn about animals, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, weather, space science and more.
When you arrive at the site, you will see an introduction and the highlighted facts and features of the site. You can use the horizontal navigation bar at the top of the page to explore the following topics:
- Experiments – Perform cool chemistry experiments and more with materials you’ll find around the house. Float an egg, melt some chocolate, make a vinegar volcano, breed bacteria, make invisible ink, germinate seeds, or make fake snot (ewwww!).
- Games – Try these challenging interactive games that test your tech skills while teaching the science behind activities that involve magnets, electricity, forces, light, sounds, gases, etc.
- Facts – “Did you know that the ears of a cricket are located on its front legs?” Get the facts and enjoy fun trivia about animals, planets, the human body, and other fascinating topics.
- Quizzes – Test your knowledge about elementary science through quizzes with questions ranging from easy to hard. Enjoy printable science word searches and puzzle worksheets too!
- Projects – Learn about the “scientific method” while you try the science projects offered in every field of science for students in grades K-12. Grow salt crystals, make a kaleidoscope or a simple microscope, learn about forensics and much, much more!
- Lessons – Get fun and educational science activities for students and lesson plans for teachers from elementary to high school level including resources, ideas, and activities.
- Images – Use this archive of illustrations, photos, and diagrams to create a science report or project.
- Videos – Watch incredible video clips of animal behavior, cellular behavior, chemical reactions, and more. See “How-To” videos on everything from making a lemon battery to surviving a bear attack. You’ll find videos on engineering, video game technology, dinosaurs, robots and more!
- Topics – Get a wide range of teaching resources and ideas on over 30 science topics.
This is an ad-supported website and the ads are randomly generated. Parents, as always, should preview and supervise use.
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Age Range: 10 and up (Grades 5 and up; children with parental supervision)
This website, developed by the University of Utah, provides free lessons, experiments, activities, virtual labs, and worksheets designed to provide a basic education in the science of genetics.
When you get to the site, you can get a good introduction to the topics of traits, DNA & genes, proteins, heredity, mutations and more by exploring “Basic Genetics.” Other menu items include:
- Cell Biology – Learn about cell communication, stem cells and cloning.
- Plants – Cotton and Insect Herbivores
- Human Health – Metabolism, Genetic Disorders and Gene Therapy
- Neuroscience – Memory and Addiction
- And more.
Also, under Science Tools, check out the Virtual Labs:
- Swab your cheek and extract DNA from your cells!
- Use gel electrophoresis to discover how scientists work with tiny molecules they can’t see.
- Perform a DNA microarray experiment to compare a healthy cell and a cancer cell.
You can also learn about the ecology of Utah’s Great Salt Lake.Be sure to click on the “Teach.Genetics” link located at the bottom of the home page where you’ll find additional tools and resources for learning about genetics, bioscience, and health. While this is designed for classroom use, it can be tweaked for the homeschool environment.
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Age Range: 5-13 (Grades K-8, with parental supervision)
Discovery Education and 3M Corporation sponsor this website that provides free activities “to capture your curiosity and engage you in the scientific thinking process; while having fun!”
When you get to the site, choose from the 10 activities in pdf format including:
- Balloon Rocket
- Disappearing Glass
- Sandwich Bag Dartboard
- Water Jug Race
You’ll also see a menu at the top of the homepage that includes “Teachers,” “Students” and “Parents.” Under “Teachers,” you’ll find the content sorted by grade range (K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) that includes Lesson Plans and Interactives. You can download (pdf) complete lesson plans that teach about recycling, light, adhesives, and more. The Interactives help students discover the real-world science around them. Download animations that explain wind energy, circuitry and the history of innovations.There is a lot of content to explore on this site including a blog and information on a contest in which your emerging scientists can participate to win prizes (closed for 2018)
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Age Range: 7-10 (Grades 3-5, with parental supervision)
Save Vearth (Virtual Earth) from dastardly villains! The National Science Foundation sponsors this AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) website to promote science education in the classroom and at home.
When you get to the site, use the space vehicle at the top left corner of the screen. Click on “Club Car,” and from there select “Our World” to meet the animated crew of virtual kids who live on Vearth (the “virtual” planet Earth). Of course, they are facing a crisis — the possibility of Deep Delete — a wicked plan to destroy Vearth with 16 viruses.By following the clues, reading scientific explanations for the strange things that are occurring on Vearth, and by doing science lab experiments that will help you solve various mysteries and puzzles, you can discover a solution to save Vearth.
To get started, you will need to choose from either:
- Lab Car — Select this option to access just the interactive “mind games.”
- Control Car — To get all of the science content this site has to offer, use this option. Not only are all of the “mind games” included, but there are lab experiments to do.
- Supply Car — Click on “Deep Delete Trading Cards” to play “Virus Attack”. The other choices of the Supply Car are “coming soon,” so bookmark the site and check back occasionally to see what’s new!
Once aboard the Control Car, use the top menu button labeled “Pack” to choose from packs labeled: Omega, Phi, Sigma, and Tau. Each pack has four viruses. Select a virus then click on its picture to read a brief synopsis of its threat to Vearth. Then, click the three buttons at the bottom of the screen to watch the villain and his evil henchman reveal their sinister plot of DOOM. To find out what you can do to help foil their evil plan, play the suggested online games and do the science lab experiments and other activities that include drawing, writing, and games involving physical movement. The information you gain from these activities will equip you for the “Mission to Vearth” that will ultimately destroy that virus.When you first click “Mission to Vearth” you get a chance to earn “Power Points.” If you have logged in (membership is free), you can accumulate the points that you earn, have a chance at having your high scores posted on the site, and advance in rank from “Bug Zapper 2nd Class” all the way up to “Supersonic Virus Stopper!” If you’d rather not join, don’t worry; just click “Later” and proceed to answer the power questions anyway. You’ll still be congratulated for any power points you earn.
And don’t miss the heart-pounding arcade-style game to evaluate what you have learned, before you move on to the next virus! In “Bug Blaster,” crash into and destroy viruses, gain more fuel by answering questions correctly, and avoid obstacles which may reduce your shield strength. (Watch out! This game ends when you run out of either time, fuel, or shield strength.) Some viruses are destroyed by “Smart Attack” instead, a fast-paced matching game. Try to rack up points by matching as many facts as possible before you run out of lives or time.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
