Science at Home with HandsOn!

Check out these fun activities that our friends have demonstrated live on Daytime Tricities.  Then try them at home!

Click on the magnifying glass below each video for detailed instructions for selected experiments.

And be sure to watch Daytime Tricities on Channel 11 WJHL for new activities each month!

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Discovery Rental Kits

Our Discovery on the Go Kits give you the opportunity to discover the arts and sciences in your own home.  With keep-at-home and rental options, there is something for everyone!  Both types of kits are available for local pick-up only.  After purchases are completed, you will be contacted to arrange a pick-up time.

All Discovery on the Go Kits align with or complement Tennessee Science Curriculum Standards.  More details can be found on the “Curriculum Standards for Kits” tab. Limited quantities of each kit are available.

Please email frontdesk@visithandson.org for pricing and availability.

*While supplies last.*

STEM STANDARDS

Standards are listed below by grade. Each kit that aligns with or complements these standards is listed in blue.

KINDERGARTEN: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

K.PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
1) Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials including wood, plastic, metal, cloth, and paper by their observable properties (color, texture, hardness, and flexibility) and whether they are natural or human-made.  Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Aurora Picking, Dynamic Density, 5 Senses, Inside Out, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, Newton’s Antics, NISE Net Space Kit
2) Conduct investigations to understand that matter can exist in different states (solid and liquid) and has properties that can be observed and tested. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, Dynamic Density
3) Construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces (blocks, snap cubes) can be disassembled and made into a new object. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Polymer Power, Inside Out, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Aurora Picking, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit

K.LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
1) Use information from observations to identify differences between plants and animals (locomotion, obtainment of food, and take in air/gasses). Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Inside Out, Aurora Picking
2) Recognize differences between living organisms and non-living materials and sort them into groups by observable physical attributes. Aurora Picking, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Inside Out
3) Explain how humans use their five senses in making scientific findings. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Aurora Picking, 5 Senses, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit

K.LS3.1: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
1) Make observations to describe that young plants and animals resemble their parents. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

K.ESS2: Earth’s Systems
1) Analyze and interpret weather data (precipitation, wind, temperature, cloud cover) to describe weather patterns that occur over time (hourly, daily) using simple graphs, pictorial weather symbols, and tools (thermometer, rain gauge). Wacky Weather
2) Develop and use models to predict weather and identify patterns in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Super Solar System, Wacky Weather

K.ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
1) Use a model to represent the relationship between the basic needs (shelter, food, water) of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking
2) Explain the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather in Tennessee. Wacky Weather

K.ETS1: Engineering Design
1) Ask and answer questions about the scientific world and gather information using the senses. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Aurora Picking, 5 Senses, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit, Dynamic Density
2) Describe objects accurately by drawing and/or labeling pictures. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Inside Out, Marvelous Magnets

K.ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society
1) Use appropriate tools (magnifying glass, rain gauge, basic balance scale) to make observations and answer testable scientific questions. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Aurora Picking, 5 Senses, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit, Inside Out, Newton’s Antics

FIRST GRADE: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

1.PS3: Energy
1) Make observations to determine how sunlight warms Earth’s surfaces (sand, soil, rocks, and water). Super Solar System, Wacky Weather

1.PS4: Waves and Their Application in Technologies for Information Transfer
1) Use a model to describe how light is required to make objects visible. Summarize how Illumination could be from an external light source or by an object giving off its own light. Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, L.E.D. Maker Kit
2) Determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials (transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective) in the path of a beam of light. L.E.D. Maker Kit, Super Solar System

1.LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
2) Obtain and communicate information to classify plants by where they grow (water, land) and the plant’s physical characteristics. Aurora Picking

1.ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
1) Use observations or models of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted. Super Solar System
2) Observe natural objects in the sky that can be seen from Earth with the naked eye and recognize that a telescope, used as a tool, can provide greater detail of objects in the sky. Super Solar System, Wacky Weather
3) Analyze data to predict patterns between sunrise and sunset, and the change of seasons. Super Solar System

1.ETS1: Engineering Design
1) Solve scientific problems by asking testable questions, making short-term and long-term observations, and gathering information. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets

1.ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society
1) Use appropriate tools (magnifying glass, basic balance scale) to make observations and answer testable scientific questions. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Inside Out, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Aurora Picking, 5 Senses, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit

SECOND GRADE: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

2.PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
1) Analyze the push or the pull that occurs when objects collide or are connected. Engineer It!, Polymer Power, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
2) Evaluate the effects of different strengths and directions of a push or a pull on the motion of an object. Engineer It!, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit, Polymer Power
3) Recognize the effect of multiple pushes and pulls on an object’s movement or non-movement. Engineer It!, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit

2.PS3: Energy
1) Demonstrate how a stronger push or pull makes things go faster and how faster speeds during a collision can cause a bigger change in the shape of the colliding objects. Engineer It!, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
2) Make observations and conduct experiments to provide evidence that friction produces heat and reduces or increases the motion of an object. Engineer It!, Polymer Power, Newton’s Antics

2.PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
1) Plan and conduct investigations to demonstrate the cause and effect relationship between vibrating materials (tuning forks, water, bells) and sound. Engineer It!, 5 Senses
2) Use tools and materials to design and build a device to understand that light and sound travel in waves and can send signals over a distance. L.E.D. Maker Kit, Super Solar System, NISE Net Space Kit

2.LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
1) Use evidence and observations to explain that many animals use their body parts and senses in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water, and air. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit
2) Obtain and communicate information to classify animals (vertebrates-mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, invertebrates-insects) based on their physical characteristics. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

2.LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
1) Develop and use models to compare how animals depend on their surroundings and other living things to meet their needs in the places they live. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking
2) Predict what happens to animals when the environment changes (temperature, cutting down trees, wildfires, pollution, salinity, drought, land preservation). Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

2.LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
1) Use evidence to explain that living things have physical traits inherited from parents and that variations of these traits exist in groups of similar organisms. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

2.ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
1) Recognize that some of Earth’s natural processes are cyclical, while others have a beginning and an end. Some events happen quickly, while others occur slowly over time. Engineer It! Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Aurora Picking

2.ESS2: Earth’s Systems
1) Compare the effectiveness of multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land. Wacky Weather
2) Observe and analyze how blowing wind and flowing water can move Earth materials (soil, rocks) from one place to another, changing the shape of a landform and affecting the habitats of living things. Wacky Weather

2.ETS1: Engineering Design
1) Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool by asking questions, making observations, and gather accurate information about a situation people want to change. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, 5 Senses, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit, Dynamic Density
2) Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model that communicates solutions to others. Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
3) Recognize that to solve a problem, one may need to break the problem into parts, address each part, and then bring the parts back together. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Inside Out, Marvelous Magnets, Aurora Picking, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
4) Compare and contrast solutions to a design problem by using evidence to point out strengths and weaknesses of the design. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit, Dynamic Density

2.ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society
1) Use appropriate tools to make observations, record data, and refine design ideas. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, Aurora Picking, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit, Dynamic Density
2) Predict and explain how human life and the natural world would be different without current technologies. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit, Inside Out

THIRD GRADE: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

3.PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
1) Describe the properties of solids, liquids, and gases and identify that matter is made up of particles too small to be seen. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Dynamic Density
2) Differentiate between changes caused by heating or cooling that can be reversed and that cannot. Bubble-palooza, Wacky Weather
3) Describe and compare the physical properties of matter including color, texture, shape, length, mass, temperature, volume, state, hardness, and flexibility. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Wacky Weather, 5 Senses, Dynamic Density

3.PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
1) Explain the cause and effect relationship of magnets. Marvelous Magnets
2) Solve a problem by applying the use of the interactions between two magnets. Marvelous Magnets

3.PS3: Energy
1) Recognize that energy is present when objects move; describe the effects of energy transfer from one object to another. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Marvelous Magnets, Newton’s Antics, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
2) Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts electrical energy to another form of energy, using open or closed simple circuits. L.E.D. Maker Kit
3) Evaluate how magnets cause changes in the motion and position of objects, even when the objects are not touching the magnet. Marvelous Magnets

3.LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
1) Analyze the internal and external structures that aquatic and land animals and plants have to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Aurora Picking, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit

3.LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
1) Construct an argument to explain why some animals benefit from forming groups. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

3.LS4: Biological Change: Unity and Diversity
1) Explain the cause and effect relationship between a naturally changing environment and an organism’s ability to survive. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking
2) Infer that plant and animal adaptations help them survive in land and aquatic biomes.  Aurora Picking

3.ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
1) Use data to categorize the planets in the solar system as inner or outer planets according to their physical properties. Super Solar System

3.ESS2: Earth’s Systems
1) Explain the cycle of water on Earth. Wacky Weather
2) Associate major cloud types (cumulus, cumulonimbus, cirrus, stratus, and nimbostratus) with weather conditions. Wacky Weather
3) Use tables, graphs, and tools to describe precipitation, temperature, and wind (direction and speed) to determine local weather and climate. Wacky Weather
4) Incorporate weather data to describe major climates (polar, temperate, and tropical) in different regions of the world. Wacky Weather

3.ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
1) Explain how natural hazards (fires, landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods) impact humans and the environment. Engineer It!
2) Design solutions to reduce the impact of natural hazards (fires, landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods) on the environment. Engineer It!

3.ETS1: Engineering Design
1) Design a solution to a real-world problem that includes specified criteria for constraints. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Inside Out, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
2) Apply evidence or research to support a design solution. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Inside Out, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit

3.ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society
1) Identify and demonstrate how technology can be used for different purposes. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Inside Out, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit

FOURTH GRADE: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

4.PS3: Energy
1) Use evidence to explain the cause and effect relationship between the speed of an object and the energy of an object. Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
2) Observe and explain the relationship between potential energy and kinetic energy.  Super Solar System, Newton’s Antics, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
3) Describe how stored energy can be converted into another form for practical use. L.E.D. Maker Kit

4.PS4: Waves and their Application in Technologies for Information Transfer
1) Use a model of a simple wave to explain regular patterns of amplitude, wavelength, and direction. Engineer It!
2) Describe how the colors of available light sources and the bending of light waves determine what we see. L.E.D. Maker Kit, Super Solar System, 5 Senses

4.LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
2) Develop models of terrestrial and aquatic food chains to describe the movement of energy among producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit
3) Using information about the roles of organisms (producers, consumers, decomposers), evaluate how those roles in food chains are interconnected in a food web, and communicate how the organisms are continuously able to meet their needs in a stable food web. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit
4) Develop and use models to determine the effects of introducing a species to, or removing a species from, an ecosystem and how either one can damage the balance of an ecosystem. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit
5) Analyze and interpret data about changes (land characteristics, water distribution, temperature, food, and other organisms) in the environment and describe what mechanisms organisms can use to affect their ability to survive and reproduce. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

4.LS4: Biological Change: Unity and Diversity
1) Obtain information about what a fossil is and ways a fossil can provide information about the past. Aurora Picking

4.ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
1) Generate and support a claim with evidence that over long periods of time, erosion (weathering and transportation) and deposition have changed landscapes and created new landforms. Wacky Weather, Aurora Picking
2) Use a model to explain how the orbit of the Earth and sun cause observable patterns: a. day and night; b. changes in length and direction of shadows over a day. Super Solar System, Wacky Weather

4.ESS2: Earth’s Systems
1) Collect and analyze data from observations to provide evidence that rocks, soils, and sediments are broken into smaller pieces through mechanical weathering (frost wedging, abrasion, tree root wedging) and are transported by water, ice, wind, gravity, and vegetation. Wacky Weather, Aurora Picking
2) Interpret maps to determine that the location of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, volcanoes, and earthquakes occur in patterns. Engineer It!

4.ETS1: Engineering Design
1) Categorize the effectiveness of design solutions by comparing them to specified criteria for constraints. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit

4.ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society
1) Use appropriate tools and measurements to build a model. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Inside Out, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit, Marvelous Magnets
2) Determine the effectiveness of multiple solutions to a design problem given the criteria and the constraints. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
3) Explain how engineers have improved existing technologies to increase their benefits, to decrease known risks, and to meet societal demands (artificial limbs, seatbelts, cell phones). Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit,   Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, NISE Net Space Kit

FIFTH GRADE: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

5.PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
1) Analyze and interpret data from observations and measurements of the physical properties of matter to explain phase changes between a solid, liquid, or gas. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, Polymer Power, Dynamic Density
2) Analyze and interpret data to show that the amount of matter is conserved even when it changes form, including transitions where matter seems to vanish. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, Polymer Power, Newton’s Antics
3) Design a process to measure how different variables (temperature, particle size, stirring) affect the rate of dissolving solids into liquids. Bubble-palooza, Polymer Power
4) Evaluate the results of an experiment to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances result in a change of properties. Bubble-palooza, Polymer Power

5.PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
1) Test the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the speed and direction of motion of objects. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, Polymer Power, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
2) Make observations and measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, Super Solar System, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE Net Space Kit
3) Use evidence to support that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed toward the Earth’s center. Engineer It!, Super Solar System, NISE Net Space Kit
4) Explain the cause and effect relationship of two factors (mass and distance) that affect gravity. Super Solar System, Newton’s Antics, NISE Net Space Kit
5) Explain how forces can create patterns within a system (moving in one direction, shifting back and forth, or moving in cycles), and describe conditions that affect how fast or slowly these patterns occur. Engineer It!, Super Solar System, Newton’s Antics, NISE Net Space Kit

5.LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
1) Compare and contrast animal responses that are instinctual versus those that that are gathered through the senses, processed, and stored as memories to guide their actions. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, 5 Senses

5.LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
1) Distinguish between inherited characteristics and those characteristics that result from a direct interaction with the environment. Apply this concept by giving examples of characteristics of living organisms that are influenced by both inheritance and the environment. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking
2) Provide evidence and analyze data that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variations of these traits exist in a group of similar organisms. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

5.LS4: Biological Change: Unity and Diversity
1) Analyze and interpret data from fossils to describe types of organisms and their environments that existed long ago. Compare similarities and differences of those to living organisms and their environments. Recognize that most kinds of animals (and plants) that once lived on Earth are now extinct. Aurora Picking
2) Use evidence to construct an explanation for how variations in characteristics among individuals within the same species may provide advantages to these individuals in their survival and reproduction. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

5.ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
1) Explain that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from the Earth. Super Solar System
2) Research and explain the position of the Earth and the solar system within the Milky Way galaxy, and compare the size and shape of the Milky Way to other galaxies in the universe. Super Solar System
3) Use data to categorize different bodies in our solar system including moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids according to their physical properties and motion. Super Solar System
4) Explain the cause and effect relationship between the positions of the sun, earth, and moon and resulting eclipses, position of constellations, and appearance of the moon. Super Solar System
5) Relate the tilt of the Earth’s axis, as it revolves around the sun, to the varying intensities of sunlight at different latitudes. Evaluate how this causes changes in day-lengths and seasons. Super Solar System, Wacky Weather
6) Use tools to describe how stars and constellations appear to move from the Earth’s perspective throughout the seasons. Super Solar System

5.ETS1: Engineering Design
1) Research, test, re-test, and communicate a design to solve a problem. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit
2) Plan and carry out tests on one or more elements of a prototype in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify which elements need to be improved. Apply the results of tests to redesign the prototype. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit
3) Describe how failure provides valuable information toward finding a solution. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit

5.ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society
1) Use appropriate measuring tools, simple hand tools, and fasteners to construct a prototype of a new or improved technology. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit
2) Describe how human beings have made tools and machines (X-ray cameras, microscopes, satellites, computers) to observe and do things that they could not otherwise sense or do at all, or as quickly or efficiently. Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Dynamic Density, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit, Inside Out
3) Identify how scientific discoveries lead to new and improved technologies. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Polymer Power, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, NISE NET Space Kit, Inside Out

SIXTH GRADE: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

6.PS3: Energy
1) Analyze the properties and compare sources of kinetic, elastic potential, gravitational potential, electric potential, chemical, and thermal energy. Bubble-palooza, Engineer It! L.E.D. Maker Kit, Super Solar System, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit, Wacky Weather
2) Construct a scientific explanation of the transformations between potential and kinetic energy. Engineer It!, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit
3) Analyze and interpret data to show the relationship between kinetic energy and the mass of an object in motion and its speed. Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit
4) Conduct an investigation to demonstrate the way that heat (thermal energy) moves among objects through radiation, conduction, or convection. Bubble-palooza, Super Solar System, Wacky Weather 

6.LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
1) Evaluate and communicate the impact of environmental variables on population size. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking
2) Determine the impact of competitive, symbiotic, and predatory interactions in an ecosystem. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking
3) Draw conclusions about the transfer of energy through a food web and energy pyramid in an ecosystem. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit
4) Using evidence from climate data, draw conclusions about the patterns of abiotic and biotic factors in different biomes, specifically the tundra, taiga, deciduous forest, desert, grasslands, rainforest, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. Aurora Picking
6) Research the ways in which an ecosystem has changed over time in response to changes in physical conditions, population balances, human interactions, and natural catastrophes. Engineer It!, Aurora Picking
7) Compare and contrast auditory and visual methods of communication among organisms in relation to survival strategies of a population. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

6.LS4: Biological Change: Unity and Diversity
1) Explain how changes in biodiversity would impact ecosystem stability and natural resources. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

6.ESS2: Earth’s Systems
1) Gather evidence to justify that oceanic convection currents are caused by the sun’s transfer of heat energy and differences in salt concentration leading to global water movement. Wacky Weather
2) Diagram convection patterns that flow due to uneven heating of the earth. Wacky Weather
3) Construct an explanation for how atmospheric flow, geographic features, and ocean currents affect the climate of a region through heat transfer. Wacky Weather
4) Apply scientific principles to design a method to analyze and interpret the impact of humans and other organisms on the hydrologic cycle. Wacky Weather
5) Analyze and interpret data from weather conditions, weather maps, satellites, and radar to predict probable local weather patterns and conditions. Engineer It!, Wacky Weather, NISE Net Space Kit
6) Explain how relationships between the movement and interactions of air masses, high and low pressure systems, and frontal boundaries result in weather conditions and severe storms. Wacky Weather

6.ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
2) Investigate and compare existing and developing technologies that utilize renewable and alternative energy resources. Wacky Weather
3) Assess the impacts of human activities on the biosphere including conservation, habitat management, species endangerment, and extinction. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

6.ETS1: Engineering Design
1) Evaluate design constraints on solutions for maintaining ecosystems and biodiversity. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking
2) Design and test different solutions that impact energy transfer.  Bubble-palooza, Engineer It!, L.E.D. Maker Kit, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, K’nex, Keva Planks, Mini Imagination Playground, NISE NET Space Kit

SEVENTH GRADE: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

7.PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
1) Develop and use models to illustrate the structure of atoms, including the subatomic particles with their relative positions and charge. Polymer Power, Marvelous Magnets
2) Compare and contrast elemental molecules and compound molecules. Bubble-palooza, Polymer Power
3) Classify matter as pure substances or mixtures based on composition. Bubble-palooza, Polymer Power
4) Analyze and interpret chemical reactions to determine if the total number of atoms in the reactants and products support the Law of Conservation of Mass. Bubble-palooza, Polymer Power
5) Use the periodic table as a model to analyze and interpret evidence relating to physical and chemical properties to identify a sample of matter.  Bubble-palooza, Polymer Power
6) Create and interpret models of substances whose atoms represent the states of matter with respect to temperature and pressure. Bubble-palooza, Polymer Power

7.LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
5) Explain that the body is a system comprised of subsystems that maintain equilibrium and support life through digestion, respiration, excretion, circulation, sensation (nervous and integumentary), and locomotion (musculoskeletal). Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking, 5 Senses
6) Develop an argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to explain how behavioral and structural adaptations in animals and plants affect the probability of survival and reproductive success. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

7.LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
1) Develop a model to depict the cycling of matter, including carbon and oxygen, including the flow of energy among biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit

7.LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
1) Hypothesize that the impact of structural changes to genes (i.e., mutations) located on chromosomes may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism. Owl Pellet Dissection Kit, Aurora Picking

7.ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
1) Graphically represent the composition of the atmosphere as a mixture of gases and discuss the potential for atmospheric change. Wacky Weather

EIGHTH GRADE: ACADEMIC STANDARDS

8.PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
1) Design and conduct investigations depicting the relationship between magnetism and electricity in electromagnets, generators, and electrical motors, emphasizing the factors that increase or diminish the electric current and the magnetic field strength. L.E.D. Maker Kit, Marvelous Magnets
2) Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact. Super Solar System, Marvelous Magnets, Newton’s Antics, NISE Net Space Kit
3) Create a demonstration of an object in motion and describe the position, force, and direction of the object. Bubble-palooza, Super Solar System, Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, NISE Net Space Kit
4) Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object. Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, NISE Net Space Kit
5) Evaluate and interpret that for every force exerted on an object there is an equal force exerted in the opposite direction. Newton’s Antics, Marvelous Magnets, NISE Net Space Kit

8.PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
1) Develop and use models to represent the basic properties of waves including frequency, amplitude, wavelength, and speed. Engineer It!
3) Evaluate the role that waves play in different communication systems. Engineer It!

8.LS4: Biological Change: Unity and Diversity
1) Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change in life forms throughout Earth’s history. Aurora Picking
2) Construct an explanation addressing similarities and differences of the anatomical structures and genetic information between extinct and extant organisms using evidence of common ancestry and patterns between taxa. Aurora Picking
3) Analyze evidence from geology, paleontology, and comparative anatomy to support that specific phenotypes within a population can increase the probability of survival of that species and lead to adaptation. Aurora Picking
4) Develop a scientific explanation of how natural selection plays a role in determining the survival of a species in a changing environment. Aurora Picking, Owl Pellet Dissection Kit

8.ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
1) Research, analyze, and communicate that the universe began with a period of rapid expansion using evidence from the motion of galaxies and composition of stars. Super Solar System
2) Explain the role of gravity in the formation of our sun and planets. Extend this explanation to address gravity’s effect on the motion of celestial objects in our solar system and Earth’s ocean tides. Super Solar System

8.ESS2: Earth’s Systems
2) Evaluate data collected from seismographs to create a model of Earth’s structure. Engineer It!
4) Gather and evaluate evidence that energy from the earth’s interior drives convection cycles within the asthenosphere which creates changes within the lithosphere including plate movements, plate boundaries, and sea-floor spreading. Engineer It!
5) Construct a scientific explanation using data that explains the gradual process of plate tectonics accounting for A) the distribution of fossils on different continents, B) the occurrence of earthquakes, and C) continental and ocean floor features (including mountains, volcanoes, faults, and trenches). Engineer It!

8.ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
2) Collect data, map, and describe patterns in the locations of volcanoes and earthquakes related to tectonic plate boundaries, interactions, and hotspots. Engineer It!

8.ETS1: Engineering Design
2) Research and communicate information to describe how data from technologies (telescopes, spectroscopes, satellites, and space probes) provide information about objects in the solar system and universe. Super Solar System, NISE Net Space Kit