All Resources

Journal Article

Playful Activities for Young Children: Assessment tasks with low reading and writing demands

Alternative assessments in science instruction have been developed for the upper elementary grades but are limited in the area of early childhood instruction. Because younger children have limited abilities in reading and writing, teachers have diffi...

Journal Article

After the Bell: Modeling museum collaboration

Entering a partnership with a local museum is a great way to gain access to materials, facilities, and science expertise that might be unavailable at the school. This article contains a description of a museum/school collaboration that can serve as a...

Journal Article

Tech Trek: Science on the fringes

Conducting investigations over extended periods of time that use process skills in context is important but it's hard to find the time for such an investigation. This article proposes a solution—“science on the fringes”—ongoing low-maintenanc...

Journal Article

Teaching Teachers: Taking the Good from the Bad

Creating an environment where preservice teachers can reach an understanding about the merits and problems of science activities was the rationale for development of a favorite assignment—The Worst Activity. This assignment helps develop critical t...

Journal Article

Science Object Boxes: Using object boxes to promote hands-on exploration of both concrete and abstract science topics

Object boxes—plastic shoe boxes containing carefully selected figures, toys, and household items—can provide a hands-on opportunity for students to explore both abstract concepts, such as scale, and more concrete topics, such as bird body adaptat...

Journal Article

Editor's Note: Is There Nothing New . . .

Science and Children’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

Journal Article

H₂ O Olympics

Have you ever noticed that the water level in a measuring cup is higher at the sides than at the center? Can you explain how it is possible for water striders to walk on water? What are the physical properties of water that make these phenomena possi...

Journal Article

Celtic Science

Playing with toys isn’t always child’s play. Designing activities that use toys to improve student’s observation skills and problem-solving techniques can lead to serious science. To that end, the authors developed the following weeklong activi...

Journal Article

Girls Only, Please: An after-school science club for girls promotes understanding and involvement

Many girls come to school with few out-of-school experiences that properly prepare them for science in the classroom; however, boys often play with science toys and tinker with mechanical devices. Furthermore, when compared to boys, girls might not r...

Journal Article

Activity Selection: It’s More Than the Fun Factor—An easy-to-use evaluation form to help select effective science activities

Many people assume that if an activity is published or popular, it is a good one. This is often the case when teachers select science activities because they are fun or address a particular science topic, not because they provide a quality learning e...

Journal Article

Dig Into Mining Reclamation during Earth Science Week

Mining reclamation is defined as the process of returning mined land to productive and beneficial use. How this is accomplished depends on the type of mine, its location, and the degree to which the land was disrupted during mining operations. This i...

Journal Article

Wheelin’ and Squirtin’: Announcing the 1999 Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventors Awards Program Regional Winners

When students in grades 3–8 design a new tool or make adaptations to an existing tool, the results showcase the extraordinary creative talents of our children. This article features the winners of the 1999 Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventors Awards Prog...

Journal Article

Electrifying Encounters: Linking the elementary school, university, and community through science and technology

In this “electrifying encounter,” fifth-grade students teamed up with elementary education students for a celebration of science and technology learning. A problem-solving-through-technology approach was used to give the preservice teachers valua...