Science and Engineering Resources

Engineering Challenges

In case you missed any of these:

Using only toothpicks and raisins, build the tallest tower possible. Your tower must stand on its own for 5 seconds before you measure it.

Using only 1 12" x 12" piece of aluminum foil, construct a boat and test it to see how many pennies it can hold. Can you come up with a new design that can hold even more pennies?

Here is the Balloon Rocket assignment, along with a little story.

Here are the directions for the Paper Rocket Design Lab.

Here are the requirements for the Shoebox Maze engineering challenge.

Here are the directions for constructing the Cotton Ball Launcher.

Build a Sundial following these simple directions.

Here are the directions and requirements for the Catapult Challenge.

Here is the Pattern and the Assembly Instructions for the tensity sculpture that the 5th grade made.

There is still time to attempt the Bird's Nest engineering challenge.

Here are the directions for the Balancing Paper Clips project.

While you're at home, why not build your own model roller coaster? Here are some videos to give you some ideas:
A paper roller coaster
One made of plastic tubing
A cardboard roller coaster
You can also buy foam pipe insulation and split it in half lengthwise. This is what we used in class.
Here's an explanation of some of the physics.
And for all you over-achievers: A backyard roller coaster

Science Lessons, Experiments and Activities

Watch ants bring food back to their colony with this How Do Ants Find Food? activity.

You might find the Astronomy lesson, "So What All Is Out There, Anyway?" interesting.

Here is a short article about The History of Life on Earth.

Here is the first of several lessons about Climate Change.
Here is the second lesson about Climate Change, called Earth's Climate History
The third lesson about Climate Change, called Melting Polar Ice, is now online.
Here is the link to the Sea Level Rise chart to go along with the above lesson.
Here is the website that will let you know the Elevation of Your Home.
The fourth lesson about Climate Change, called Desert Belts, is now online.
The final lesson about Climate Change, called Winners and Losers, is now online.

I have posted a lesson about viruses for you: What Is a Virus?

There is a follow-up lesson that examines why washing your hands with soap is so effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It's called Life Without Purel. There is an experiment on page 4 that I would like you to do as you work your way through this lesson. You will need two clear glasses or empty jars, water, cooking oil, salt, a measuring cup and measuring spoons.

Here are the updated instructions for the Rainy Day Activity. I think it will work now! I hope everyone will have an opportunity to try this.

Ever wonder what's inside a seed? Try this Seed Sprouting activity to find out.

Print out this Checklist. How many items on this list can you spot over the summer?

Our classroom experiment: Growing Salt Crystals Doing a follow up test? Record your observations here.

Science Activity Books

I have many books of science experiments and activities in my collection. Here are several that I can recommend, in no particular order:
Science Wizardry for Kids (ISBN 9780812047660)
Flash! Bang! Pop! Fizz! (ISBN 9780764111426)
Usborne Big Book of Experiments (ISBN 9780590973205)
175 Science Experiments (ISBN 9780394899916)

Other Interesting Books

Here's a book and fun engineering projects that you can do at home:
Rubber Band Engineer (ISBN 9781631591044)

Here's a fun book about engineering gone badly:
The Book of Massively Epic Engineering Disasters (ISBN 9780761183945)

Finally, this book of serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions is probably the most entertaining science book I've ever read:
What IF? (ISBN 9780544272996)

Web Resources

The Westchester Children's Museum is closed, but they have some interesting science activities on their WCM at Home page.

The Exploratorium, in San Francisco, was one of the first science museums to post different science lessons and activities on the web. They are still one of the best. Here is a list of different Videos and Ideas for Activities that they offer, and here are some Tinkering Projects. This one on Cardboard Automata really caught my eye.

Science Buddies is one of my favorite sources for ideas. Several of the engineering projects that I have assigned were inspired by Project Suggestions listed on their site.

The links in this PDF Document will take you the directions for the activity on the Little Bins for Little Hands website. (You may have to scroll down past a lot of ads before you get to the directions.)

11 Engaging STEM Activities for Kids That Will Foster Curiosity from Rasmussen College by Brianna Flavin

Explore different topics and games on National Geographic Kids. You do not need to set up an account for this web site.

Younger students will find of lot of interesting activities here: 40 STEM ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
and here: Ultimate Boredom Buster.

Some members of a Girl Scout troop in Alabama sent us a link to a page of Engineering Games and Projects. There is also a lot of information about engineering carreers on this page.

Science Videos

Both Mark Rober and the Backyard Scientist have a lot of great videos that investigate different science principles. Many of these investigations are quite dangerous. Do NOT try these at home, but I think you will enjoy watching them from a safe distance!

Interested in some off-the-wall science? Of course you are! Here are some YouTube videos by Steve Spangler. Let me know if you have any favorites and I'll pass them along to everyone.

And let's not forget The King of Random. (Please do NOT try these activities at home!)

The Kids Should See This is a site that has compiled thousands of excellent educational videos for kids. The videos on this site cover a broad range of subjects. Of course, I like the Science Videos best.

Life in Jars is all about creating mini ecosystems, and Journey to the Microcosmos is devoted to exploring the microscopic world.

The California Academy of Sciences has collection of different online live science lesson videos. I like how these include the target age group and contain additional materials to supplement the lesson.

Here is a nice collection of Earth and Physical Sciences videos.

Okay, if you're really bored, you can watch some Glenn's Science Videos. I'll apologize in advance. But with so much emphasis placed on "best practices" in science teaching, I just felt that we should also celebrate some "worst practices." We can't all be great teachers (or YouTube stars), can we?

Student Work Galleries

Student Engineering
Here is where you can share any engineering projects that you have worked on. If you sent me photos or a link to a video of any engineering work that you've done (roller coasters, shoebox maze), they are now part of the new Student Engineering gallery.

Student Experiments
Have you done any other experiments at home that you'd like to share with your friends and classmates? Send your photos and a desciption of what you did to gsimonelli@leffellschool.org and I will publish them our Student Experiments page.

These galleries are not part of the school website. Anyone with the URL can access these. I will not include any students' last names in these galleries.

Other

Here are some great places to hike in the Westchester County area:

For those of you close to the Bronx, Pelham Bay Park has a lot of secluded hiking trails.
The Westmoreland Sanctuary and the Butler Memorial Sanctuary are right across the road from each other in Mt. Kisco. Both have nice trails. The Butler Sanctuary is a great place to view the spring and fall hawk migrations.
Mianus River Gorge is a little further east, near Bedford.
Stone Barns is closed, but you can still enjoy hiking the extensive network of trails in the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. The Thirteen Bridges Loop is one of my favorites.
Teatown Lake Preserve in Ossining has a very family-friendly hike around the lake, along with additional hiking trails.
Croton Point Park is a little expensive during the summer, in my opinion, but admission and parking is free until May 25.
A little further north, the Blue Mountain Reservation offers both hiking and mountain biking trails. It, too, is free until May 25.
Turkey Mountain Nature Preserve in Yorktown affords some nice views of the Hudson River and, on a clear day, the Manhattan skyline.
And finally, in Rockland County, Harriman State Park, which includes Bear Mountain State Park, is a national treasure. With over 200 miles of secluded trails, you might want to buy the set of hiking trail maps published by the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference

The New York/New Jersey Trail Conference has recently published a collection of maps of Hiking Trails in Westchester County. They also have a lot of other books and maps on their "Marketplace" page. I've gotten several of both and can recommend them. (I particularly like hiking in Harriman State Park.)

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