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If a sailboat is stranded because there is no wind, is it possible to set up a fan on deck and blow wind into the sail to make the boat move?

In this activity, learners simulate the process of DNA fingerprinting by using electricity to separate colored dyes.

In this optics activity, learners examine how a transparent material such as glass or water can actually reflect light better than any mirror.

In this activity, learners explore chemiluminescence and fluorescence. Learners examine 3 different solutions in regular light, in the dark with added bleach solution, and under a black light.

With two stacks of books and a few rolls of pennies, build two kinds of bridges--a beam span and an arch span--and see how much weight each of them can hold.

In this activity, learners build bridges using paper and explore how much weight each bridge design can support.

In this activity, learners build bridges and cantilevers in a series of "building out" challenges with straws and pins.

In this activity, learners explore the "nuts and bolts" of gene chips.

In this activity, learners make bridges using an oil-based modeling clay (plasticene). The instructions include discussion questions for both before and after bridge building.

In this activity, learners make or use pre-made clay beams to scale and proportion. Specifically, they discover that when you scale up proportionally (i.e.

In this activity, learners build large-scale structures and cantilevers in a series of "building out" challenges with garden poles and tape.

In this activity, learners investigate the relative growth of lengths, areas, and volumes as cylinders are scaled up.

In this activity, learners build a simple mechanism that regulates the "escape" of energy released by a falling weight by portioning it into discrete amounts.

This is an activity that demonstrates how batteries work using simple household materials. Learners use a pickle, aluminum foil and a pencil to create an electrical circuit that powers a buzzer.

In this activity, learners build a recording timer made from simple materials (e.g., small dc motor, sharpie pen, craft sticks, adding machine paper tape, etc.).

In this activity, PVC pipe, plastic water bottles and vinyl tubing are used to make a simple working toilet model. The model shows the role of a siphon in the flushing of a toilet.

In this activity, learners explore the question "What is paper?" Learners discover the processes and materials required to make paper while experimenting with different recycled fibers and tools.

In this activity, learners light an LED with five cents. Learners use two different metals and some sour, salty water to create a cheap battery.

Cardboard Automata are a playful way to explore simple machine elements while creating a mechanical sculpture.

In this math activity related to light, learners assemble a photometer and use it to estimate the power output of the Sun.