Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Science curriculum for K—5th grades.

90 sec
  • Hands-on — lead students in the doing of science and engineering.
  • Standards-aligned science lessons — Cover core standards in 1-2 hours of science per week.
  • Less prep, more learning — prep in minutes not hours. Captivate your students with short videos and discussion questions.

Sign up now to try Mystery Science for free.

Sign up

Learn more

Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Sign up now for tons of free lessons like this one!

Back

Mini-lessons

Video Bonus Vote
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
5
It’s extremely hard to make half-court shots in basketball. But this
5th grader manages to! What if you wanted to make a trick like this
even HARDER to pull off? What could you do?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
5
What if you kicked the ball in, stood backward, or used a blindfold? The team of adults at the end of this video—the Harlem Globetrotters—holds 24 world records for trick shots!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
5
Basketball games can be even more challenging if you play on wheels!
Think about games that YOU play and imagine how they’d change if
you were on wheels!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
4
This hamster seems to be having a lot of fun exercising inside a clear ball. Imagine if there were people-sized hamster balls. Imagine being inside of one! What games would you play?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
4
These Zorb balls are a lot like hamster balls! You can have races while
running inside them. You can even act like a human bowling ball!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
3
A person named Nicholas Smith is about to achieve a world record. But what is he about to do? He lined up 26 exercise balls in a row. Think of something silly he could do with those!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
3
Watch this! Nicholas set a world record for travelling more than 300
feet by rolling from one exercise ball to the next. This is called
“exercise ball surfing.” It sure looks like fun to us!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
2
Mini golf makes hitting a golf ball into a hole super fun and super tricky. Suppose you want to be great at mini golf. Think like an inventor. What could you use to practice at home?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
2
With a golf ball, a club, some cups, and a lot of imagination, these kids created their own golf challenges! Think about what amazing golf tricks you could try at home!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
1
Volleyball is a fast-moving game where players use their hands to hit a ball over a high net. What if you wanted to make the game a little harder? What’s a change you could make to the rules?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
1
In the game of Sepak Takraw, players hit the ball mostly with their
feet! Some people call it kick volleyball. It started in Southeast Asia
and it’s based on games that are hundreds of years old.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?

Voting for this episode is now closed. Would you like to vote on the most recent poll?

We pulled three questions from our jar. Which question do you want to explore?

  • Where does wind come from?

    -Sally, 3rd Grade

  • What’s the largest flying animal?

    -Lincoln, 4th Grade

  • What makes glue sticky?

    -Norah, 3rd Grade

How was basketball invented?

Watch the video to discover the answer and don't forget to vote for next week's question. There are mysteries all around us. Have fun and stay curious!