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.

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

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Mini-lessons

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5
Check out this opossum. It’s walking around and then suddenly…it
freezes. What’s going on? Why would the opossum want to stop
moving?
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5
It’s “playing dead” to protect itself! Sometimes it gives off an icky smell too. It will run away when it feels safe. Other animals—like some ducks, snakes, frogs, and fish—play dead too!
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4
This bug’s back is covered in a pile of little things. What do you think those things are? Hint: This bug is a predator, which means it hunts other animals like beetles and ants.
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4
Some assassin bugs pile dead ants on themselves—the leftovers
from its meals! This helps them hide.
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These two have something very surprising in common. They are both about to lose part of their body! What do you think that each is about to lose? (Hint: you’ve probably lost one of them!)
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The girl loses a tooth. Watch this to see what the deer loses! The girl will grow a new tooth. Do you think the deer will grow back what it has lost?
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3
Yes, the deer’s antlers will grow back! Kids grow new teeth just once, but male deer lose their antlers and grow them back every year. Every time the antlers grow back, they’re bigger.
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2
This person doesn’t have a head! Wait, no. The person is carrying a
living head in a jar! Ok, obviously this is just a costume. But what
about in real life... Could a head ever be alive without a body?
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2
This sea slug’s head pulled itself off of its body. Now the head is crawling around on its own! Why would an animal’s head want to get rid of its body? How could that help the animal?
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2
Think about a dog getting fleas. The fleas bite the dog and hurt it! This sea slug also gets pests that can hurt it. So its head ditches its body. And then the head will grow a NEW body—without pests!
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Starfish, also known as sea stars, crawl around on the ocean floor. Most have five or six arms that are about the same size. Take a look at this small sea star. Why does it have one giant arm? Any ideas?
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That giant arm used to be ON a big starfish! Sometimes starfish lose their arms. The cool thing is, the starfish will grow its arm back! But what do you think will happen to the big arm that it lost?
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The arm grows a new body! Now there are two sea stars when there used to be only one! Instead of having babies to make more sea stars, some sea stars make “babies” using their arms like this!
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Voting for this episode is now closed. Would you like to vote on the most recent poll?

I pulled three questions from my jar. Which question do you want to explore next week?

  • Why do lightbulbs get hot?

    -Lyric, 3rd Grade

  • How are pianos made?

    -Vivian, 1st Grade

  • How high can birds fly?

    -Nova, 2nd Grade

How do lizards regrow their tails?

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!