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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You leave fingerprints on things you touch. You can’t see them, but they are there. What do you think makes a fingerprint anyway?
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A video close-up shows the answer. Those drops are sweat! Each ridge of skin leaves a sweaty mark on anything you touch.
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Use a pencil and tape to see your fingerprints better. Give it a try! Do your fingerprints have patterns like any of these?
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Most animals don’t have fingerprints—but koalas do! Their fingerprints look a lot like people’s!
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This sped-up video shows five hours. Here’s a challenge. Do you see anything strange happening as the hours pass by?
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Did you notice? The shadow of the pole moves! Can you tell from the shadow’s position whether it’s morning or afternoon? How?
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Shadows point one way in the morning & another in the afternoon. Mark where a shadow is with chalk every hour to make a clock!
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If you have a sunny window, trace a toy’s shadow indoors! Leave the toy there and wait 10 minutes. Watch how its shadow moves!
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Watch this dog lap water from a bowl at super slow speed. People can’t lap up water like this! What do you notice about its tongue?
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Its tongue curls up backwards like a scoop. Your tongue can’t curl back as far–try it! What else can dogs or cats do that you can’t?
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Check out what we noticed! Watch any animal–a pet fish, a hamster, or even a bug. See what surprising things it can do!
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Rocks on the beach look colorful and pretty. When you get those rocks home, they look boring! Why? Think about what’s different.
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Water makes rocks smooth and shiny, so you see their colors. Try putting water on dry rocks! (Polishing and tumbling also works!)
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Sometimes you can see something in a new way by looking inside it. Here are slices of six different fruits. Can you tell what they are?
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Answers: a lemon, apple, watermelon, kiwi, banana, and lime! All natural fruits have seeds–can you find seeds in each of these?
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If you have more fruit or vegetables around, experiment to see what’s inside of them! Draw them and write down your questions!
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Make discoveries on your own! Type in the URL on screen. The spinners will pick objects and help you explore them! Stay curious!
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We pulled three questions from our jar. Which question do you want to explore?

  • Why do pandas only eat bamboo?

    -Korban, 3rd Grade

  • What is a drought?

    -Aaliyah, 2nd Grade

  • How do windmills work?

    -Junichiro, Kindergarten

Looking for a hands-on activity?

Try out a hands-on extension activity from Mystery Science.