Low cost, low risk, big wow activities

We know that students really enjoy doing hands-on science but educators may be hesitant due to the cost of materials, lack of equipment and safety concerns.

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Join the Science in a Van webinar Hive mind for term 4, 2023. Emily and Alan plan to help educators finish the year with easy, fun experiences.

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9 November, 2023 from 4:00–4:45pm.

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The following activities use minimal resources but can lead to meaningful learning. Use the science articles to build conceptual knowledge and key content vocabulary.

Flower dissection

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If you have access to flowers and scissors, this is an engaging way to:

• learn about flowering plant life cycles
• learn vocabulary in context
• make observations
• learn observational drawing skills.

This video from Fernbank Museum of Natural History offers a simple way to get started.

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This video from the National Center for Agricultural Literacy shows additional plant parts.

Use these resources to learn more about flowering plants.

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Each resource has a glossary tab. You can select any of the terms to download as a Word document. You can then edit the Word word to suit student needs.

The following images are ideal for generating discussion and practicing new vocabulary terms.

The following activities are virtual and hands-on ways to more closely observe flowers.

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For teachers in Aotearoa, consider using rhododendron, alstroemaria, hibiscus and kōwhai flowers.

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Consider introducing observational drawing as a means of deepening observation skills,

Melting ice and sea level rise

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We hear a lot about climate change and sea level rise. The following activities are simple models to demonstrate both climate change impacts and to explore Physical World concepts.

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Use these resources to learn more about melting, freezing and the impacts of climate change on land and sea ice.

The following activities are helpful with visualising the role of land ice and sea ice on sea level rise.

Take the learning cross-curricular with this Connected journal article.

Floating and sinking

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There are multiple science concepts underpinning whether something floats (or is buoyant) or sinks. Have fun learning about forces through play and observation.

This resource has simple science explanations and lots of vocabulary terms.

Use the first activity to gauge student thinking about why some things float or sink.

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Then get hands-on with investigations observations and questions regarding forces and density.