Free, Downloadable Science Activities

Topscience.org has a ton of downloadable science activities you can use for all sorts of subjects and skills.  The activities are hands-on and would make great science centers, projects or whole-class activities to augment your lesson plans.


The best part is that they are free!  They have several free activities available as samples of their purchasable material, which you should also check out.  Each activity provides printable material, instructions, discussion questions, extensions and more.


The activities explore several science topics, and are appropriate for varying age groups.  Included are activities about:

• Estimating the size of objects in the universe.  This is very appropriate for any space unit.  Cut out the slips of paper and have students arrange themselves based on what they think are the sizes of objects, ranging from subatomic material to objects in the vast expanse of space.
• Investigating magnetism.  How can you make a paper clip float in the air?
• Building a model landscape.  Students will then bury a penny in their landscape, create a treasure map, and then challenge other students to find the buried treasure.
• Creating petrified paper.  Students will use salt to turn paper into a petrified log.  They then compare this process to that of wood petrifying.

Explore all of their free activities and see if any will fit your classroom's needs.

image:  microsoft