April
is Earth Month and it's also science fair season--time to think science
projects and hands-on science fun. Unfortunately, the most interesting
sciences--physics, physical science, technology and robotics--are often taught in boring ways. And
that's sad because research continually shows how important STEM activities
(science, technology, engineering and math) are for kids. Physics studies how
things work and explores motion, energy, machinery (and it might surprise you
as to what is considered a machine), lightwaves, sound waves, radio waves,
magnetism and more. Physical science is the most enjoyable science to teach
because it's easy to demonstrate, can be taught using found stuff around the
house, gives students lots of feeling of success and connects well to math,
geometry, algebra and other STEM activities. Here are not-dull free printable physical science activities, lesson plans,
experiments, worksheets, vocabulary cards, puzzles and games to make physical
science the most popular subject in school!
NASA
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) offers a plethora of free printable physics
lesson plans. Some must be ordered
but there are many free printable science activities are available online.
Concepts include space travel, solar system, robotics education, technology,
physics, astronomy and more. There are free printable solar
system physics activities featuring Disney Pixar's WALL-E called Mapping the Moon
with WALL-E. Click on the links "K-4 Guide" and "5-8 Guide"
for printable teacher materials and lesson plans. A popular free robotics
education activity is the Mission to Mars
Curiosity Rover packet that
include games, coloring pages, 3D models to cut and paste, quizzes, worksheets
and extensions,
Cornell University
Cooperative Extension partners with 4-H to provide 4-H Robotics
education program. 4-H Robotics education includes physics simulations,
robotics education and physical science games. There are hands-on and virtual
online physical science activities. There's a charge for materials but some
free activities. These STEM activities could be used for Destination
Imagination programs.
The
SMILE program (from the Illinois Institute of Technology) is a warehouse
of free printable STEM
activities, robotics education activities and physics lesson plans, Science lesson plans cover basic physical
science concepts like weather, water, states of matter, Periodic Table of the
Elements, friction, gravity, mass, inertia, electricity and magnetism.
Smithsonian Science and Technology hasfree printable physics
lesson plans that correlate
with exhibits in the Smithsonian museums. There are many free printable
physical science activities on flight, aviation and rocketry.
The Michigan Science Center
offers free printable
physical science activities to help students extend
their experience at the museum or use as stand-alone lessons. Activities are
perfect for elementary physics, science and machine technology classes. MIT is
the leader in universities of higher education in science. Here are free MIT video
lectures, demonstrations and interviews that students could really benefit from
in their physical science studies. The Henry Ford has a huge collection
of free printable STEM
activities and educator resources on science, history and physics, from the
Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield 
