Hands-On Activities

Science exploration and discovery can take place almost anywhere! When learners are actively engaged in science activities, they often gain better understanding of scientific principles, have better retention, and enjoy the learning process more than when they are taught through passive techniques. Encourage your family, friends, and people in your community to explore science. Use some of the activities suggested below, or visit science websites to find other interesting experiments to try.

Activity Worksheets from Techlinks for CTCs: Science, Math, Health & Literacy Activities for Community Technology Centers

These worksheets provide guidelines for performing a variety of stimulating activities. Each worksheet contains a list of materials needed to conduct the activity, questions for focusing the student's learning, suggestions for tailoring the activity for students with disabilities, and optional resources for expanding the topic. The worksheets identify the targeted age groups for each activity, but most of the activities appeal to all ages.

Science & Math Activities from Online Sources

Kinetic City
Kinetic City: Mission to Vearth is a new web-based, interactive adventure for children aged 8-11. The activities were developed for individual use or team play in after school clubs.

Science NetLinks
Providing a wealth of resources for K-12 science educators, Science NetLinks is your guide to meaningful, standards-based Internet experiences for students.

Science Literacy & Health
The project's goal is to improve the science literacy of all adults by identifying and creating culturally sensitive materials for use in literacy programs and community-based adult substance abuse and mental health education programs.

TryScience.org
TryScience is an online and offline interactivity with science and technology centers worldwide.

Cyberchase
Cyberchase is a daily, animated adventure television series and multimedia project for children ages 8-11. The central theme is a team of kids undertaking daring missions in Cyberspace. Cyberchase helps children discover that math is fun and something we experience, not just in school, but all around us, everyday. The show helps children feel successful - to believe that they can be as good at math and problem-solving as the Cyberchase kids are.

At Home with Math
At Home with Math is part of TERC's Education Research Collaborative in Science and Mathematics. These materials help parents incorporate math into everyday activities such as cooking, shopping, playing games, and doing housework. The activities are appropriate for all parents, including those with limited educational backgrounds. TERC and SEE collaborated to provide this information. Materials from At Home with Math are free for parents to duplicate.

Mixing in Math
The Mixing in Math activities offer a quick way to mix math into other after-school activities such as sports, arts and crafts, snacks, and playground games. Incorporate math into your everyday activities, and have fun with your kids while they're learning. To find a game or activity that is right for you, look over the activities on the Mixing in Math site. Check the level of difficulty and the group size prior to starting an activity with your child or group of children. Most of the activities are targeted for the elementary grades.

Science & Math Content Help Sites

Ask Dr.Math ®
Ask Dr. Math is an online question and answer service for math students and their teachers. A searchable archive is available by level and topic, as well as summaries of Frequently Asked Questions (the Dr. Math FAQ).

The CSMEE Homework Companion
This website provides homework resources for mathematics and science. Among the resources are guidelines for parents, tips for writing resports, and links to sites that will provide answers to children's individual science and mathematics questions.

Health Sciences Literacy Resources

Healthy People 2010 Library Initiative
The website Healthlit.org offers librarians resources to assist them as they provide health information materials and guidance to library users. Resources include information on developing and maintaining a health information library; Internet links for health information; a database of searchable health resource information; a bulletin board; health news information, and PDF versions of plain language booklets about various chronic illnesses and health care issues of particular significance to minority groups.

Resources for Parents and Children

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
This website has online books and articles on math, science, and the environment. The resources for parents and children include help with homework and science fairs, as well as a section highlighting the contributions of African Americans to science, mathematics, engineering, and technology in our society.