Can You Believe Your Eyes?

3rd to 8th grade 

Have you ever spotted the North American House Hippo? Students determine if seeing really is believing in this fun series of activities. Next, they test their skills on TED to see if they fall for the fallacies that fooled a generation of doctors, get tricked by a troll, or slide down the slippery slope. Finally, they’ll test their tastebuds and determine just how powerful branding can be on a brain.

Another Side of the Story

6th-8th

The protagonist is the main character in a narrative, so they often get all the attention. But, what about the side characters? Even the villains? Shouldn’t they get to tell their tale? Students explore both sides of the story through books and activities, debate who and what is right, and craft their own twisted tales of fun from a whole new perspective.

Graph Paper Programming

3rd-5th

Kids explore the language of coding and learn that they don’t need a computer to craft code. It just takes some ancient tech (a.k.a. paper and pencils). Then they’ll put their hi-tech brains into gear and learn how to train a robot. When it’s time to switcheroo, they’ll get to be a robot too. Finally, they’ll apply that lingo they learned on Scratch, where they’ll code sound effects for their own creation. 

Netiquette: Being Kind on and Offline

K-3, 6th-12th

How do we act when we are on the Internet? Students explore their digital footprint. Every post has a ghost! They explore why kindness is important in both the real and digital worlds. Then they put their skills into practice with some fun games like Left, Right, Center Kindness and Is it Kind or is it Trash?

Wingin’ It

5th-12th

Albert Einstein once said, “Failure is success in progress.” In this lesson students watch failure take flight. Students craft algorithms along with paper planes, try to out-engineer NASA’s engineers, and take paper airplane design to new heights. Then they take a Scratch at flying paper planes online.

Groovy Garbage

5th-8th

One man’s trash is another person’s … tambourine? That may not be how the old saying goes, but it’s one way this lesson goes as students recycle old things into new musical instruments of their own design. They’ll explore why you should never play music next to a zoo, be inspired by other kids who play in a ‘landfillharmonic,’ practice pitch with straws, and learn a bit about surfing sound waves. There’s even more to explore with The String Family, Singing Science, and a man who can make music with just about anything. And a one, a two, a three…let’s play!