Science for kids that makes them ask why

Pushes and Pulls

• Pushes and Pulls
• Pushes and Pulls Are Everywhere

Things That Move

Fast and Slow

• Fast and Slow
• What Changes How Fast Things Go
• Design a Bumper

What Makes Things Move

• Things Don't Move on Their Own
• Forces Can Stop and Redirect

My Five Senses

• My Five Senses
• Using Our Senses Like Scientists

Living and Nonliving

• Living and Nonliving Things
• What All Living Things Need

Plants Need Water and Sunlight

Parts of a Plant

• Parts of a Plant
• What Each Part Does

Animals Around Us

• Animals Around Us
• Animal Homes: Claim and Evidence

Animal Babies

• Animal Families
• Some Animals Change!
• How Animal Parents Take Care of Babies

Today's Weather

• Today's Weather: Sunny, Rainy, or Cloudy
• Weather Safety

Hot and Cold Weather

The Four Seasons

• The Four Seasons
• How Seasons Affect Living Things

Day and Night Sky

• Day and Night
• The Night Sky

The Sun

• The Sun Gives Us Light and Heat
• Build a Shade Structure

Water Everywhere

• Water Is Everywhere
• Why Water Matters

Asking Why

Sorting and Grouping

• Sorting by One Property
• Sorting in Science

What Scientists Do

• What Scientists Do
• Being a Scientist: My First Investigation

Helping Our Planet

Pushes and Pulls

• What Are Pushes and Pulls?
• Stronger and Weaker Pushes and Pulls

Speed and Direction of Motion

Ways Objects Move

Vibrations Make Sound

• Sound Comes from Vibrations
• Sound Makes Things Vibrate

Light and Shadows

• What Makes a Shadow?
• Materials and Light

Using Sound to Communicate

Using Light to Communicate

Living and Nonliving Things

What Plants Need to Grow

• Plants Need Water, Light, and Air
• What Happens Without Water or Light?

Parts of a Plant and What They Do

• Naming Plant Parts
• What Each Part Does and Why It Helps Survive

Seeds and How Plants Grow

• What Is a Seed?
• From Seed to Plant

What Animals Need to Survive

Animal Homes and Habitats

Parents and Their Young

• Baby Animals Look Like Their Parents
• How Babies and Parents Are Different

How Animals Grow and Change

• Animals Grow and Change
• Amazing Changes: Caterpillars and Tadpoles

How Animal Parents Help Their Young Survive

• Parents Protect Their Young
• Parents Feed and Care for Their Young

Taking Care of Animals and Their Habitats

Observing and Describing Weather

Types of Weather

• Sunny, Cloudy, Rainy, Snowy, and Windy
• Weather and Our Lives

The Four Seasons

• What Are the Four Seasons?
• The Season Pattern and Daylight

The Sun, Moon, and Stars

• The Sun: Our Daytime Star
• The Moon and Stars

Day and Night

Patterns in the Sky

• Patterns We Can Predict
• Daylight Changes Through the Year

Tools, Teamwork, and Solving Problems

• Tools Scientists Use
• Solving Problems Like a Biomimicry Engineer

What Is Matter?

• Everything Is Made of Something
• Matter Takes Up Space and Has Weight

States of Matter

• Solids Hold Their Shape
• Liquids Flow and Fill
• Gases Are All Around

Describing Properties of Matter

• Observing with Your Senses
• Measuring Properties

Sorting and Classifying Materials

Building and Rebuilding

Effects of Heating and Cooling

• What Happens When We Heat Things?
• What Happens When We Cool Things?

Mixing Materials

• Mixing Solids Together
• Dissolving: When Solids Seem to Disappear
• Is the Dissolved Stuff Still There?

Reversible and Irreversible Changes

• Reversible Changes from Heating and Cooling
• Irreversible Changes: You Can't Un-Bake a Cake

Choosing Materials for a Purpose

• Which Material Is Best?
• Testing Materials

What Plants Need to Grow

• Do Plants Need Water and Sunlight? — Setting Up
• Do Plants Need Water and Sunlight? — Analyzing

Plants and Animals Need Each Other

• How Animals Help Plants
• How Plants Help Animals

What Living Things Eat

• Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores
• Where Does Food Come From?

Introduction to Food Chains

• Building a Food Chain
• What Happens If a Link Is Missing?

How Seeds Move to New Places

Pollination and Plant Reproduction

What Is a Habitat?

Comparing Different Habitats

• Forest Habitats
• Ocean Habitats
• Desert Habitats
• Comparing Habitats

How Animals Are Suited to Their Habitats

• Body Adaptations
• Behavior Adaptations

Diversity of Life

What Covers Earth's Surface?

Types of Landforms

• Mountains, Valleys, and Plains
• Modeling Landforms

Types of Bodies of Water

Rocks and Soil

• Exploring Rocks
• Investigating Soil

How Earth's Surface Changes

• Slow Changes to Land
• Fast Changes to Land

Erosion by Water

• Water Moves Earth
• Slowing Down Erosion

The Water Cycle

• Where Is Earth's Water?
• The Water Cycle Goes Round and Round

Weather Patterns and Prediction

• Observing and Recording Weather
• Finding Patterns and Predicting
• Weather Around the World

Severe Weather and Safety

• Types of Severe Weather
• Staying Safe in Severe Weather

The Engineering Design Process

• Defining the Problem
• Building and Testing
• Improving Your Design

Fair Tests and Comparing Solutions

Recording and Sharing What You Learn

• Recording What You See
• Sharing Your Discoveries

Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

• What Are Forces?
• Balanced vs Unbalanced
• Patterns in Motion

Friction

• What Is Friction?
• Surfaces and Friction

Gravity

• Gravity: Earth's Pull
• Measuring Gravity: What Is Weight?

Magnets: Attract and Repel

• Magnetic Push and Pull
• What Sticks to a Magnet?

Magnetic Poles, Fields & Design

• North and South Poles
• Magnetic Fields
• Magnet Design Challenge

Static Electricity

• Building a Static Charge
• Why Does Static Happen?

Plant Life Cycles

• From Seed to Plant
• Different Plant Life Cycles

Animal Life Cycles & Metamorphosis

• Born Looking Like Parents
• Animals That Change Form
• Butterfly Metamorphosis
• Frog Metamorphosis

Inherited Traits

• Traits from Parents
• Inherited vs Not Inherited

Variation Within a Species

Learned Behaviors

Animal Group Behavior

• Why Animals Form Groups
• Constructing an Argument: Groups Help Survival

Animal Survival

• Body Adaptations
• Behavior Adaptations

Fossils: Clues to the Past

• What Are Fossils?
• What Fossils Tell Us

Organisms and Their Environments

• Living Things Need Their Environment
• When Environments Change

Weather vs Climate

Climates Around the World

• Different Places, Different Climates
• What Determines Climate?

Extreme Weather Events

• Types of Extreme Weather
• Preparing for Extreme Weather

Weather Hazards and Safety

Forecasting Weather

• Weather Instruments
• Making Weather Predictions

Climate and Seasons

• What Causes Seasons?
• Seasons and Living Things

Introduction to Climate Change

• Earth's Climate Is Changing
• What Can Humans Do?

The Engineering Design Process

• Steps of the Design Process
• Defining the Problem

Brainstorming and Choosing Solutions

Building and Testing Prototypes

• Building a Prototype
• Testing Fairly

Improving Designs

• Analyzing Results
• Redesign and Retest

Communicating Results

Types of Energy

• Types of Energy
• Energy Is Everywhere

Speed and Energy

Energy Transfer

• Energy Moves Between Objects
• Heat Transfer

Predicting Collisions

Energy Transformation

• Energy Changes Form
• Energy Transformation Chains

Electrical Circuits

• Simple Circuits
• Series and Parallel Circuits

Conductors and Insulators

Light Energy

• How Light Travels
• Light and Materials

Sound Energy

• Sound and Vibrations
• Sound Travels Through Materials

Wave Properties

• Parts of a Wave
• Waves Carry Energy, Not Matter

Reflection and Refraction

• Reflection
• Refraction

Pitch and Frequency

Communicating with Wave Patterns

• Simple Codes: Sending Messages with Patterns
• Designing Better Communication Systems

Plant Structures and Functions

• Plant Parts and Their Jobs
• How Plants Move Water and Nutrients

Animal Structures for Survival

• Animal Structures for Survival
• Animal Structures for Reproduction

Internal and External Structures

• External vs Internal Structures
• How Internal and External Structures Work Together

Animal Senses

• The Five Senses and Sense Organs
• Senses Help Animals Survive

Body Systems Overview

Human Structures for Survival

• Structures for Getting Energy
• Structures for Movement and Protection

How Organisms Receive Information

Sky Patterns

• The Sun's Daily Pattern
• The Moon's Monthly Pattern

Earth's Landforms and Water Features

Mountains, Valleys, and Plains

Earth's Moving Plates

• Earth's Moving Plates
• What Happens at Plate Boundaries

Earthquakes

• Why Earthquakes Happen
• Earthquake Effects and Measurement
• Engineering Solutions for Earthquake Safety

Volcanoes

• How Volcanoes Form
• Types of Volcanoes
• Volcanic Eruptions and Their Effects

Weathering and Erosion

• Weathering Breaks Rocks Apart
• Erosion Moves Earth Materials

Deposition Builds New Landforms

Natural Resources

• Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
• How Humans Use and Impact Resources

Engineering Challenges

• Defining Engineering Problems
• Generating and Comparing Solutions

Optimizing Solutions

• Testing Solutions with Fair Tests
• Improving Designs Through Iteration

Renewable Energy Sources

• Renewable Energy Sources
• Why Renewable Energy Matters

Conserving Resources

Sustainability

Technology Impacts

• How Technology Helps
• Unintended Consequences

Particles, Atoms & Molecules

• The Particle Model of Matter
• Atoms and Molecules

Elements & Compounds

• Elements: Building Blocks of Matter
• Compounds: When Elements Combine

Material Properties

• Measuring Properties of Matter
• Identifying Substances by Their Properties

Conservation of Matter

• Conservation in Physical Changes
• Conservation in Chemical Changes

Changes of State

• The Six Changes of State
• Energy Drives State Changes

Mixtures & Solutions

• Mixtures: Combined but Not Changed
• Solutions: A Special Kind of Mixture

Physical & Chemical Changes

• Physical Changes
• Is Dissolving a Physical Change?
• Chemical Changes and Their Evidence

Energy in Chemical Reactions

How Energy and Matter Interact

Photosynthesis

• Where Does a Plant's Mass Come From?
• How and Why Photosynthesis Matters

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems

Producers, Consumers & Decomposers

• Three Roles in an Ecosystem
• Levels of Consumers

Food Webs

• Reading and Building Food Webs
• What Happens When a Population Changes?

Matter Cycles

• Matter Moves in Cycles
• The Water Cycle
• The Carbon Cycle

Ecosystem Balance

Human Impact on Ecosystems

• How Humans Harm Ecosystems
• How Humans Help Ecosystems

Conservation Science in Action

The Solar System

• Structure and Scale of the Solar System
• Other Objects in the Solar System

Inner and Outer Planets

• The Inner (Terrestrial) Planets
• The Outer (Gas/Ice Giant) Planets

Earth-Moon-Sun System

• Motions in the Earth-Moon-Sun System
• Explaining the Phases of the Moon
• Eclipses and Tides

Shadows and Seasons

• Shadows and the Sun's Apparent Motion
• Why We Have Seasons

Stars and Brightness

Earth's Internal Structure

• Earth's Layers
• Earth's Systems Interact

The Rock Cycle

• Three Types of Rocks
• The Rock Cycle: Rocks Transform

Water Distribution

• Where Is Earth's Water?
• The Water Cycle and Water Scarcity

Earth's Atmosphere

• Earth's Atmosphere and Weather
• How the Atmosphere Protects Life

Designing Investigations

• Asking Questions and Planning Fair Tests
• Observing, Measuring, and Recording Data

Analyzing Data

• Organizing Data: Tables, Graphs, and Charts
• Drawing Conclusions from Evidence

Engineering for the Environment

• Environmental Problems Engineering Can Solve
• Designing Environmental Solutions

Scientific Models

• What Are Scientific Models?
• Building and Evaluating Models

Matter and Particles

• The Particle Model of Matter
• Phase Changes and Energy
• Atoms, Molecules, and Characteristic Properties

Chemical Reactions

• Evidence of Chemical Reactions
• Atoms Rearrange in Reactions
• Modeling Chemical Reactions

Material Properties & Design

• Properties of Materials
• Selecting Materials for Design

Synthetic Materials & Thermal Chemistry

• Thermal Energy in Chemical Processes
• Synthetic Materials and Their Impact

Energy Forms & Transformations

• Kinetic and Potential Energy
• Forms of Energy
• Graphical Displays of Energy
• Tracing Energy Transformations
• The Law of Conservation of Energy

Thermal Energy

• Thermal Energy and Temperature
• Factors Affecting Thermal Energy Transfer

Heat Transfer Methods

• Conduction and Convection
• Radiation and Applying Heat Transfer

Cell Theory

• Discovery of Cells
• The Three Tenets of Cell Theory

Cell Structure & Function

• Core Organelles
• The Endomembrane System
• What Each Organelle Does
• Structure Determines Function

Plant vs Animal Cells

• Comparing Plant and Animal Cells
• Why Plant Cells Need Extra Structures

Unicellular Organisms

• Life in One Cell
• How Unicellular Organisms Survive

Levels of Organization

• Cell Specialization
• The Organization Hierarchy
• How Systems Depend on Each Other

Cell Processes

• Cellular Respiration
• Photosynthesis
• Passive Transport: Diffusion and Osmosis
• Active Transport
• Sensory Receptors and Neural Signaling

Cell Division

• Why Cells Divide
• Mitosis: How Cells Divide

Ecosystem Components

• Biotic and Abiotic Factors
• How Factors Shape Ecosystems

Biomes of Earth

• The Major Biomes
• Why Biomes Are Where They Are

Ecological Organization

Ecological Relationships

• Predator-Prey Relationships
• Symbiotic Relationships
• Competition

Ecosystem Matter & Energy

• Energy Flow Through Ecosystems
• Matter Cycles Through Ecosystems

Population Dynamics

• What Makes Populations Change
• Carrying Capacity and Limiting Factors

Human Ecosystem Impact

• How Humans Change Ecosystems
• Cascading Effects and Mitigation

Biodiversity & Conservation

• What Is Biodiversity and Why It Matters
• Conservation Strategies
• Evaluating Competing Conservation Designs

Earth Systems & Spheres

• The Four Spheres of Earth
• How Spheres Interact and Distribute Resources

Plate Tectonics & Surface Change

• Evidence for Plate Tectonics
• Geoscience Processes Change Earth's Surface

Water Cycle Mechanisms

Atmosphere & Weather

• Composition and Layers of the Atmosphere
• How the Atmosphere Creates Weather

Ocean Currents

• Surface Currents
• Deep Currents and Climate Effects

Weather Systems

• Air Masses and Fronts
• Severe Weather
• Reading Weather Maps and Forecasting

Climate Patterns

• Climate vs Weather and Climate Factors
• Climate Zones and Classification

Climate Change Evidence

• Temperature and Ice Core Evidence
• Sea Level, Species, and Ocean Evidence
• The Greenhouse Effect and Human Influence

Natural Hazards

• Types and Causes of Natural Hazards
• Predicting and Mitigating Natural Hazards

Earth History Evidence

• Reading the Rock Record
• Early Earth and the Origin of Life
• Mass Extinctions and Continental Change

Engineering Design Process

• Defining Problems: Criteria and Constraints
• Developing, Testing, and Optimizing Solutions

Energy Resources

• Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
• Evaluating Energy Tradeoffs

Cell Structure & Function

• Cells: The Building Blocks of Life
• Inside the Cell: Organelles
• Plant vs Animal Cells & Cell Organization

Photosynthesis & Cellular Respiration

• Photosynthesis: Capturing Energy
• Cellular Respiration: Releasing Energy

DNA Structure

• The Double Helix
• DNA Replication

Genes & Chromosomes

• From DNA to Chromosomes
• Alleles and Genotype

The Genetic Code

• Reading the Code
• From Gene to Trait

Protein Synthesis

• Transcription
• Translation
• The Central Dogma

Heredity Patterns

• Punnett Squares: Monohybrid Crosses
• Beyond Simple Crosses

Dominant & Recessive Traits

• Dominance and Recessiveness
• Incomplete Dominance and Codominance

Genetic Variation

• Meiosis and Allele Shuffling
• Sexual Reproduction and Variation
• Why Variation Matters

Mutations & Their Effects

• Types of Mutations
• Consequences of Mutations

Genes & Environment

• Polygenic Traits and Continuous Variation
• How Environment Shapes Traits

Genetic Technology

• Tools of Genetic Technology
• Applications in the Real World

Ethics of Genetic Technology

Evidence for Evolution

• Lines of Evidence
• Evaluating and Connecting Evidence

The Fossil Record

• How Fossils Form and What They Tell Us
• Patterns in the Fossil Record

Comparative Anatomy

• Homologous and Analogous Structures
• Vestigial Structures and Embryology

Natural Selection

• The Four Conditions
• Natural Selection in Action
• Natural Selection vs Artificial Selection

Adaptation Over Time

• Structural and Behavioral Adaptations
• Adaptation and Environmental Change

Speciation

• How New Species Form
• Other Paths to Speciation

Common Ancestry

Evolution & Biodiversity

Circulatory System

• Heart and Blood Vessels
• Blood Composition and Function

Respiratory System

• Breathing Mechanics
• Gas Exchange

Digestive System

• Mechanical and Chemical Digestion
• The Journey Through the Digestive Tract
• Nutrients and Cellular Energy

Excretory System

Nervous System

• Neurons and Nerve Signals
• Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
• Reflexes and Sensory Processing

Endocrine System

• Hormones and Glands
• Feedback Loops

Immune System

• Lines of Defense
• Specific Immunity

Reproductive System

• Reproductive Anatomy and Gametes
• Development and Growth

Systems Working Together

• System Interactions During Exercise
• When Systems Fail

Maintaining Health

Ecosystem Interactions

• Food Webs and Organism Interactions
• Resource Availability and Populations

Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity

Biogeochemical Cycles

• The Water and Carbon Cycles
• The Nitrogen Cycle
• The Phosphorus Cycle and Limiting Nutrients
• Human Disruption of Cycles

Human Impact on Biodiversity

• Threats to Biodiversity
• Conservation Solutions

Biomedical Engineering

• Engineering Solutions for the Human Body
• The Engineering Design Process in Medicine

Advanced Scientific Method

• Designing Controlled Experiments
• Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions

Atomic Structure

• Parts of the Atom
• Atomic Number, Mass Number & Isotopes

Periodic Table & Element Properties

• Organization of the Periodic Table
• Element Properties & Periodic Trends

Chemical Bonding & Compounds

• Why Atoms Bond
• Lewis Dot Structures
• Compounds & Chemical Formulas

Chemical Reactions

• What Is a Chemical Reaction?
• Classifying Chemical Reactions

Balancing Equations

• Conservation of Mass & Reading Equations
• Balancing Chemical Equations

Energy in Chemical Reactions

Acids, Bases & pH

Reaction Rates

Synthetic & Natural Materials

Newton's Laws of Motion

• Newton's First Law: Inertia
• Newton's Second Law: F = ma
• Newton's Third Law: Action-Reaction

Forces in Action

• Types of Forces & Free-Body Diagrams
• Net Force & Predicting Motion

Gravity & Fields

• Gravitational Interactions
• Fields as Models

Momentum & Collisions

• What Is Momentum?
• Conservation of Momentum & Collisions

Work, Energy & Power

• Forms of Energy & Transformations
• Work & Power

Thermal Energy & Heat Transfer

• Heat Transfer: Conduction, Convection & Radiation
• Specific Heat & Thermal Energy Investigations

Simple Machines & Mechanical Advantage

• The Six Simple Machines
• Mechanical Advantage & Efficiency

Waves & Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Wave Types & Representations
• Wave Properties & the Wave Equation
• Wave Interactions with Materials
• The Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Designing Wave-Based Communication

Electricity & Magnetism

• Voltage, Current & Resistance
• Series & Parallel Circuits
• Magnetism & Electromagnetism

Earth-Sun-Moon System

• The Reason for the Seasons
• Moon Phases & Eclipses

Plate Tectonics

• Tectonic Plates & Boundary Types
• Driving Forces & Surface Consequences

Geological Events

• The Science of Earthquakes
• Earthquake Hazards & Engineering
• Volcanoes

Earth Systems & Cycles

• The Water Cycle and Earth's Energy Budget
• Carbon Cycling Through Earth Systems

Geologic Time & Earth's History

• The Geologic Time Scale
• Major Events in Earth's History

Space Exploration

Stars: Life Cycle

• Star Formation & the Main Sequence
• Stellar Evolution & Death

Galaxies & Cosmology

• Types of Galaxies & Scale of the Universe
• The Big Bang & the Expanding Universe

Advanced Engineering Design

• The Iterative Design Process
• Evaluating & Optimizing Designs

Data Analysis & Interpretation

Technology & Society

Science & Engineering Careers