Lessons

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  My Senses Tell Me...

  K-2  |  Interactive
  In this lesson, students learn about how their five senses help them gather information from the world around them.
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  A Taste of Exploratopia

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students are introduced to different types of scientific investigations, conduct their own, and explore how new evidence can modify theories.
• 

  Skin Cells

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students use online resources and perform a lab experiment to learn about the different kinds of cells that make up skin and how the different skin cells relate to one another.
• 

  Welcome to Your Brain

  9-12  |  Audio
  In this lesson, students explore how the human brain processes sensory and cognitive information, regulates our emotional life, and forms memories.
• 

  Light 3: All Those Seeing Color, Say Eye!

  6-8  
  This lesson introduces the roles of the eye and brain in the perception of objects, including color.
• 

  Seeing Eye to Eye with the Umpire

  6-8  |  Hands-On
  In this activity, students have an opportunity to compare the human system of calling balls and strikes with the electronic umpire system.
• 

  Nearsightedness

  6-8  
  This lesson gives students the opportunity to examine the nature of scientific research in the context of research pertaining to myopia, or nearsightedness.
• 

  Lasers Saving Sight

  9-12  |  Audio
  With this lesson, students learn that problems are solved, or new technology discovered, by scientists using information from other disciplines and from earlier discoveries.
• 

  Communications Technologies

  9-12  
  This lesson helps students develop an understanding of communication technologies and appreciate the opportunities and problems that come with these technologies.
• 

  The Ecology of Your Skin 2: The Microbial World Is an Olfactory World

  9-12  
  This lesson introduces students to the olfactory world of our bacterial symbionts.
• 

  The Ecology of Your Skin 3: The Body Food Connection

  9-12  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students perform an exploration of bacteria in milk to see how they can get cheese-like results from body bacteria.

Tools

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  Zap!

  3-8  |  Interactive
  Test your reaction time with this interactive game! Take control of a hungry frog and catch a fly as soon as you see or hear it.
• 

  What Is Sound? Video

  6-12  |  Video
  This website provides an animated QuickTime video showing how sound waves work.
• 

  Interactive Sound Ruler

  6-12  |  Interactive
  At this site, an interactive table demonstrates real-world sounds ranging from 0-140 decibels.
• 

  All Systems Are Go!

  3-8  |  Interactive
  In this online activity, a fictional character named Arnold is missing a number of body parts. It's your job to complete each body system so Arnold can function.
• 

  Nervous System

  6-12  |  Interactive
  In this interactive, produced by BBC Science & Nature, students will learn about how different body parts are connected to the nervous system.

Science Updates

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  Barbie Effect

  6-12  |  Audio
  This Science Update examines how we perceive our environment.
• 

  Brain Sniff Test

  6-12  |  Audio
  This Science Update explores how a simple sniff test may help doctors pick up the scent of debilitating brain diseases.
• 

  Reading Glasses

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, find out why the need for reading glasses seems to be an inevitable part of growing older.
• 

  Reading in the Dark

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, find out if reading in low light will wreck your eyes.
• 

  Fish Ears

  6-12  |  Audio
  New discoveries about a fish's mating ritual may shed light on a cause of hearing loss in humans.
• 

  Subvocal Speech

  6-12  |  Audio
  Researchers are trying to develop a silent communication system using the nerve signals that tell your throat and tongue to form words.
• 

  Bouncing Babies

  6-12  |  Audio
  Many musicians will tell you that they don't just hear music – they also feel it in their bodies. Turns out even babies do too. You'll learn about it in this Science Update.
• 

  Sprinter Advantage

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, hear why Olympic runners closest to the start gun may get a slight advantage.
• 

  Asparagus Odor

  6-12  |  Audio
  Chances are there's a kind of food you like that at least one friend finds disgusting, and vice versa. The same goes for smells. And while many factors undoubtedly affect our personal tastes, this Science Update examines how scientists are learning that things simply smell and taste different to different people.
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  Cola Brains

  6-12  |  Audio
  For over fifty years, Coke and Pepsi have spent billions trying to out-market each other. This Science Update looks at a new brain study that suggests that one brand has much deeper effects.
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  Popsicle Flavors

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, hear why homemade popsicles never taste quite as good as the ones you buy in the store.
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  Pizza Cheese

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, find out why when you heat up leftover slices of pizza, the flavor often isn't quite the same.
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  Sensing Calories

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, find out if our brains may crave calories, not just the taste of sweetness.
• 

  Smelling Diseases

  6-12  |  Audio
  We all use our noses to make quick judgments from time to time—whether it's checking to see if the milk's still good, or if a shirt needs to go in the wash. This Science Update discusses how doctors are developing a kind of sniff test to screen for diseases.
• 

  Cold Sensors

  6-12  |  Audio
  Why can you feel cold even when you're sitting in a warm room? Scientists may have discovered the answer.
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  Skunk Removal

  6-12  |  Audio
  The spray of a skunk is not only incredibly stinky—it's also notoriously difficult to get rid of. An old folk remedy is to bathe in tomato juice, but tests show that only masks the odor. In this Science Update, you'll hear about a better way to neutralize the stink.
• 

  Cancer-Sniffing Dogs

  6-12  |  Audio
  Dogs are often used to sniff out everything from illegal drugs to explosives. But new research shows that they can also smell cancer.
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  Sniffing Out Cancer

  6-12  |  Audio
  A previous Science Update examined how dogs can detect cancer with their noses. Now those dogs have inspired new technology that tests for skin cancer based on odorants given off by the skin.

Afterschool Resources

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  Sensational Sound

  K-5  |  Hands-On
  Sound travels—not just through air, but through liquids and solids, too. Your group will listen to a hanger clanged against a table. Then they’ll put their ear to something attached to the hanger to realize that the clanging sound travels through solids, too.
• 

  All Systems Go!

  3-5  |  Interactive
  Kids are aware of many parts of the body—organs, bones, blood, etc. Through this online interactive activity, kids learn about the concept of separate body parts working together to build a body system. A system is a collection of things and processes (and often people) that interact to perform some function. Help your kids explore the inside of the human body with this activity.