1. Balloon Race Around the World: Floating and Sinking

Source: NOVA

Define density of substances, identify which substances are the most dense and predict how a hot air balloon will react to heating and cooling of air in this interactive activity.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Motion & Forces. Navigation.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

2. Building on Ground Zero: The Structure of Metal

Source: NOVA

Explore an interactive that illustrates why metal behaves as it does. Identify how its atoms shift, how imperfections in structure allow it to change shape, how it bends and why it loses its strength when heated.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

3. Fire Wars: On Fire

Source: NOVA

Examine the chemical reactions involved in combustion, how a fire ignites, how a molecule's atoms rearrange themselves during combustion and what a flame is made of.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Energy.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

4. Forgotten Genius: Build a Steroid

Source: NOVA

Watch as diosgenin from the common Mexican yam transforms in five steps into the adrenal hormone cortisone in this simulation of a chemical change.

Grade Level: 9-12

Subjects: Health & Fitness, Science & Tech

Topics: Medicine. Chemistry.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

5. How Low Can You Go?

Source: NOVA

Design your own three-step cascade process and determine whether you can choose the right combination of gases to liquefy oxygen in this online interactive investigation.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Energy. Chemistry.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

6. Illuminating Photosynthesis

Source: NOVA

Describe how photosynthesis works and examine the role light and oxygen play in plant life and growth.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Botany. Energy. Chemistry.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

7. Kaboom!

Source: NOVA

Describe The Periodic Table of Elements, identify the elements that make a firework work and examine the contribution of each element to the total fireworks effect.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Energy.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

8. Mystery of the First Americans: The Dating Game

Source: NOVA

Examine the scientific processes involved in carbon dating objects.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech, Social Studies

Topics: Chemistry. Paleontology. Atomic. Anthropology/Cultures. Archeology.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

9. On Fire

Source: NOVA

Explore the basics of combustion, including how a fire ignites, how a molecule's atoms rearrange themselves during combustion and what a flame is made of.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Energy.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

10. Origins: Where are the Aliens?: Decoding Cosmic Spectra

Source: NOVA

Discover how scientists make inferences about cosmic objects too far away to explore. Learn the basics of spectroscopy, then use the technique to reveal the composition of four different cosmic objects in this interactive activity.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Atmosphere & Space Science. Chemistry. Energy.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

11. Saving the National Treasures: The Damage Done

Source: NOVA

Compare the original Declaration of Independence document with the 1823 Stone Engraving of the Declaration. Explore the damage that has been done to the original over centuries of imperfect handling.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech, Social Studies

Topics: Chemistry. United States History: 1585-1763. United States History: 1754-1820s.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

12. Search for a Safe Cigarette: On Fire

Source: NOVA

Explore the basics of combustion, including how a fire ignites, how a molecule's atoms rearrange themselves during combustion and what a flame is made of.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Energy.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

13. Secrets of the Samurai Sword: Making a Masterpiece

Source: NOVA

Explore the steps that a master Japanese swordsmith takes today to craft the katana, the legendary samurai sword. Examine the science and the art involved in this process.

Grade Level: 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech, The Arts

Topics: Chemistry. Visual Arts.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

14. See Inside A Diamond: Hot Science

Source: NOVA

Investiage the science involved in the creation of diamonds by building a carbon atom out of quarks and electrons. Observe how carbon atoms are arranged by manipulating a diamond crystal.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Geology & Natural Disasters. Atomic.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

15. States of Matter

Source: NOVA

Discover how temperature and pressure are linked by using this online interactive. Adjust the temperature and pressure of three common substances and watch them morph into different states of matter.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

16. The Doomsday Asteroid: Kitchen Comets

Source: NOVA

Understand that comets are mde up of some of the originl material from which the solar system was formed, explore the events that cause the comet's light show and make a model of a comet nucleus.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Atmosphere & Space Science. Chemistry.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

17. The Great Fire of Rome: Fire Investigation

Source: Secrets of the Dead

Emulate the work of a fire investigator by examining a fire scene to collect important evidence and send it to a forensics lab. Determine whether the fire was an accident or deliberately set.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Scientific Inquiry.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

18. The Structure of Metal

Source: NOVA

Examine why metal behaves as it does. Explore how its atoms shift, how imperfections in its structure allow it to change shape more easily, how it bends and why it loses its strength when heated.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Engineering.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity

19. Why the Towers Fell: The Structure of Metal

Source: NOVA

Examine what it is that gives metal its special characteristics and how metal behaves under the stress of heat and outside forces.

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

Subjects: Science & Tech

Topics: Chemistry. Design & Invention. Motion & Forces. Atomic.

Resource Type: Interactive/Online Activity