Science Is All Around Us... Ideas Please!

Some examples:
Water cycle - why is water important
The five senses, or the human body
Weather
Cooking
The solar system
Where do clothes come from, how are they made
Insects - caterpillar changing to a butterfly
Birds migrating south for winter
The school building, how was it built, what materials were used, where did those materials come from
What weighs more a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks, why

Good luck.

My favorite is Bill Nye the Science Guy. Kids love him! Some science topics include: Floating/Sinking, Electricity, Magnetism, Chemistry (so anything involving cooking!), Our Bodies, How things are made...I could go on and on. My daughter recently did a project involving a question. She wondered if a piece of fruit spoils faster in the fridge or on the counter. Good luck! Second graders are so much fun to teach.

I'd recommend seeing if you have a teaching supply store in your local area. Ours, here in Indy, is United Arts and Education - it's phenomenal. http://www.unitednow.com/

As a Biologist, I'd really caution you to be careful even with simple chemistry because some household chemicals can not be mixed even though they seem benign.

"Sid the Science Kid" is phenomenal as well.

Simple things related to science:
1. Race cars teach simple physics
2. Gravity - why a wadded piece of paper falls differently than a flat one
3. Mentos + Diet Coke - that's a fun one
4. Mold - be careful unless you use pictures as many are toxic despite appearing safe
5. Leaves turning colors is science
6. Mushrooms sprouting is science (though, again, needs to be done really carefully as they're in the same genus as molds)
7. Mixing primary colors to come-up with secondary colors is science (my mom used to do it with food coloring and white frosting)

The list goes on and on and on and on. Rain is science. Clouds are science. Melting an ice-cube and refreezing it is science. My Molecular Biology professor used pipe cleaners to teach us the molecular structure of DNA - seems advanced, but our local living history museum had a display set-up on Sunday to do just that with a guide.

Growing plants is science - temperature, moisture, etc.

Good luck - sorry, you unleashed the nerd in me.

classifying plants, weather conditions being pressure dynamics, human digestion, evolution, heartbeats, rain cycles, light, bicycle operation, cars...

Science is a language that seeks to explain every single thing that can be observed. Looking out your eyes and taking information in, processing that information, is part of the scientific process.

watch "sid the science kid" and youll get a few ideas, im sure netflix has watch instantly, or hulu.com, or even youtube

Google and you should be able to come up with stuff. Google 2nd grade science experiments or whatever your looking for and you should find things.

Baking s definitely science. You have to get the measurements and temperature right to get the desired affect of cupcake batter rising. You can make them and let the kids eat thier experiment.

http://www.simplot.com/education_council/cupcake_core_sam...
http://www.juliantrubin.com/fairprojects/food/cookingbaki...

Anything that involves bugs and animals is always a good idea for kids (biology). You could bring some bugs or animals if you're bold....If not there is all kinds of picture and touch media related to animals that should be very easy to find from all types of sources. Good luck!!!!

Ok, no one has mentioned my favorite, geology!! You can have kids bring in a rock that they find in their back yard or elsewhere and help them classify it, or talk about the geological history of where the school building is located and go outside to look for clues about what rock types are there. Arizona has some very obvious geologic features...not covered by pesky trees and grass...so you may be able to see a butte or similar from your classroom and talk about what makes the sedimentary layers, etc. An easy experiment is to put some fine dirt, sand, and gravel of different sizes in a large clear jar with water and a lid. Shake the jar and let it settle naturally, you can talk about how the largest particles will be at the bottom and the tiniest on top. Try shaking less/more, just adding water slowly and not shaking, etc, to see different sedimentation patterns.

The best place to start is the internet...just type in science activities for kids and you will get loads of starting points. Another good place to start is the website "Steve Spangler." He is a great kids' science guy, kind of expensive products but at least it will give you an idea. One science idea that all kids love is the combonation of vinegar and baking soda. They love to see that chemical reaction (explosion!) Also, anything to do with bugs...you can usually get any type of bug for study on the net too. Good luck...this can be your best lesson of the day. Kids love the hands-on stuff. I would also suggest that you have them create a science notebook. They can enter their thoughts, data, and drawings like real scientist, while working on their writing skills too!

the easiest one is mold... showing different things that go bad if not kept in the fridge at 40 degrees that stops bacteria from growing. Why we keep milk in the fridge would be a good example..

Check out the Sid the Science Kid page on pbskids.org. There's a link for parents and teachers where you can find ideas for science activities, including materials needed, instructions, and resources.

My 4 yr. old asked me "if the moon is in outerspace, why do we see it in our sky?" I explained how it's "super, super big" and big things can be seen a long way away, and they look smaller. Maybe you can do some little experiement to demonstrate the idea. He also has a science kit where you drop a different food coloring tablets into water (one cup of blue, one of yellow, etc.), then combine the colors to make new colors...yellow + blue = green.