In this unit, students will uncover how energy is converted to a variety of forms and how these forms are used in our homes from a power plant all the way down to charging our electronics.
Author
Mrinda (Mindy) Thornlow
Students will utilize Google Maps to engage in scientific learning. (Extension: Students will increase cultural understanding and literacy)
Author
Emily Lahr
Students will analyze data to determine the inheritance pattern for eye color in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
Author
Emily Simpson McDonald
The purpose of this lab is to illustrate the importance of monitoring the water quality of effluent (wastewater outflow) and its effects on aquatic organisms.
Author
Annie McEntyre
Students will work in small groups to research a textile company in Alamance County and create a digital archive for the company. They will research to determine the textiles impact on the community over time. Students will discover how human and environmental actions affect the quality of life for those in Alamance County. The investigation of students’ interviews, research and timeline will allow them to analyze data and make conclusions of impact.
Authors
Angela Dalton, Kelsey Isley, Brandy Lambert, and Tomika Davis, STEMwork Scholars
Author
Sandra Hermdia, STEMwork Scholar
Students will learn about plate tectonics and how the Earth’s plates move and interact. Students will also learn what causes earthquakes.
Authors
Angela Dalton, Kelsey Isley, Brandy Lambert, Tomika Davis, STEMwork Scholars
Students will work in small groups to research one of the following topics:
Then they will produce an infographic detailing their findings about the root causes of the inequity, steps that have been taken to address the problem, and what they feel would be the best solution for a community looking to be more just in its access.
Authors
Emmanuel Davis Lipscomb and Monica Perdomo, STEMwork Scholars
Students will create a video presentation on how North Carolina’s growing population affects ocean health and their proposals for sustainable solutions to mitigate the impact. Their videos are intended to be presented to a public audience.
The project was inspired by the World of 7 Billion student video contest. In that contest, middle and high schoolers are given the platform to think critically about global challenges related to population and share what they think we should do to fix it.
Authors
Victoria Mahoney and Jennifer Walski, STEMwork Scholars
Students will learn how surface area and volume changes as the dimensions of a rectangular prism changes. Students will build and paint a doghouse (surface area) for different sizes of dogs (volume).
Author
Jill Jackson, STEMwork Scholar
Students will explore the basic elements and energy that are the driving forces of our universe, from the formation of atoms and matter to Earth’s earliest evolution. Earth is dynamic; it is constantly changing. Limitless energy lies beneath Earth’s volcanoes. Can volcanoes be a resource? Can we harness their energy and fertile soil? Is volcanic activity the Earth’s spontaneous hiccups, or is there a pattern to be observed and predicted? What are the types of volcanoes; what determines their location; and which volcanoes pose the greatest threat to humanity?
Author
Shannon Hardy
Students will utilize resources from experts/online/books about North Carolinian animals and create their own “Who Would Win?” book/Google Slides/Brochure, independently or in pairs. Students will focus on researching the adaptations of North Carolinian animals they choose to compare. This will be shared with a community audience, who will
provide constructive feedback and provide a reference for future field trips to explore the animals and their adaptations in a local habitat.
Authors
Sarah Anna Tronic, Laura J. McDougal, Shanlee Meyers
Your school is working towards becoming Green School certified which includes energy efficient windows. Atrium Windows and Doors has offered to help when replacement windows are needed. Energy Star window criteria and certification varies by region across the United States and needs to be considered. In order to get the process started, one currently installed
windows needs to be analyzed for energy efficiency (can be any size and located anywhere in the building).
Once you have this baseline information, you need to create a proposal for your material design of the most thermal efficient and cost-effective replacement window.
Author
Laurie McKinney
Students will be introduced to the story of how Biltmore Farms, a community development firm located in Western North Carolina, incorporates the Vanderbilt family legacy of natural resource stewardship into strategic land development practices guided by 5 Community-Building Tenets. After researching the assets and needs of their own community, students will propose the best use for a parcel of land with sustainability in mind.
Author
Jill Francis
Students will engage in a STEM activity where they will build a magnetic mixer device that will attract lead-based items.
Author
Vanessa Hairston