Investigating joints: Naming and identifying joints in the human body part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Short Description: This activity is a classroom investigation of human joints. Students will identify joints and use their science notebooks to record their findings using drawings and words.

Investigating Chromatography: Separating Pigments part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a lab investigation where students design an experiment to extract pigments (AKA chromatography) from different colored, water soluble markers.

Geology of the Grand Canyon: Interpreting its rock layers and formation part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
In this culminating activity, students will be assessed on what they have learned during the Geology unit of their Earth Science class. After conducting classroom and field studies on geology students will utilize this knowledge to interpret the rock layers and formation of the Grand Canyon. Outside of class students will read/review a website and complete a study guide to be reviewed by the teacher to assess students' learning. Following teacher review of study guides, the next class period(s) will be a discussion and questioning session(s) on the formation of the Grand Canyon.

Rocket Lab part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is lab based competition. The students engineer a 2-litter rocket to have the maximum hang time. After the initial launch, the students are given an opportunity to re-engineer to produce a better time. The activity finishes with a lab write-up.

Inquiry Discussion of Simple Machines part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is a guided inquiry discussion to introduce machines and to identify types of simple machines

Investigation of Pitch & Rate of Vibration part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is an activity demonstrating how pitch varies using water bottles, and allows students to investigate pitch further with rulers, straws, and water bottles.

Investigating Light: A Form of Energy You Can See part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is a short unit (including hands on activities) to expand our study of how light travels and how it behaves when it hits an object.

Investigating Starch in Foods part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom experiment where students gather data on which foods contain starch. They use observation and develop their own hypothesis to create a question they would like to discover about starches.

Testing alkalinity in water systems (simulation) part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This investigation is a laboratory activity in which the alkalinity of 2 types of substrates (carbonate vs. non-carbonate) are compared on the basis of titration. Students will reflect on the relationship of alkalinity and toxic heavy metals.

Force and Motion: Gravity and Wind Resistance part of MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
The egg-drop activity is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of the force created by wind resistance and how it interacts with the force due to Gravity. Students will note how surface area affects the resistance of a falling object as Gravity works on it. Students will record and share observations and questions regarding the experiment.