Activities in which students build their own simulations of fossils, using seashells, chicken bones, toy dinosaurs, or leaves as models and plaster of paris, sand, mud, clay, or a mixture of gravel and clay as a matrix are presented. Curriculum extensions are included. (KR)

Describes five activities designed to help students recognize and appreciate the factors directly involved in the process of fossilization. (JR)

Describes an instructional unit designed to increase student awareness of environmental pollution and the difficulties involved in correcting the situation. Seventh grade science students collected local water samples, tested them, and reported significant pollution to state and federal authorities. Simulation game Dirty Water'' increased student…

Explains the arrangement of materials in a classroom to simulate land or weather conditions. On each desk in the room pertinent bits of information are placed. Students gather bits of information and synthesize material into an overall map of the area. (CP)

Describes a classroom activity designed to interest and motivate students in science. By comparing scientific experimentation to the processes employed in planning, playing, and analyzing the results of a football match, students become more aware of the similarity between activities in their lives and in science. (JR)

Presents activities to familiarize junior high school students with the processes behind and reasons for volcanism, which is generally a planet's way of releasing excessive internal heat and pressure. Students participate in the creation of four important volcano-related simulations: a lava flow, a shield volcano, a cinder-cone volcano, and a…

Presents a lesson on introducing writing into the science curriculum by using an experiment to illustrate the detrimental effect of tobacco smoke on human lungs. Outlines the materials, procedures, a summary of the project, extension activities, and additional information about the writing process. Two handout sheets are included. (RT)

Describes a simulation of chemical reactions to help students understand factors that affect the rates of chemical reactions. (PR)