The Science House is a learning outreach project of NC State University. Our mission is to work in partnership with K12 teachers to increase the use and impact of hands-on learning technologies in mathematics and science.

Welcome to The GreenHouse Project - a place-based project in Northeastern North Carolina that connects schools and community in a sustainable growing program. Join us on our journey as we engage partners to align project goals with high school curriculum objectives and contribute to the local community through service learning work.

These activities came from a teacher-training workshops - Physics From the Junk Drawer - that has been offered by The Science House for several years. Many teachers have taken the workshop and have applied the activities in their own classrooms - from first grade to high school.

Science is about first describing what you see and secondly, trying to come up with an explanation in terms of what you already know. Below are two exercises that that emphasize this fundamental view, model good teaching practice and have had strong positive response from teachers in a variety of programs. The exercises are active, interactive, and thought provoking. Neither activity is really "new." The box activity goes back to the 1950’s and the disappearing test tube is an old physics demonstration, recast as a question and answer.

Each activity involves a guided dialog with the group, and, in the second case, the students working in pairs to conduct an investigation. There is no prerequisite science content, and in fact, either activity could be used to show parents how inquiry helps their children learn.

There is a lot of interesting science to investigate in this world. Not all of the science is done by men wearing white coats and working in laboratories. All of the world around us involves science. A child (or teacher) can investigate some pretty interesting stuff without requiring a laboratory or expensive laboratory equipment or dangerous chemicals.

NEW - Printable PDFs of each activity are now available to members of The Science House web site.  Register now and then login to download Countertop Chemistry activities.

The Science House provides videos of inquiry activities, interviews with scientists, laboratory tours and more.  Check us out on iTunes and YouTube!

John A. Holmes High School recently collaborated with the Northeast Outreach Coordinator for The Science House at NCSU to develop a cross-age mentoring program between 9th grade Earth/Environmental students and 5th grade science classes.  The collaboration produced a series of 5E science lessons matching the content and concept objectives between the two grade levels: Weather and Climate, and Landforms.

How do pole vaulters use leverage to improve their performance? How can golf clubs be designed to hit the ball further? What is the best way for a basketball player to aim her shots at the basket?

The activities listed here were performed by students in the 1999 Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) at The Science House funded by the Burroughs Welcome Fund.

How can a butterfly start a hurricane? Why does a snowflake grow in the shape it does? Why do populations of animals change in seemingly random ways? Or, for that matter, is the throw of a dice really random?

Some of the most interesting studies in modern science and mathematics have to do with things we cannot predict. The descriptions include words like chaos, randomness and fractals.The goal is to learn about the science and mathematics of chaos and how it operates in our world.

The activities listed here were performed by students in the 1999 and 2001 Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) at The Science House funded by the Burroughs Welcome Fund.

How do astronomers measure time? Who sets the standard for time? How did early sailors and ancient civilizations determine time? Are there limits on the accuracy of a stopwatch? Is time travel really possible? These are a few questions students chose to explore in a ten-week program funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund with the activities below.

What science and engineering is required for animals to fly? How do the laws of physics apply to flight? How does the biology of the birds and the bees allow them to fly? How have humans figured out how to do the same with aluminum and titanium wings and jet engines?

On Monday, January 25, 1999, eighteen high school students gathered at The Science House for the first of ten weeks of hands-on exploration of flight to address these questions as part of a Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) at The Science House funded by the Burroughs Welcome Fund.  These students built portable manometers to measure wind speed, performed experiments on lift force, visited the Mars Mission Research Center and laboratories in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at NC State, and ultimately performed their own investigations into the nature of flight.

The National Science Foundation funded the Science and Technology Center for Environmentally Responsible Solvents and Processes (CERSP) is a collaboration among five different campuses.  We use CO2 research to develop and share scientific knowledge profitably among students, scientists and industry for a cleaner environment.  Funding for the outreach for this lab ended in 2009.  Below are activities developed for use in school visits and workshops as well as interviews with scientists who worked in the CERSP laboratories.

Kudzu was first introduced to the United States from Japan in the late 1800's. The government instituted an erosion control program in the 1930's that involved planting kudzu along roads and railways. Since then it has spread across the southeast as a pest to some and a boon to others.

In this unit you will learn more about kudzu as an invasive species and misunderstood weed, analyze photos of the plant and make a plan to remove it from an infested area.

Here is a collection of demonstrations from our world famous 'Physics on the Road' Show. We encourage you to perform these demonstrations or better yet, have your students give them a try. If you are unable to do the demonstrations yourself, feel free to share the videos and photos with your class.

Disclaimer: These demonstrations should be carried out with laboratory safety procedures in place. The Science House is not responsible for injuries incurred while performing these demonstrations.

Enriching Middle schools:Project Outreach to Widen Educational opportunities for Rural students (EMPOWER) reached apporximately 120 middle school teachers in eastern North Carolina from 1997 to 2000 through training and equipment lending. Participating teachers learned to use computers and calculator-based laboratory equipment, worked with experienced teachers, and took advantage of the lending library of laboratory equipment and inquiry-based science and mathematics learning activities.

Below are activities developed by teachers in the EMPOWER program.  They are written for use with the Vernier LabPro but can be adopted to other data collection equipment.

Investigate the ocean and the issues we face through these six inquiry activities.  Use satellite data and other online resources as you explore the underwater world. 

The activities below have been developed and tested over the years by Science House staff for use in our professional development programs.