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Activity 1	Space Ship Earth: Rain forest destruction and the global impacts from that destruction are being studied. Find a picture of our planet from outer space. When you look at the big blue ball how do you feel about life on our planet? Research together: How could the destruction of the rain forests in South America affect the United States and your home town. How many areas of life could be affected? What is being done to protect the remaining rain forests in the United States? What can your family do today to help the environment?

Activity 2	Pollution Patrol: Pollution, especially of water, is the area of study. Students are exploring ways to remove pollutants in water through a variety of experiments. Visit your local water treatment facility or water district office to learn how clean water is provided to your community. If you are not on a town water system, where does your water come from? What steps can your family take to protect the water resources in your community?

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Activity 1	Water Wonders: Students are studying properties of water and the water (hydrologic) cycle. What part do green plants play in the water cycle? Try this fun experiment to learn more. Materials: Quart size zipper-type storage bag. Look around your yard for a green-leaved bush or tree. Avoid waxy-leaved plants. Why? Look for a plant that gets sun throughout most of the day. Without picking, carefully place a leaf into the zipper bag and zip the bag closed up to the stem of the leaf. Leave the bag for a period of 12 to 24 hours. What happened? Why? Where did the water in the bag come from? Where would this water have gone if the bag was not over the leaf?

Activity 2	Weather We Go: Students are exploring air properties as weather factors. Look at the weather page in your local news paper. What weather factors are listed? What do these factors have to do with air? What is meant by the term wind chill factor. Consider setting up a small weather station in your home. Simple inexpensive devices are available in local mall science stores to record wind speed, direction and temperature. Did you know that natural objects such as pine cones can be used to indicate humidity. Explore how pine cones can indicate humidity.

Activity 3	Rock and Roll: Rocks are made of minerals. Students are exploring ways to identify the minerals present in different types of rocks. Go on a rock hunting expedition. Observe any differences between rocks in your yard and rocks found at the beach. Collect different types of rocks and choose a criteria for sorting the rocks into piles. How do rocks form? Some rocks are made of distinct components. How did these components come together?

Activity 4	Worlds in Motion: Orbits of planets around the sun are explored. Students are creating models to demonstrate how an eclipse occurs. Work together to design an experiment to prove the moon orbits our Earth and not the sun.

Activity 5	Moon Shine: Phases of the moon are explored and predictions are being made as to when each moon phase will next occur. Keep a chart of the phases of the moon. Why do these changes occur? Look for Native American tales and tales from other ethnic groups which try to explain why these changes occur. Create your own story about how or why the moon changes "shape".

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Activity 1	Kitchen Magician: Students are exploring ways in which some properties of a material may change and others stay the same. Make a list of materials in your house which undergo physical and/or chemical change. The kitchen may be a good place to start. Look at the components of supper one night this week. What things underwent change? Were the changes physical (changes in state or appearance) or chemical (changes in composition)?

Activity 2	Lighten Up: Students explore and describe ways in which heat is produced by objects that give off light. The old saying goes Where there is heat there is fire. Is it then true that where there is light there is heat? How can you prove your answer?

Activity 3	Hot Stuff: Heat energy is explored. Have you noticed that when you sit on a cold seat for a while and then stand up the seat feels warm? Why? What happens to warm objects when placed with cold objects? Design an experiment to answer this question. Try the reverse.

Activity 4	Talking Cans: Students are investigating situations in which changes in matter also give off energy as light, heat and sound. Try this experiment: Collect two tin cans, vegetable or soup cans work well. Find a long length of string or twine, about 6 - 7 feet works well. Poke a hole in each can bottom and thread the string up into each can. Secure the string with a knot inside each can. With a partner walk apart from each other until the string is taunt. One of the partners whispers or talks into the can while the other partner listens with the other can. Could sound be heard? What happens when the string is loose or held between the fingers?



Activity 1	Family Ties: Students are to observe that living things can be classified into species on the basis of similarity in appearance and behavior. Visit a local nursery and greenhouse. Look at the many varieties of flowers and trees for sale. Select two different types of plants that look similar. On a note card record their scientific names from the label or tags. Also record why you think they are similar. Find two more pairs of plants and record the same information. Visit the library to research these plants further. Find out if these plants are the same species. Similar looking individuals do not necessary belong to the same specie.

Activity 2	Are You Me?: Students are to describe ways in which some organisms that lived long are similar to existing organisms, but some are quite different. Visit a museum where there is a fossil collection. Find some examples of fossils that resemble organisms found today. If you cannot find fossil collections, look for books on prehistoric times like a dinosaur book. Compare the types of insects, reptiles, fish and mammals found in the books to modern animals. How are these the same? How are these different? A great example for insect is the dragonfly. A great example for a plant is the Lycopodium family.

Activity 3	Palm Trees in Boston?: In this section students are to examine ways in which the different features of each species enable it to live and reproduce in a particular environment. Why are there no palm trees living wild in Boston? Find three different types of trees in your neighborhood. Be sure at least one tree is an evergreen. Observe each tree and record any features that give it the advantage to grow where you have found it.

Activity4	Really Big Shoe: Students observe that some of the variations within a species are acquired during the individual’s lifetime while other start with inherited tendencies. The big question for the week is this, Is shoe size an inherited trait? Record your answer and design an experiment to find the answer.



Activity 1	A Large Problem: Students are to communicate a problem, design a solution using drawings and words. Suppose someone came to your family and asked you to design a machine which could be brought out into the jungles and plains to weigh elephants. Work together to plan and design your machine. P.S. How much does an average adult elephant weigh, anyway?

Activity 2	Home Grown Genius: Students are to document how technologies have been developed by women and men from various racial and cultural backgrounds including individuals from Massachusetts. Visit a local museums or State Parks where there are technologies on exhibit. Are there inventions from the 1800’s which are still in use today? Select one technology to draw or create a model of. Have you ever thought of a machine or device to help perform a task easier or quicker?

Activity 3	Recycle or Not: Students are to give evidence that some materials can be recycled while others cannot using local recycling rules and laws to reflect this. Visit your community recycling station. Note down what materials are brought there for recycling. Find out what is not accepted for recycling and why. Select one of the materials not accepted for recycling and try to design some way to recycle it.