Alverno Science Inquiry Activities

An Internet Resource

These activities are designed for use by teachers at all levels. Each of the activities is based on inquiry and discovery rather than being a "cookbook" laboratory. Students come up with their own hypotheses, test them, and evaluate their findings. We hope that these sites will help instructors by identifying systems that lend themselves to discovery activities, listing techniques that can be used to explore the systems, and suggesting methods for making a particular activity as meaningful as possible. Creation and maintenance of this web site was made possible by NSF-ILI Grant DUE 9750658. It is maintained by the Department of Biology at Alverno College.

Each activity lists the following:

• Level for which activity is most appropriate (although most can be modified easily for use with a different age or ability level).
• Time reqired for the activity.
• Objectives, the things that a student will be able to do after successfully completing an activity.
• Equipment needed for an activity. We have tried to include only activities that can be done with inexpensive, widely-available supplies. Where the source of a particular item is not obvious, we have included information on where it can be obtained.
• Instructions on conducting the activity to get you started. You will probably modify an activity to suit the needs of your students. These instructions are intended to be a source of ideas rather than a script.

Activities

Field Ecology on a Shoestring - Ideas for inexpensive ways to measure properties of the environment

Fish Physics - Make and test hypotheses about hydrodynamics and bouyancy

Nutrients and Plant Growth - Test how different variables affect the growth of duckweed

Mock Environmental Impact Statements

Soil and the Movement of Water - Use model soil columns to explore water infiltration, retention, and erosion

People and Water - Explore the physical properties of water and the relationship between humans and water

If you have any suggestions for improving an activity or the site itself, we would be grateful for your feedback. Please contact Becky Burton at rebecca.burton@alverno.edu.