Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Science curriculum for K—5th grades.

90 sec
  • Hands-on — lead students in the doing of science and engineering.
  • Standards-aligned science lessons — Cover core standards in 1-2 hours of science per week.
  • Less prep, more learning — prep in minutes not hours. Captivate your students with short videos and discussion questions.

Sign up now to try Mystery Science for free.

Sign up

Learn more

Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Sign up now for tons of free lessons like this one!

Back

Mini-lessons

Video Bonus Vote
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Slide Image
This looks like a rainbow coming through a window! But this rainbow isn’t made of light. What do you think it’s made of?
5
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
These fake rainbows are made from hundreds of pieces of string! They’re made by Mexican-born artist Gabriel Dawe.
5
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
You can make rainbow string art, too, if you have some pushpins (or nails) to wrap colorful string around!
5
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Most people use crayons like this when coloring rainbows. But if you get crayons HOT, there’s another way to make a rainbow...
4
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Hot crayons melt—so the crayons can drip and create a rainbow! This artist is using a special tool that blows REALLY hot air!
4
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Slide Image
Can you tell what this is a picture of? (It’s a close-up picture of something you’ve probably seen before!)
3
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
They’re soap bubbles, which have rainbow colors! A single bubble is round, but when many are next to each other, they look like this.
3
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Look at this video an artist made! If you look closely at soap bubbles, you may notice the liquid and colors moving and swirling.
3
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Watch how the light moves as people turn the glass shapes. But if you add even more glass, something else happens (next slide)...
2
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
This art is also made using light and glass! Different kinds of glass are tilted in just the right way to make amazing colors on the walls.
2
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Shadows are normally gray or black. Can you think of any way to get a shadow to be a different color, like pink?
1
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Gray shadows are made when white light shines on things. But if you use blue, green, and red lights, they make shadows like these!
1
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?

Voting for this episode is now closed. Would you like to vote on the most recent poll?

I pulled three questions from my jar. Which question do you want to explore next week?

  • Why do lightbulbs get hot?

    -Lyric, 3rd Grade

  • How are pianos made?

    -Vivian, 1st Grade

  • How high can birds fly?

    -Nova, 2nd Grade

Looking for a hands-on activity?

Try out a hands-on extension activity from Mystery Science.

View Hands-on Activity