Our favorite free online resources for science teachers
Elementary, Middle, High School
Today, more than ever, teachers need flexible resources they can use across learning environments.
As you transition back (and forth) to in-person learning, our online resources give you creative ways to maximize learning and keep students engaged, no matter where they are. Keep students of all ages on track with these resources! Check all the links below to find out what’s new. Then, come back often for updates, and don’t forget to bookmark the page for quick access!
You can use the tools for your in-class or remote learning plans; either way, your students will feel inspired!
Without further ado, we present to you our online resource roundup:
Disney, Kennedy Space Center free online activities
Disney and the Kennedy Space Center are stepping in to help keep students busy while schools remain closed. Kennedy Space Center has launched science lessons on Facebook Live. KSC teaches lessons on rocketry from the Saturn 5 center and teaches students how to make rockets at home from recycled materials that are probably lying around the house.
NASA Virtual Tour
Visitors view the NASA facility in virtual reality. Get an inside look at NASA Langley Research Center’s Virtual Tour.
Prodigy
The engaging, curriculum-aligned math platform is loved by over 50 million students, teachers, and admins. No cost, ever. Easily motivate 1st to 8th-grade students to learn and practice math. Prodigy is accessible at home or in class!
Mystery Science
Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science! Popular K-5 science curriculum. Next Generation Science Standards and supports Common Core.
PhET Science Simulations
PhET provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. PhET extensively tests and evaluates each simulation to ensure educational effectiveness. These tests include student interviews and observation of simulation use in classrooms.
National Geographic Kids
Find amazing facts about animals, science, history, and space, along with fun competitions, games, and more from National Geographic Kids.
National Education Association Lesson Plans
A place where teachers, parents, school support professionals, and community members share ideas and resources to improve student success. It is free and open to all!
Stem Rising
The U.S. Department of Energy’s STEM Rising is an initiative to inspire, educate, and spark an upwards trajectory to lifelong success in STEM through sharing the Department’s National Labs, National Nuclear Security Administration, and program office’s programs, resources, competitions, events, internship opportunities and more. View STEM resources for students, teachers, and the energy workforce on this site and sign up for the monthly newsletter to keep in touch.
Kids Discover
This is a cross-curricular online platform for Elementary and Middle School learners. You can sign up for a free account or subscribe to one of their paid plans.
Exploratorium
From educational media to classroom activities, from a behind-the-scenes look at the museum’s exhibits to the Explore section, the Exploratorium’s teaching tools support educators and provide hundreds of ways to play and learn. For all ages, in both formal and informal learning settings, these essential tools spark curiosity, exploration, and understanding.
TED Ed
To support students, parents, and teachers, TED-Ed is working with expert educators and TED speakers throughout the world to create and share high-quality, interactive, video-based lessons daily.
You can also sign up for their newsletter to get lesson plans organized by age group that spans all subjects delivered to your inbox every day. Each newsletter will also include insights and tips collected from TED-Ed’s global community of students, parents, and teachers.
NSTA Daily Do
Daily resources are available from NSTA. In this new age of distance learning, students must be provided with experiences with relevant, intriguing phenomena that invite them to engage in science learning and help them to answer questions about what they’ve observed.
Both parents and teachers want students to do science outside of the classroom, and teachers need to give them something to figure out. The NSTA Daily Do does both.
Science News for Students and the Science News in High Schools Digital Library
A variety of free, age-appropriate STEM resources for kids from 5th through 12th grades.
Stay up to date on the latest news and science discoveries with articles written in a kid-friendly way. Science News for Students is a free, award-winning online publication dedicated to providing age-appropriate science news and resources to learners, parents, and educators.
The Science News in High Schools Digital Library has dozens upon dozens of original STEM-related exercises, all tied to Science News articles. Whether you're looking for material about evolution, space, chemistry, climate change, public health, or anything in between — they've got you covered. Use these resources to engage students with core high school concepts or to build virtual lessons for your students.
BioRender
This tool helps scientists create and share beautiful, professional scientific figures. It helps educators represent science with intuitive visuals that can be understood by everyone. The platform uses a standard visual language for science, so communication is seamless. Best of all, anyone can use it - no drawing or design skills required.
Ward's World
Shameless plug alert! Of course, we don't think any list of free resources to inspire students is complete without Ward's World. Ward's World is your go-to resource for free science education activities, classroom and lab safety information, science articles, lesson plans, how-to videos, and much more.
Ward's Digital Slides
Zoom, focus, measure, and annotate real biology slides virtually from any device with an internet connection. Five complete digital slides libraries that make to supplement traditional biology labs with digital precision.
Request a Free Demo: https://www.wardsci.com/cms/digital_slides_info_form
Learn More: https://www.wardsci.com/cms/biology_digital_slides
NewPath Online Learning System
Flexibly designed for use in one-to-one blended and traditional classrooms, NewPath's Online Learning System is a ready-to-use curriculum resource. The system provides everything teachers need to easily assess, instruct, present and assign lessons and activities as well as track and report student progress.
Learn More: https://www.wardsci.com/store/catalog/product.jsp?product_id=16938287
COVID-19 Education Coalition
To help you keep the learning going, a coalition of education organizations has curated free tools, strategies, tips, and best practices for teaching online. These resources provide information to teachers and parents on how schools can prepare for long-term closures, make remote learning a meaningful experience, ensure equity as they move to online learning, and how to adequately supervise and help educate children at home. Learn more about the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
Bored Teachers
63+ Websites for Middle School Students To Continue Learning at Home. Covering all subjects, from math to science, language arts, social studies, art, and music, these are some of the best educational resources you can find on the internet for middle schoolers.
Around the Kampfire
This website, authored by a second-grade teacher, is designed to create new ways of learning for students, share with other teachers, inspire, and be inspired! On the site, you will find a huge list of (now over 120) free educational websites for learning at home with resources and online activities you can easily assign to your students to do remotely.
PBS Learning Media
PBS and its partners have curated, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more just for teachers like you. Explore natural phenomena and scientific practices with these tools. Set up your own assignments, projects, classes, and favorites. You can watch a video recording of their distance learning webinar here.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections.
Khan Academy
Students practice at their own pace, first filling in gaps in their understanding and then accelerating their learning. Khan Academy's Library of standards-aligned practice and lessons covers math K-12 through early college, grammar, science, history, AP®, SAT®, and more. It's all free for learners and teachers.
EdX
EdX removes the barriers of cost, location, and access. Fulfilling the demand for people to learn on their own terms, edX is reimagining the possibilities of education, providing the highest-quality, stackable learning experiences, including the groundbreaking MicroMasters® programs. Supporting learners at every stage, whether entering the job market, changing fields, seeking a promotion, or exploring new interests, edX delivers courses for curious minds on topics ranging from data and computer science to leadership and communications. EdX is where you go to learn.
Canvas Network
Lifelong learning and professional development for educators go hand-in-hand with Canvas Network's open, online courses, taught by experts and institutions worldwide.
Stay tuned for future posts of our must-see list of online activities and resources for teachers planning remote learning for their students during school closure, illness, or during summer break.
