The Kill-A-Watt power meter measures and records appliance power consumption and calculates power cost based on local power companies’ price per kilowatt. Students can investigate “standby power”, and explore the energy consumed by appliances even when they are turned off.

This hands-on kit helps students physically model the motions of the Earth and Moon to understand day and night, lunar phases, and the interactions between the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Using a bright lamp to represent the Sun and handheld “Moon” spheres, students move, rotate, and observe light and shadow directly—turning abstract astronomy concepts into a concrete, memorable experience.

In this activity, each student represents the Earth while holding a small “Moon” model at arm’s length. By rotating their bodies and moving the Moon around them, students can observe how sunlight reflects off the Moon and how different viewing angles create the phases we see from Earth. The model also demonstrates the cause of day and night as Earth rotates and highlights how the Moon orbits Earth over time.

The activity is designed as a teacher-guided, interactive investigation where students test ideas through movement and observation, compare explanations with classmates, and develop generalizations about how the positions and motions of celestial objects produce observable phenomena such as moon phases, eclipses, and tides.

This kit also includes Mahina Pahu Waiwai – Phases of the Moon.

The LEGO SPIKE Prime Kit is a hands-on robotics and coding platform that helps middle school students explore engineering, computer science, and physical science concepts through active problem-solving. Combining familiar LEGO building elements with motors, sensors, and block-based coding, the kit allows students to design, build, test, and improve interactive systems.

In the classroom, SPIKE is especially effective for engaging students in the engineering design process. Students define problems, build prototypes, write simple programs to control behavior, and iterate based on test results. Projects naturally integrate science concepts such as motion, forces, and energy with computational thinking skills like sequencing, loops, conditionals, and debugging.

littleBits are just what they sound like! Little bits of technology that can be magnetically attached together to make just about any electronics-based maker project. The STEAM Student Set includes all the bits to occupy 3 students, or 6+ if grouped. The set contains 19 Bits and 45 Accessories, 8 Challenges, 6 Step-by-Step Resources, and an Invention Guide Book. Even better, a wealth of community-created content and tips are just a Google search away!

From the manufacturer:

This Classroom Attractions Magnet Lab providess educators with the tools they need to implement a comprehensive magnet study program. With the easy to use educational guide, teachers will have all the tools necessary to present an effective and creative magnetism unit. Each set contains materials for work groups of five to ten students and is packaged in a convenient storage box. The Level 2 Classroom Attractions is recommended for ages 6 to 9 and grades 1st to 3rd.

• Classroom kit provides all the magnets and accessories to complement a curriculum-based science program
• Builds foundational physical and earth science knowledge for students ages 6 to 9
• Included teacher’s guide helps create an effective study program that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards

This hands-on Magnetism Discovery Kit gives students the tools to investigate magnetic forces, fields, and interactions through direct experimentation. The kit includes a wide variety of magnets and magnetic materials—bar magnets, ring magnets, horseshoe magnets, magnetic chips, compasses, and magnet blocks—along with four Eisco Magnetic Field Demonstrators that allow students to visualize otherwise invisible magnetic field patterns.

Students can explore how magnets attract and repel, identify magnetic poles, and investigate how magnetic forces act at a distance. Using the magnetic field demonstrator, learners can observe how iron filings or magnetic indicators align to reveal the shape and direction of magnetic fields. These experiences help students connect observations to scientific models and develop an understanding of magnetic interactions.

From the publisher:

Learn the phases of the moon by shape and name with the Mahina Pahu Waiwai!

This kit is a great introduction to observation of the moon, keiki and makua work together to identify each phase and journal their findings.

Each mahina (month) consists of 30 moon phases. These phases are grouped into three periods called anahulu: Ho‘onui, Poepoe, and Hō‘emi. There are 10 moon phases in every anahulu.

Hoʻonui: The moon is growing larger.

Poepoe: The moon is round.

Hōʻemi: The moon is getting smaller.

Our kūpuna developed a close pilina (relationship) with the natural world through generations of kilo (observation). With this ‘ike, they would conduct their lives based on what they observed. Planting, harvesting, fishing, and family planning were determined by the moon phases.

With this kit, we hope to strengthen your pilina with the moon and incorporate it into your daily life.

This pahu waiwai (resource box) includes materials curated by the kumu (teacher) of Kūlaniākea to perpetuate ʻike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge) starting with our kūpuna (ancestor) in training, our keiki (child, offspring, descendent).

From the publisher:

Empower your students to design, collaborate, and create amazing things you never thought possible with MakerBot in the Classroom: An Introduction to 3D Printing and Design. Packed with resources, MakerBot in the Classroom gives you the basics of 3D printing and design as well as ideas, projects, and activities for integrating 3D printers in your curriculum.

Compiled by MakerBot Education

The MakerBot SKETCH is a classroom-friendly 3D printer designed to bring ideas to life through hands-on modeling, engineering, and iteration. With an intuitive interface, enclosed print chamber, and compatibility with cloud-based software (MakerBot CloudPrint), SKETCH allows students to design and fabricate real prototypes safely and reliably. Its manageable size and quiet operation make it ideal for classroom use, from daily STEM activities to long-term engineering projects.

MakeyMakey is a small circuit board that is connected to a computer via USB cable. The computer thinks that the circuit board is the actual keyboard! With alligator clips, students can attach various conductive objects to the circuit boards to design their own keyboards!

Normally, computer games and musical instruments are played using the standard keyboard. But with their very own MakeyMakey keyboards, just imagine the possibilities for students to design computer game controllers or musical instruments! MakeyMakeys have long been a student favorite for experiencing the engineering design process, learning about conductive and insulating materials, and as an introduction to circuitry.

The Mechanical Wave Generator Kit from Arbor Scientific is a hands-on kit that brings wave behavior to life in a tangible and engaging way. Designed for classroom demonstrations and student-led investigations, this bundle includes the Wave Spring, Longitudinal Wave Spring, and the Wave Motion String, providing a full toolkit for modeling transverse and longitudinal waves, reflection, interference, and energy transfer through different media.

The Micro:bit Club Kit is a flexible, hands-on toolkit for introducing middle school students to computer science, engineering, and physical computing. Centered around the micro:bit microcontroller, the kit allows students to program, test, and iterate interactive systems that respond to inputs such as buttons, light, motion, and sound.

This kit is especially well suited for clubs, classroom rotations, and short design challenges. Students can quickly move from writing simple programs to building data-driven devices, reinforcing the idea that code is a tool for investigating and solving real-world problems. Activities naturally blend computational thinking with science concepts like data collection, patterns, and cause-and-effect relationships.

This 24-piece set of professionally prepared mineral thin section slides brings the world of geology into sharp focus for middle school students. Viewed under a standard light microscope, each slide reveals crystal structures, cleavage patterns, grain boundaries, and optical properties—offering a rich, hands-on experience with the composition and formation of Earth’s materials.

The mini version of the Straw Rocket Launcher! Launch lightweight “rockets” made from drinking straws while investigating Newton’s laws, aerodynamics, and iterative design. The Pitsco Straw Rocket Launcher lets students rapidly prototype, test, and refine their own rockets by adjusting fin shape, mass, and launch angle—turning the classroom into a low-cost wind-tunnel and ballistics lab.

Comes with the Straw Rockets Getting Started Classroom Package, including precision straws, index cards, and clay.

The Mini Wave Buoy Kit is a hands-on data collection tool that allows middle school students to investigate wave motion using real sensor data, scaled down for classroom use. Designed to replicate the kind of measurements collected by community science projects like Backyard Buoys, this kit helps students explore how waves behave, how they can be measured, and why wave data matters.

The buoy contains a compact sensor module housed in a floating body. When placed in water—such as a classroom container or the STEM Pre-Academy Wave Tank—it records motion that can be used to analyze wave height, frequency, and patterns over time. Students can generate waves, collect data, and compare results across trials, connecting physical motion to quantitative evidence.