CURRICULUM

Science Club is divided into three 6-10 week units each year. Every unit has a particular theme for our experiments and investigations, from food to medicine. Each unit culminates in a big finale event or competition to wrap-up and celebrate!

These units were designed by Northwestern scientists and tested with Boys and Girls Club members and Chicago Public School students.

They are all free to download and adapt for your own classroom or afterschool club.

Email us at scienceinsociety@northwestern.edu to let us know if you plan to use them; we love to hear where they’ve traveled!

DOWNLOADABLE LESSONS

Science of Food

Each week, we experiment with a different junk food recipe (like potato chips, soda, and ice cream) and discuss the scientific principles and nutritional value behind our favorite snacks. For the final challenge, each group develops a new recipe, calculates the nutritional content of their invention, and a panel of food critics awards the best recipe.

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Medical Mystery

Sally, a fictional 13-year-old girl, suddenly becomes sick. We’ll work in small groups to diagnose Sally’s illness. We’ll learn about human health and medical skills such as measuring blood pressure and performing simple neurological exams. This builds scientific skills such as experimental design, data analysis, and forming evidence-based conclusions.

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NeuroSports

On Your Marks, Get Set, Go! NeuroSports introduces the field of neurobiology, learning how the brain and nervous system are involved in sports and athletic performance. We’ll design new, open-ended experiments to examine the role of reaction time, sidedness/handedness, depth perception, balance, and memory in sports. At the end of the module, we’ll help a struggling athlete improve their sports performance by using different measurement techniques, designing controlled experiments, and critically analyzing data.

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Get a Grip!

In this engineering-focused module, we design and build a simple prosthetic hand for a fictional girl in Afghanistan, named Laila. Each prosthesis is built from everyday, household materials and they must be able to pick up small objects and carry a bucket of water. We finish with a competition and race. In Get a Grip! youth learn the engineering design process, simple construction techniques, and how to critically analyze a design.

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Science: The Movie!

Let’s go to the movies! Learn about sound and vibrations. Test your neurophysiological response to music and measure the intensity of environmental sounds. Science: The Movie! culminates with groups re-engineering sound effects in a short 1960’s sci-fi movie clip.

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Clean Water Challenge

After an earthquake, a fictional town in Haiti loses access to clean, fresh water. We’ll discuss environmental and ecological issues and conduct water quality tests, identifying any potential pollutants. Then we’ll work together to design and engineer a water filter and purifier to remove pollutants and provide people with healthy drinking water.

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