The Material World

Get up close with some interesting materials to learn how their physical properties are determined by particle-level chemical structures. Have fun with several meaningful activities, including making an electrical device run hot (and cold), making a plastic polymer sculpture, "teaching" metal to remember its shape, and changing the colors of crystals by their temperature!

This Launch level kit includes a full-color student workbook and a detailed teacher guide, with step-by-step instructions for both hands-on and reading-based activities designed to engage students in the particle level structures responsible for physical properties of materials. Both teacher and student will be able to open the box and start within minutes, and the kit will provide over 15 hours of engaging learning.

In this kit, the student will engage in these fun activities:

1. Use an electric current to produce a temperature gradient.
2. Find out how changing temperatures can melt and mold a polymer.
3. Study the behaviors and atoms of metals using a strange sample.
4. Explore the unique heat-sensitive properties of LCD paper.
5. Use your cumulative knowledge to make a model of a thermoelectric generator.

Use The Material World lab kit to answer questions such as:

• Why do plastics have a wide variety of properties?
• What gives metals the ability to be hammered, drawn, and bent?
• How do LCD sheets and screens change color?
• How does a thermoelectric generator work?

The Material World kit is a part of the Science Unlocked Launch series and is recommended for grades 8-12.

Interested in learning more? Check out our Student Workbook Sample and Teacher Guide Sample! 

This kit contains:

• 1 Battery, 9-volt
• 1 Battery Cap
• 1 Beaker
• 1 Stirring Rod
• 1 LCD Paper
• 1 Nitinol Wire
• 1 Thermoelectric Generator
• 1 Thermometer
• 1 Thermoplastic Polymer Pellets

You will also need:

• Colored pencils, markers, or crayons (optional)
• Ice
• Method for heating water
• Scissors or wire strippers
• Water

• Learning outcome: Get up close with some interesting materials to learn how their physical properties are determined by particle-level chemical structures.
• NGSS science standards alignment
• HS-PS2-6 Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.