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Does anyone know of any general lab websites that would be good for middle school? I have the topic information but need more hands on labs/activities and a quick search engine. Thanks! All the best, Joann

Hi Joann, there are several really good websites for hands-on lab activities, but without being specific on the topic, I am not sure exactly what you are looking for, so will assume that you want labs/investigations that students can do with “regular” materials versus having to purchase specialty items. One of my ultimate favorites is Steve Spangler at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiments . The exciting part of Steve’s website is the fact there are labs that are written out in a way that all students can follow them with success. If needed, he also has materials and kits available to purchase that contain all of the supplies you would need. In the alternative, there are also many videos of Steve doing the labs, so all students would be able to “experience the lab” even if they did not have the materials available to them. My middle school students love this site and often beg me to go to it and show them a new lab when we have an extra couple of minutes. I did a quick Google search for “Hands on middle school science labs” and found a couple of websites that are useable, but may need some modification in terms of how well they are written: http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/quick/middlesch.html , 149 labs available in a wide variety of topics. Just click and you are hyperlinked to the activity. The procedures are written okay and can be followed by middle school students pretty easily. The activities have a lot of potential, the actual write ups are just okay. http://www.mysciencebox.org/ contains lesson plans with activities by grade bands. Many of these activities are the “tried and true” labs that are written well enough for middle school students to follow, but they would have to read through a bit of curriculum to get there. These activities are a part of a “Box”, i.e. an “Ecology Box” that contains activities and lesson plans that deal with ecology. I would find the labs and modify them so they are strictly written as labs for students to follow. I am anxious to hear what labs you come up with and how they work out for you.

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/science-projects/c/1072/ This site has many projects for general, life, physical and Earth Science. I just found it, but from what I saw, most of them seem to be fairly easy to do with not too many requirements for expensive labatory equipment. I do not have a lab at all, so I am always looking for this type of lab to do with my middle school students. Maybe you can check it out. Hope it helps.