Materials you need to Purchase

SHARED MATERIALS

If you have a place in your school that teachers can check out equipment, it is cost effective to purchase quantities of equipment that is used all the time. First go through the curriculum and then decide what units you will do, then determine the materials needed. It is recommended that you obtain sets of the equipment for students to work in groups. Sets of beakers, thermometers, and other basic lab materials are used throughout the entire program.

The Math/Science Nucleus can also customize materials for schools. Below are examples of some of the materials that you can order directly from our online catalog. However, we can make other materials as kits. We suggest that if you are interested in materials in a trunk or larger boxes, we can develop a program for your school. Request more information.

APPLIED SCIENCE - PHYSICS (KB) - Students learn about the force of magnetism. Included are 30 magnetic wands, 30 magnetic rings, and 30 magnetic marbles

PLATE TECTONIC CYCLE - VOLCANOES (K) - Learn that volcanoes produce rocks and that volcanic rocks produce different types of rocks. Module contains 15 bags with the following materials in each: basalt, sea urchin spines, pumice, diatomite, obsidian, styrofoam, and sea cookie.

LIFE CYCLE - ORGANISMS (KA) 8 containers of plastic animals for lab designed to investigate different organisms and classify objects.

LIFE CYCLE - ORGANISMS (KB) 8 bags of assorted shells (snails, clams, scallops, etc.) are used in lab to investigate and compare different shells.

APPLIED SCIENCE - SCIENCE AND MATH (1A) - Students learn how to use different types of magnifiers. Module includes 8 small 5x magnifiers, 8 large magnifiers, eight 3x magnifiers, and eight 15x magnifiers. Also includes 8 small bags of specimens including a sea cookie, marine snail, sea star, and coral.

UNIVERSE CYCLE - UNIVERSE (1) - Students compare objects in space that reflect and create light. Includes 15 comet balls and 2 microchip light toys.

LIFE CYCLE - PLANTS (1A) 8 samples of six different examples of how seeds are dispersed.

LIFE CYCLE - PLANTS (1B) - 8 stem cross-sections are used to explore plant stems and flowers.

LIFE CYCLE - NATURAL ENVIRONMENT (1A) 8 samples each of branch, clams, moss, plastic model of a mammal, coral, and seaweed which are used to explore land and water environments.

APPLIED SCIENCE - SCIENCE AND MATH (2A) - Introduce the concepts of prediction and estimation. Module includes materials for 6 stations including: (1) 2 different 5 minute timers; (2) 1 large piece of shale, 1 small piece of basalt; (3) abalone, 2 types of marine snails; (4) 1 sand dollar, 1 mushroom coral, (5) 2 wooden animal cut outs; and (6) 1 piece of pyrite and 1 quartz geode

APPLIED SCIENCE - SCIENCE AND MATH (2B) - Students describe and recognize 2 and 3 dimensional patterns using various cookie cutters. Includes 8 sets of 3 different cookie cutters.

APPLIED SCIENCE - SCIENCE AND MATH (2C) - Discover the symmetry of nature by looking at different stations. Module includes 1 of each of the following: container of bubbles, glass sponge, sea cookie, sand dollar, sea star, snail shell, pyrite, coral, quartz, bivalve, slice of tree, red pecten, abalone and a white clam.

APPLIED SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY (2B) - Discover the mysteries of computer chips. Includes 15 computer chips inside magnifying boxes, 1 piece of silicon, 1 silicon wafer and 1 circuit board.

LIFE CYCLE - HUMAN BIOLOGY (2A) 1 medium sized sample each of African, European, and Asian hair allow students to observe different hair types; 24 zip lock bags included for subdivision

LIFE CYCLE - PLANTS (2B) 8 sets of 8 different plant parts (seeds, cones, bark,) are used to explore the diversity of plants and to classify different plants.

APPLIED SCIENCE - SCIENCE AND MATH (3A) - Investigate and predict the linear measurements of different objects. Module includes 8 packets with each of the following in a plastic bag: a magnifier cube, abalone shell, calcite, scallop, high spiral snail, sea urchin spine, flower coral, leaf, and an animal shape.

APPLIED SCIENCE - PHYSICS (3B) - Discover the phenomenon of static electricity using common objects. Includes 30 plastic rods, bag of balloons, 8 plastic combs, 8 bags of confetti, 8 pieces of cloth, and 8 fluorescent tubes.

PLATE TECTONIC CYCLE - VOLCANOES (3) - Students study four different volcanoes and determine if all volcanic rocks are the same. Module contains 4 labeled bags each with 8 small-medium samples of the following materials: Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta volcanic rocks, Clearlake Obsidian, and Mono Lake Pumice.

LIFE CYCLE - ORGANISMS (3A) Discover different marine invertebrates and compare and contrast their similarities with 8 packets (each includes a sponge, barnacle, snail, sea cookie, clam, and coral).

LIFE CYCLE - ORGANISMS (3B) Discover different arthropods. Kit contains 1 horseshoe crab and 8 small crabs. 8 bags of different insects, bugs, and non-arthropods.

LIFE CYCLE - PLANTS (3B) 8 different samples of cellulose are packaged for 7 stations to detect cellulose of plants in products.

LIFE CYCLE - NATURAL ENVIRONMENT (3B) 8 bags of 7 different marine gastropod carnivores and herbivores, so students can demonstrate a food web in an ocean biome.

FOURTH GRADE MATERIALS

APPLIED SCIENCE - SCIENCE AND MATH (4C) - Experience the importance of perception and the role that vision plays in our lives. Module includes 8 bags containing 4 different shapes used in experiment.

UNIVERSE CYCLE - GEOGRAPHY (4) - Investigate the classification of soil and plot the soil data from the San Francisco Bay Area. Module contains 1 bag of 10 sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. Recommend this module be customized to local areas. (80 small bags are included to subdivide materials if needed)

WATER CYCLE - WATER (4) - Learn the properties of water and experiment with surface tension. Module includes 8 of each of glass capillary tubes, pins, plexiglass tubing, closed tubes and a package of straws

LIFE CYCLE - ORGANISMS (4B) 8 bags of 10 specimens including sponge, coral, clam, mussel, scallop, snail, sea cookie, seastar, sea urchin test, and barnacle are used to compare, and contrast invertebrate specimens.

LIFE CYCLE - NATURAL ENVIRONMENT (4B) Learn about the organisms that live in the San Francisco Bay and create a mud fauna food web with 8 bags of San Francisco Bay fauna.

FIFTH GRADE MATERIALS

APPLIED SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY (5A) - Explore visible light and learn about other types of electromagnetic waves. Module includes 8 sets with each of the following in a plastic bag: prism, quartz, mirrors, cube magnifier, convex lens, ulexite, and calcite.

APPLIED SCIENCE - BUILT ENVIRONMENT (5) - Learn about different types of light bulbs and how they work. Starter kit includes 8 bag with 4 different types of light bulbs.

UNIVERSE CYCLE - SOLAR SYSTEM (5) - Discuss meteorites and compare them to Earth rocks. Module contains 8 pieces of the following rocks: granite, basalt, obsidian, sandstone, schist and 8 meteorites.

WATER CYCLE - OCEANS (5) - Illustrate what is under the oceans. Module may include 8 copies of a seismic profile or echo soundings and 8 samples from each of the Bahamas, Monterey Canyon, manganese crust, and Southern California. Samples may be representative of an area.

LIFE CYCLE - PLANTS (5B) 8 specimens of 7 different male and female plant parts are used to determine male and female parts; teacher needs to collect fresh flowers and fruits to complete lab.

LIFE CYCLE - NATURAL ENVIRONMENT (5A) 8 bags of assorted corals are used to observe, explore, and distinguish the different types of corals.

WATER CYCLE - WATER (6) - Learn about porosity and permeability using 4 different sands. Includes a large bag of sand from Ocean Beach, Half Moon Bay, Montara, Rodeo Beach - California includes 36 small bags.

LIFE CYCLE - NATURAL ENVIRONMENT (6A) 8 labeled bags each of serpentinite and granite soil; teacher needs to collect and add school soil to kit.

LIFE CYCLE - NATURAL ENVIRONMENT (6B) 8 sets of plant communities from granitic and serpentinite environments.

Materials to ask for