STAO has thousands of resources available for Ontario teachers. Members should login to see the full suite of available resources.
Use the search filters to sort by resource or media type, grade level, or strands or other topics. You can also search using the search box on the left of your screen, or simply by scrolling through the available resources.
Categories: Lab/Student Activity
The Moon is visible at some point during most nights. If you observed the Moon from one night to the next you would notice that the Moon rises 50 min later each night. With close observation you would see a little bit more or a little bit less of the Moon each night,... read moreCategories: Lab/Student Activity
Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, CO2(g), which contributes to the greenhouse effect and hence to climate change. Burning some fossil fuels also releases nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides. These gases react with moisture in the air to produce acid... read moreCategories: Lab/Student Activity
We are most accustomed to making observations directly with our eyes. Students therefore often find it conceptually challenging to comprehend the reasoning and logic used by scientists studying atoms that they cannot directly see. This activity allows the students to... read moreCategories: Lab/Student Activity, Teacher Demonstration
In this activity, student mix a given quantity of salt with a fixed volume of water. Mass and volume measurements are made before and after mixing to determine if these quantities change. Students observe that mass is conserved during dissolving while volume is... read moreCategories: Lab/Student Activity, Teacher Demonstration
Prior to Thomson’s work it was thought that the atoms of each element were unique, invisible particles, or that atoms were made of subatomic particles that had significant mass compared to the atom as a whole. Thomson used Crookes tubes to disprove both of these ideas... read moreCategories: Lab/Student Activity, Teacher Demonstration
This activity is a good opportunity for students to exercise their hypothesis-generating skills, practice making quantitative observations, and apply what they have learned about the fire triangle and the gas tests. Revisit the fire triangle with students, explaining... read moreCategories: Lab/Student Activity, Teacher Demonstration
This demo shows how flakes of iron can be extracted from iron-fortified cereals with the use of a strong magnet. The demo shows a physical separation process and provides students with a good example of how one component (the iron) can be separated from a heterogenous... read moreCategories: Teacher Demonstration
This demonstration reviews the concept of density. It examines why certain objects float or sink in water and highlights some interesting information about cola versus diet cola soft drinks. read moreCategories: Teacher Demonstration
In this demonstration, a peeled potato is cut into the form of a candle and an almond slice is used as the candle’s “wick.” The teacher lights the almond slice on fire and it burns. The students see the object, and make observations about it. Then the teacher blows... read moreCategories: Teacher Demonstration
Although all students know that it is essential to wear safety goggles during many science investigations, it can be helpful to provide a powerful demonstration showing why this is so important. This quick and easy demonstration can illustrate the necessity of... read more