Ooey Gooey! Making Sense of Scientific Inquiry (Module 1)

Background

This mission has two purposes: to introduce students to the processes of science and to illustrate how information is transmitted through the senses. During this mission, students will use their senses-seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching-to describe the properties of an object. Properties are those characteristics that describe an object, such as color, shape, and texture. For safety, the sense of taste will not be used in this module. After completing the mission, students will brainstorm about the brain, where the information gathered by the senses is processed. The brainstorming session prepares students for module 2, which focuses on the parts of the brain and what each part does.

Scientific inquiry has a distinct benefit for young students: It does not rely solely on traditional vehicles of learning, such as reading and listening. Children who learn best through hands-on activities and the visual arts also have an opportunity to excel.