Sources used for this story include: “Rai… Heaven: Where Rocks Go Wandering,” by Tim Cahill (National Geographic). The world still holds many wonders that science—so far— cannot explain. As you learn about the three mysteries described, see if you can hypothesize any scientific...

As a child, Joseph Priestley noticed something that would influence the rest of his life: If you keep a bug in a jar for too long, it will die. At the time Joseph Priestley didn’t understand why that was true—nobody did. No one really studied the air; it was something everyone took for granted.

In 1927 a Roman Catholic priest and scientist Georges Lemaitre proposed what later became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe, based on work by Edwin Hubble who theorized and then proved that the Universe was getting bigger and bigger. Many scientists have discovered other...

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Cork and Needle Compass....

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Story, "The Power of Water" Optional: A computer with Internet access, and a large monitor or digital projector Preparation for Activity Read the story and prepare to share it with the group. Read the discussion questions....

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Pennies (one per participant) Drinking straws Construction paper, lightweight cardboard, or manila folders Scissors, including left-handed scissors Tape String Clean, recyclable objects such as plastic yogurt lids, aluminum or tin cans, etc.

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 1, Building a Solar Oven - Instructions Cardboard pizza box, a ruler, a marker, a box knife or sharp scissors, aluminum foil, black construction paper, clear plastic wrap, and glue A stick, large straw, or wooden spoon A tin pie pla...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Clear glass jar with metal lid A hammer and a nail, and modeling clay A large marshmallow and a plastic straw, for each participant who will try the experiment (Optional: Kitchen vacuum sealer may be used instead) Preparation for Activity Using the...

From The Kids' Book of Awesome Stuff (Brotman-Marshfield Curriculum, June 2004). Used with permission. Take a deep breath. The air you just breathed in is different from the air you just breathed out. The air you breathed out is a gas that can suffocate you if too much of it gets in the air. That...

We gratefully acknowledge Dawn Publications for permission to use the text of the children's picture book The Tree in the Ancient Forest by Carol Reed-Jones. This is the ancient forest. This is the three-hundred-year-old tree That grows in the ancient forest....

A Lamp in Every Corner (Boston: Skinner House, 2004). On a day not so very long ago, in a place not so very far away, a grass seed lay waiting. All through the cold, dark days of winter the seed waited, covered by a blanket of earth....

Excerpted from Worshipping Together with Questioning Minds, by Sophia Lyon Fahs. Copyright (C) 1965 by Sophia Lyon Fahs. Reprinted by permission of Beacon Press, Boston. Two first-person anecdotes from Fahs' experiences as a religious educator, each followed by her analysis....

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Computer with Internet access and a large monitor or a digital projector Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity If you will use the Internet to lead the children in researching water issues in your area, scout websites in advance....

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Candle, candle holder, and saucer for each participant Matches or lighter Preparation for Activity Make sure a candle with an open flame is allowed in your religious education space. Set candles firmly in candle holders. Set each candle holder on a...

Immanuel Kant, a key figure in the field of philosophy, was born in what is now Germany. He grew up in a Lutheran household, part of a family that particularly emphasized piety and vigorous religious devotion. At the age of 16, he enrolled at the University of Konigsberg, and went on to spend his...

Sources used: Encognitive.com on YouTube. "Linus Pauling: Nature of the Universe." Marshall Klarfeld. "Linus Pauling speaks." on YouTube. Charles Hartshorne. Man's Vision of God and the Logic of Theism. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1964. Unitarian Universalist Historical Society....

There was once a girl who loved to write stories and poems. She often wrote about the land and birds around her home. Her name was Rachel Louise Carson and she was born in 1907. When Rachel grew up she became a writer and a scientist. Rachel wrote wonderful stories and she always explained the...

About two hundred years ago, lots of people in North America and in Europe were discovering all kinds of wondrous things in the ground. They found coal to burn for fuel, iron for making machinery, nickel for creating tools and candlesticks and other useful items....

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity A tea light candle and a tall, cylindrical container (such as an empty salt or oatmeal container) for each team of three or four participants A lighter or matches, and extinguisher Preparation for Activity Try the experiment on your own so you are...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Raw potatoes (one for each team of two or three participants) Plastic drinking straws (one for each participant) Preparation for Activity Try this experiment to become familiar with the process. Description of Activity Form teams of two or three...