Experience Biology Elementary: Activity Supply List
Below is a list of lab supplies needed for each lesson in Experience Biology. For our elementary science classes we try to keep specialty lab supplies to a minimum in order to make the class and activities accessible for all families.
Week 1: What is Life?
Rock
Candle flame
Potted plant
Yeast in warm water
Mold growing on bread
Apple
Book
Week 2: The Building Blocks of Life
Colored pencils
Week 3: The Secret Code of Life
2 pieces of licorice
Bag of multi-colored mini-marshmallows
Toothpicks
Week 4: Fueled Up!
Scissors
Glue or glue stick
Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Week 5: What’s in a Name?
Scissors
Week 6: Biomes Everywhere!
Shoe box (or slightly larger-sized box)
Magazines (nature magazines are best)
Construction paper
Glue
Markers
Scissors
Other various art supplies
Week 7: Itsy Bitsy Teeny Tiny Creatures
2 petri dishes with nutrient agar (Find these at Home Science Tools)
Masking tape
Cotton swabs
Week 8: The Junk Drawer Kingdom
No materials needed
Week 9: The Fungus Among Us!
Very ripe banana
2 zip lock bags
1 teaspoon yeast
Week 10: What is a Plant?
Dry beans (lima beans or kidney beans work well for this activity)
Pint mason jar or other container
Potting soil (without added fertilizer)
Ruler
Week 11: The Wide World of Plants
No special supplies needed
Week 12: Mean, Green, Energy-Making Machines
Wax paper (optional)
Thin towel (optional)
Iron (optional)
Ironing board (optional)
Week 13: Roots & Shoots
2 white carnations
3 cups (such as drinking cups)
Food coloring
Sharp knife (be sure an adult helps with this!)
Week 14: The Reason for Flowers
Flower diagram
Colored pencils
2-3 different flowers (gladiola, lily, tulip, or daffodil would all work well)
Sharp knife
Week 15: It Begins With a Seed
Various fruits (tomato, olive, blackberry, apple, orange, peach, bell pepper)
Sharp knife
Hand lens
Week 16: Amazing Animals
Play dough
Pipe cleaner
Small wooden blocks
Week 17: Silly Sponges
Art supplies (markers, paint, crayons, etc.)
See activity guide for details.
Week 18: Wiggly Worms
Earthworm (purchase at a bait shop or find by digging one up in your backyard)
Pan with sides (a 9×13 inch baking pan would work well)
Ruler
Foil
Flashlight
Paper towels
Sandpaper
Paper
Week 19: Majestic Medusas and Patient Polyps
Coffee filters
Washable markers
Spray bottle with water
Paper streamers or ribbon
Glue
Stapler
Toilet paper
Week 20: Spiny-Skinned Savages
Image cards
Scissors
Paper
Week 21: Meddlesome Mollusks
Garden snail
Large jar or aquarium with lid
Ruler
Small kitchen scale (optional)
Magnifying glass
Various types of food
Week 22: Armored Arthropods and the Crabby Crustaceans
Pen or pencil
2-liter bottle (optional)
Week 23: Intrepid Insects & Spindly Spiders
Butterfly habitat with larvae (order ahead as you must order larvae separately)
Ruler
Magnifying glass
Week 24: The Vast World of Vertebrates
Poster board
Pens, markers, or other writing instruments
Scissors
Magazines or pictures from other sources
Week 25: Funky Fish
Envelope
Scissors
Tape or glue
Construction paper
Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Week 26: Amazing Amphibians
Option 1:
Frog eggs or young tadpoles
A small tank or large glass bowl (covered with ventilation)
Water conditioner
Frog and tadpole food
Option 2:
Grow-A-Frog Kit (comes with two tadpoles)
Week 27: Resplendent Reptiles
Poster board
Pens, markers, or colored pencils
Week 28: Blissful Birds
Orange
Sharp pencil
Twine
Lard
Seeds
Nuts
Raisins
Cheese
Week 29: Marvelous Mammals
2 large mixing bowls
Ice water
3 Ziplock bags (1-gallon size)
Duct tape
Lard or shortening
Week 30: Mini Mammals
Poster board
Drawing and coloring supplies
Magazines pictures of animals online to print