Free science resources for educators and parents

Schools around the world have closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, leaving parents and teachers scrambling to figure out how kids can learn at home. We can help! Science News Explores and the Science News in High Schools Digital Library offer a variety of free, age-appropriate STEM resources for kids from fifth through 12th grades. 

Science News Explores 

a screenshot showing the Science News Explores homepage layout

Stay up to date on the latest news and science discoveries with articles written in a kid-friendly way. Science News Explores offers helpful resources for at-home learning, including:

  • Experiments. Learn science by doing science! Using real scientific research projects as a guide, Science News Explores shows kids how to apply the scientific method to make their own experiments at home.
  • Explainers. Ever wonder how scientists read brain activity, or how the greenhouse effect works? Use this series of articles to explore core science concepts behind the news, including the new coronavirus.  
  • Discussion Questions. Some articles come with questions that students can answer before, during and after reading to enhance comprehension.
  • Let’s learn about. This new series mixes STEM learning and fun. Stories are paired with relevant educational resources, a new word find puzzle and fun content such as videos from elsewhere on the Web. 

For more info on the free resources Science News Explores offers, check out our guide for kids and parents.

Science News in High Schools

The Science News in High Schools Digital Library has dozens upon dozens of original STEM-related exercises, all tied to Science News articles. Whether you’re looking for material about evolution, space, chemistry, climate change, public health or anything in between — we’ve got you covered. Use these resources to engage students with core high school concepts or to build virtual lessons for your students.

  • Comprehension questions and Discussion prompts. Ask students to read an article and answer the related questions to check their comprehension, or engage them in a conversation that makes connections to current events and across fields of science.
  • Activities. Experiments, along with exercises on data analysis, diagramming and designing research projects, put students at the center of their learning. Use these activities at home or to increase virtual collaboration among students.
  • Paired articles. Most exercises connect to a Science News article and a Science News Explores version, written at a lower reading level, to best meet each child’s needs.
  • Student worksheets and answer keys. Downloadable worksheets are easy to print out, and answer keys make it simple to check the work.

Search the Digital Library using any keyword to find resources to engage your kids. You can also use the filters to narrow by exercise type, science topic and NGSS-DCI Alignment codes.

The Science News in High Schools program serves nearly 5,000 public high schools across the United States and worldwide. If you’re interested in receiving free Science News magazines plus educator resources next school year, sign up here.

We hope these resources help you through these challenging times. Have a question or a suggestion about these resources? E-mail feedback@sciencenews.org.