Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Science curriculum for K—5th grades.

90 sec
  • Hands-on — lead students in the doing of science and engineering.
  • Standards-aligned science lessons — Cover core standards in 1-2 hours of science per week.
  • Less prep, more learning — prep in minutes not hours. Captivate your students with short videos and discussion questions.

Sign up now to try Mystery Science for free.

Sign up

Learn more

Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Sign up now for tons of free lessons like this one!

Back

Mini-lessons

Video Bonus Vote
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
5
Count how many carrots this hamster stuffs into its mouth. The hamster isn’t even chewing them! How can it stuff so much food into its mouth? And why would it want to?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
5
Hamsters want to take food somewhere safe—but they have no hands to carry it in. Instead, they carry food in their huge cheeks! Watch this hamster get wider as its cheeks fill up.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
4
Why would all these little fish swim into the mouth of a big fish? It looks like the big fish ate them all! But don’t worry, the little fish are okay. What do you think is going on?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
4
It’s a mom fish and her babies! If there’s danger, the babies hide in mom’s mouth. When it’s safe, they come back out! Imagine hiding in someone’s mouth so you don’t get eaten by someone else!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
3
Sometimes a person’s teeth grow in crooked. When that happens, braces can straighten the crooked teeth. Do you know anyone who has braces? How do you think they work?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
3
Check this out! This is a sped-up video of what happened over a year and a half. The dentist tightens those wires a tiny bit each month—and the metal slowly pulls the teeth straight!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
3
People aren’t the only ones who need braces. Sometimes animals have crooked teeth, too. This lucky dog got braces!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Slide Image
2
Check out these strange-looking teeth! Take a wild guess—what kind of animal do you think these belong to? And what does the animal use these teeth for?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
2
They belong to a seal! The teeth are like nets people use to scoop fish. A net’s holes let water escape, but keep the fish. The gaps between the teeth let water escape, leaving a mouthful of food!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
1
A hippo’s powerful jaws can easily crush a watermelon. At zoos,
hippos sometimes eat watermelons for treats. Hippos in the wild
don’t eat watermelon. What do you think wild hippos eat?
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
1
Hippos eat grass and other plants. They don’t need a powerful bite for that! But strong jaws are still useful. Hippos don’t like it when other animals come near them. They use their jaws to attack!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
1
Alligators can easily crush watermelons too! Alligators and crocodiles
are some of the only animals that have a stronger bite than hippos.
Unlike hippos, they mostly eat meat.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?
Slide Image
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Video trouble?

Voting for this episode is now closed. Would you like to vote on the most recent poll?

We pulled three questions from our jar. Which question do you want to explore?

  • How is cheese made?

    -Glenn, 2nd Grade

  • Why do animals have tails?

    -Eowyn, 4th Grade

  • How many stars are in the sky?

    -Danna, 3rd Grade

Why do we yawn?

Watch the video to discover the answer and don't forget to vote for next week's question. There are mysteries all around us. Have fun and stay curious!