9-12 Science Lessons & Films
Free NGSS-aligned high school biology, AP Biology, and environmental science lessons with hands-on modeling activities and award-winning films.
Redwood Resilience: Analyzing Tree Rings and Wildfire Recovery
Teach what influences redwood forest recovery after wildfires and how tree rings provide historical climate data, helping scientists understand past droughts, fires, and growth conditions.
A Recipe for Engagement
Turn Any SCL Film into a 5E Lesson
Designing Solutions for Healthy Forests
Students explore climate change impacts on global forests and apply the fundamentals of CRISPR gene editing to design conservation solutions.
Surviving Stress: SOS Response and DNA Repair in Bacteria
Free 9–12 biology & AP Bio lesson on bacterial DNA repair, the SOS response, and antibiotic resistance. Includes modeling, CER activities, and population simulations.
The Tiniest Plankton
How Penny Chisholm and her team discovered the invisible yet most abundant photosynthetic organism on the planet
Rewriting Survival: Genetics and the Future of Coral Reefs
Investigate coral bleaching through hands-on experimental design, data analysis, and a bioethical debate on using CRISPR for conservation.
Lettuce Get to the Root of the Matter
Observe and compare monocot vs. dicot root growth with this hands-on germination activity for grades 3-12.
Genetic Engineering and Conservation
Should We Use Biotechnology to Save Endangered and Extinct Species?
Hormones on the Case! — Animal Behavior Investigations
Engage students in modeling hormonal pathways and redesigning zoo habitats to explore how stress impacts animal behavior and reproduction.
The Basis of a Good Hypothesis
Free Nature of Science lesson plan for grades 6-10. Includes a hands-on hypothesis cube activity and a video on indigenous knowledge and nitrogen cycling.
How to Kill a Superbug
Model evolutionary tradeoffs and play an interactive game to bring natural selection and antibiotic resistance to life.
Modeling DNA Replication
Engage students with how "the most beautiful experiment" in biology revealed the semiconservative nature of DNA replication with a free video and modeling activity.
OBSERVER
An adventure in eight chapters. 🟥 There's a universe everywhere you turn.
Decoding Ancestral Knowledge
Nitrogen Cycling by Microbes in Native Hawaiian Culture
Picture a Scientist
The Fight for Gender Equity in Science
Human Nature
The story of CRISPR — the most important scientific discovery of the 21st century.
The Most Beautiful Experiment
Matt Meselson and Frank Stahl share the story of how they proved semiconservative DNA replication
How to Kill a Superbug
Fighting antibiotic resistance with phage therapy
Good Chemistry
Jennifer Doudna & Emmanuelle Charpentier's historic Nobel Prize for CRISPR
The Hidden World of Plant Roots
Uncovering the hidden, dynamic world of plant roots with Stanford biologist José R. Dinneny
Life Recombined
The Story of Recombinant DNA featuring Janet Mertz and Nobel Laureate Paul Berg
Ready, Set, Science! Webinar
Free Lessons for Building Foundational Science Skills
Hands-On Lesson Plans to Make Science Relevant and Fun!
A Walk in the Woods
What does a redwood forest look like, and sound like, in the wake of a devastating fire?
Corals: On the Brink
Can we save coral reefs from extinction?
Finding Sublime in the Mundane
Follow Manu Prakash's journey from curious child to inventor, creating affordable tools for global science exploration and discovery.
Homology-Directed Repair
How the cell edits DNA after a CRISPR-induced break
Archaea and The Tree of Life
These Microbes Changed Evolutionary Biology Forever
The CRISPR Apostle
Rodolphe Barrangou tells the story of his discovery that laid the groundwork for the gene editing revolution
Gregor Mendel’s Famous Genetics Experiment
Shirley Tilghman tells the story of Mendel’s studies and how his data led to an understanding of how the information within genes is passed from generation to generation.
Tinkering with Nature’s Tools
Feng Zhang shares why CRISPR-Cas9 was such a groundbreaking tool.
Electric Microbes
How Geobacter microbes produce electricity
Fire Among Giants
What happened after the redwoods burned?
Fire Among Giants: Extended Voices
In-depth interviews with forest experts about the Big Basin State Park after the 2020 wildfire.
Coming Home
The Journey of a Puerto Rican Scientist
The Future of Forests
Will they survive the threats of climate change?
Saving The American Chestnut
A case study in genetic engineering
Finding Faith in Science
Explore Dr. Tshaka Cunningham's personal and professional identities and how they unite to help him promote community health through personal genomics.
The First Entanglement
Did we domesticate plants or did they domesticate us?
Charting an Original Path
Biologist, artist, and mother Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez redefines what it means to be a scientist by charting her own path in studying pigeon parental behavior.
Century of Biology
CRISPR ethics and how it will impact our future
Pieces of a Puzzle
Christopher Rudd's seminal experiments on T-Cell Activation
Talking about Race and Medicine
Importance of Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Science
Judith Simcox: A Risk Worth Taking
A biochemist's inspiring journey from cancer survivor to mentor
A Winding Life Through Science
Virginia Man-Yee Lee recounts her inspiring journey into becoming a lead researcher of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases
Studying Coronaviruses
The steps taken once an outbreak hits and the ways in which this process could change for the better
The Discovery of Lung Surfactant
John Clements details his groundbreaking discovery which has saved millions of neonatal lives
The SOS Response in Bacteria
Evelyn Witkin shares her journey to the discovery of the SOS DNA damage response in bacteria.
The Milky Sea
Feature documentary about a team determined to solve one of the great ocean mysteries of our time — the bioluminescent “milky sea” phenomenon.
