Demonstrations that make physics click
Ready-to-teach lesson plans built around Bruce's demonstrations, guides for building your own classroom equipment, and professional development from a 41-year physical science teacher.
Phenomenon-first lessons
Every plan opens with a surprising demonstration and follows the 5E model: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate.
Aligned to NGSS
Performance expectations, science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts listed on every plan.
Build your own equipment
Step-by-step guides to make each demonstration from inexpensive, easy-to-find materials.
Differentiated worksheets
Printable student sheets for the age bands each experiment suits (5-7, 8-10, 11-14), each with an answer guide.
Misconceptions addressed
The ideas students most often bring to class, and how each demonstration challenges them.
Classroom-tested
Every demonstration has been used with real students, many of them for decades.
Ready-to-teach lessons
| Lesson | Grades | Time | NGSS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sand Pendulum Art Can a swinging bottle of sand draw a picture? | Grades 3-8 | Two 45-minute classes | 3-PS2-2 5-PS2-1 |
| Hero's Fountain How can a fountain run with no pump? | Grades 4-8 | Two 45-minute classes | 5-PS1-1 MS-PS3-2 3-5-ETS1-2 |
| Marble Tracks & Loop-the-Loop How high do you have to start to loop the loop? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 4-PS3-1 MS-PS3-2 MS-PS3-5 |
| Do-Nothing Machine Why do the two sliders never crash? | Grades 3-8 | Two 45-minute classes | 3-PS2-2 3-5-ETS1-2 |
| Cup Flyers Why does a spinning cup fly up instead of falling down? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 3-PS2-1 3-PS2-2 MS-PS2-2 |
| Sound You Can See What does your voice look like? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 1-PS4-1 4-PS4-1 MS-PS4-1 |
| String Shooter How can you make a loop of string fly? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 3-PS2-1 5-PS1-1 MS-PS2-2 |
| High Road, Low Road Race Can the long way be the fast way? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 4-PS3-1 MS-PS3-2 MS-PS3-5 |
| Tumbling Toy How can a marble make a tube flip end over end? | Grades 3-6 | Two 45-minute classes | 3-PS2-1 5-PS2-1 3-PS2-2 |
| Ramp Walkers How can a cardboard toy walk with no motor? | Grades 3-6 | One 45-minute class | 3-PS2-1 5-PS2-1 3-5-ETS1-2 |
| Siphons How can water climb up and out of a jar? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 5-PS2-1 MS-PS3-2 5-PS1-1 |
| Come-Back Can Why does this can roll back to you? | Grades 3-8 | Two 45-minute classes | 4-PS3-4 MS-PS3-5 3-PS2-2 |
| Balancing Toys How can a butterfly balance on the tip of your finger? | Grades 2-8 | One 45-minute class | 3-PS2-1 5-PS2-1 3-5-ETS1-2 |
| Musical Bottles Why does the same bottle sing high when you blow but low when you tap? | Grades 2-8 | One 45-minute class | 1-PS4-1 4-PS4-1 |
| Falling Cones Which falls faster: a big cone or a small one? | Grades 3-8 | Two 45-minute classes | 3-PS2-1 5-PS2-1 MS-PS2-2 |
| Upside-Down Water Glass How can a paper card hold up a cup of water? | Grades 2-8 | One 45-minute class | 5-PS1-1 3-PS2-1 MS-ETS1-1 |
| Solar Motor Is this a free energy motor? | Grades 4-8 | Two 45-minute classes | 4-PS3-4 3-PS2-1 MS-PS3-5 |
| Toy Motor Speaker Can a toy motor play music? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 1-PS4-1 4-PS3-4 4-PS4-1 |
| Pulley Power Can a string and two wheels make you stronger? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 3-PS2-1 MS-PS2-2 3-5-ETS1-2 |
| Slow-Wave Loops Why do waves crawl on a spinning rope? | Grades 4-8 | One 45-minute class | 4-PS4-1 MS-PS4-1 3-PS2-2 |
| Breaking Pole Paradox How can you snap a stick that's resting on two cups of water without knocking them over? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 3-PS2-1 MS-PS2-2 |
| Cartesian Divers Why does a diver sink when you squeeze the bottle? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 3-PS2-1 5-PS1-1 MS-PS2-2 |
| Balloon in a Bottle Can you blow up a balloon inside a bottle? | Grades 2-6 | One 45-minute class | 5-PS1-1 3-PS2-1 3-5-ETS1-2 |
| Crushing Cans with Water Can a tube of water crush a bottle? | Grades 3-8 | One 45-minute class | 5-PS1-1 3-PS2-1 5-PS2-1 |
| Catching Eggs Can you catch a raw egg without breaking it? | Grades 3-8 | Two 45-minute classes | MS-PS2-2 3-5-ETS1-2 MS-ETS1-1 |
| Echo Speed of Sound How fast does sound travel? | Grades 4-8 | One 45-minute class | 4-PS4-1 MS-PS4-1 |
Demonstration build guides
Sand Pendulum Art
10 steps · Under $15 · 30-60 min
Hero's Fountain
10 steps · Under $15 · 30-60 min
Marble Tracks & Loop-the-Loop
10 steps · Under $5 · 30-60 min
Do-Nothing Machine
10 steps · Under $5 · 30-60 min
Cup Flyers
8 steps · Under $5 · Under 15 min
Sound You Can See
10 steps · Under $15 · 30-60 min
Bruce's Workbench: full equipment build plans
Construction plans for his classroom demonstration devices, each with a free PDF.
Workshops for teachers
Bruce leads hands-on sessions where teachers build working demonstrations they can take straight back to the classroom, and learn how to turn a surprising moment into real understanding.
- In-service days and district PD
- Conference sessions and keynotes
- Virtual workshops and classroom visits
- Custom demonstration kits for your department
