Family style learning is a great way to tackle lots of different subjects, including science.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore encompasses a 60 km (35 mi.) stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, as well as North and South Manitou Islands. The park was established primarily for its outstanding natural features, including forests, beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenomena. The Lakeshore also contains many cultural features including a 1871 lighthouse, three former Life-Saving Service/Coast Guard Stations and an extensive rural historic farm district.

The John Ball Zoo is located on the hillside of a beautiful 140 acre park on the west side of Grand Rapids. Currently the animal collection at the Zoo includes 237 species and 1,183 individuals.

The Potter Park Zoo in Lansing offers animal exhibits, educational programs, and special exhibits.

Binder Park Zoo is located in a lush forest which exhibits the animals in natural surroundings. Wild Africa, a 50-acre immersion experience, features a 17-acre savanna where one of the nation's largest herd of giraffe roam with gazelle, ostrich, zebra, and more.

Wolves and moose, the wild North Woods forest, everchanging weather and a cool climate, and the crystal clear waters and rugged shoreline of Lake Superior characterize Isle Royale National Park. This wilderness archipelago is 45 miles long and nine miles wide at its widest point. The park encompasses a total area of 850 square miles including submerged lands which extends four and a half miles out into Lake Superior. The archipelago is composed of many parallel ridges resulting from ancient lava flows which were tilted and glaciated. Isle Royale has 165 miles of scenic hiking trails and 36 campgrounds for backpackers and recreational boaters. There is excellent fishing, historic lighthouses and shipwrecks, ancient copper mining sites, and plenty of spots to observe wildlife.

The Detroit Zoological Park consists of 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits. The Detroit Zoo is a natural habitat for more than 3,000 animals and 700 varieties of trees, shrubbery and flowering plants. Of the 340 species at the Zoo, 64 are officially listed as endangered or threatened and two are extinct in the wild. Major exhibits include the Arctic Ring of Life, the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery, Great Apes of Harambee, Penguinarium, free-flight aviary, Holden Museum of Living Reptiles, the National Amphibian Conservation Center, giraffes, Siberian tigers, African lions, Asian elephants, Grevy's zebras, Bactrian camels, snow monkeys and the prairie dog exhibit, just to name a few.

Multicolored sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, inland lakes, wildlife and the forest of the Lake Superior shoreline beckon visitors to explore this 73,000+ acre park. Attractions include a lighthouse and former Coast Guard life-saving stations along with old farmsteads and former logging trails. The park is a four season recreational destination where hiking, camping, hunting, nature study, and winter activities abound. At its widest point the Lakeshore is only five miles and hugs the Superior shoreline for more than 40 miles.

The Belle Isle Aquarium is North America's oldest, continuously operating public aquarium. It is located on Belle Isle in Royal Oak, the Detroit River's beautiful 1,000-acre park. The Aquarium currently displays 60 exhibits with a total capacity of 32,000 gallons of water. In total, the Aquarium is home to over 5,000 individual animals of 239 species. Of these species, 31 are officially listed as endangered, threatened, or already extinct in the wild.

ExploraVision is a competition for all students in grades K-12 attending a school in the U.S., Canada, U.S. Territory or a Department of Defense school. Homeschooled students are eligible to enter. It is designed to encourage students to combine their imagination with their knowledge of science and technology to explore visions of the future. Teams of students select a technology, research how it works and why it was invented, and then project how that technology may change in the future. They must then identify what breakthroughs are required for their vision to become a reality and describe the positive and negative consequences of their technology on society. Winning ideas have focused on things as simple as ballpoint pens and as complex as satellite communications. The student teams write a paper and draw a series of Web page graphics to describe their idea. Regional winners make a Web site and a prototype of their future vision.

Join over 74,000 fifth grade classrooms and home schools across America in the Arbor Day National Poster Contest. The theme chosen will increase your students’ knowledge of how trees produce and conserve energy. The free Activity Guide includes activities to use with fifth grade students to teach the importance of trees in producing and conserving energy. These activities correlate with National Science and Social Study Standards. The Guide also includes all of the information you need for poster contest participation.

These user-friendly, unabashedly Christian, one-year science curriculums for elementary students include teaching lessons, coloring pages, hands-on time, memorization lists, review sheets, creative writing assignments, and a supplemental book list. The Chemistry text is intended for grades 4-8, and includes such hands-on activities as making model atoms, breaking covalent bonds, and making gas expand. It also lists chemistry terms, notations, and rules. The conversational style gives students the basic information they need, making this an ideal first course in life science, especially useful for those following a classical approach.