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COLLECTION

Science Notebooks

7 Items

California Academy of Sciences ↗️

Grades 3 - 12

1h 10m

Overview

Keeping a notebook can help your students think and act like scientists. Sample these easy-to-implement strategies and lessons to bring science notebooking into your program.

Decorate Your Science Notebook

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

1h

All Grades

Decorate Your Science Notebook

By California Academy of Sciences

All Grades

1h

By decorating and personalizing their own science notebooks, students develop a sense of ownership over their learning, establishing routines to record observations and reflections as they learn.

Discover Activity

Decorate Your Science Notebook
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
1hAll Grades

Science Notebooks Across Time

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

1h

Grades 3 - 12

Science Notebooks Across Time

By California Academy of Sciences

3 - 12

1h

Students peruse sample pages from the notebooks of many different scientists, including scientists their own age, high school scientists, science teachers, and field scientists dating back to 1905. They consider how scientists have used notebooks over the last several hundred years, and start to think about how they'll use their own.

Discover Activity

Science Notebooks Across Time
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
1hGrades 3 - 12

Draw a Scientist

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

45m

All Grades

Draw a Scientist

By California Academy of Sciences

All Grades

45m

Students draw their idea of "a scientist doing science." This exercise surfaces students' prior understandings of the nature of science and the demographics of scientists, serving as a launching point for discovering that students, in fact, can be scientists.

Discover Activity

Draw a Scientist
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
45mAll Grades

Introduction to Scientific Sketching

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

1h

Grades 3 - 12

Introduction to Scientific Sketching

By California Academy of Sciences

3 - 12

1h

Students learn how to sketch like scientists. You can teach this even if you think you can't draw!

Discover Activity

Introduction to Scientific Sketching
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
1hGrades 3 - 12

Organizing Your Science Notebook

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

45m

All Grades

Organizing Your Science Notebook

By California Academy of Sciences

All Grades

45m

Students pop open their science notebooks and get them ready for learning by inserting a Table of Contents, numbering the pages, and completing their first reflective entry.

Discover Activity

Organizing Your Science Notebook
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
45mAll Grades

Scientific Sketching Practice

STEM • Arts

45m

Grades 3 - 12

Scientific Sketching Practice

By California Academy of Sciences

3 - 12

45m

Conducting science involves both careful observation and drawing what you see. Most students won’t know where to start if you ask them to sketch a crayfish, a beaker, or even a rock. Lay the foundation for sketching by explicitly teaching drawing techniques so students can build the confidence and skills they need to sketch during science investigations.

Discover Activity

Scientific Sketching Practice
STEM • Arts
45mGrades 3 - 12

Sketching for Observation Exercises

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

3h

All Grades

Sketching for Observation Exercises

By California Academy of Sciences

All Grades

3h

Scientific sketching isn’t about making a pretty picture! It’s about looking at something so closely you notice something new. These exercises help students practice sketching for observation, data collection, and analysis during a science investigation.

Discover Activity

Sketching for Observation Exercises
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
3hAll Grades

COLLECTION

Science Notebooks

7 Items

California Academy of Sciences ↗️

Grades 3 - 12

1h 10m

Overview

Decorate Your Science Notebook

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

1h

All Grades

Decorate Your Science Notebook

By California Academy of Sciences

All Grades

1h

By decorating and personalizing their own science notebooks, students develop a sense of ownership over their learning, establishing routines to record observations and reflections as they learn.

Discover Activity

Decorate Your Science Notebook
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
1hAll Grades

Science Notebooks Across Time

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

1h

Grades 3 - 12

Science Notebooks Across Time

By California Academy of Sciences

3 - 12

1h

Students peruse sample pages from the notebooks of many different scientists, including scientists their own age, high school scientists, science teachers, and field scientists dating back to 1905. They consider how scientists have used notebooks over the last several hundred years, and start to think about how they'll use their own.

Discover Activity

Science Notebooks Across Time
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
1hGrades 3 - 12

Draw a Scientist

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

45m

All Grades

Draw a Scientist

By California Academy of Sciences

All Grades

45m

Students draw their idea of "a scientist doing science." This exercise surfaces students' prior understandings of the nature of science and the demographics of scientists, serving as a launching point for discovering that students, in fact, can be scientists.

Discover Activity

Draw a Scientist
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
45mAll Grades

Introduction to Scientific Sketching

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

1h

Grades 3 - 12

Introduction to Scientific Sketching

By California Academy of Sciences

3 - 12

1h

Students learn how to sketch like scientists. You can teach this even if you think you can't draw!

Discover Activity

Introduction to Scientific Sketching
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
1hGrades 3 - 12

Organizing Your Science Notebook

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

45m

All Grades

Organizing Your Science Notebook

By California Academy of Sciences

All Grades

45m

Students pop open their science notebooks and get them ready for learning by inserting a Table of Contents, numbering the pages, and completing their first reflective entry.

Discover Activity

Organizing Your Science Notebook
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
45mAll Grades

Scientific Sketching Practice

STEM • Arts

45m

Grades 3 - 12

Scientific Sketching Practice

By California Academy of Sciences

3 - 12

45m

Conducting science involves both careful observation and drawing what you see. Most students won’t know where to start if you ask them to sketch a crayfish, a beaker, or even a rock. Lay the foundation for sketching by explicitly teaching drawing techniques so students can build the confidence and skills they need to sketch during science investigations.

Discover Activity

Scientific Sketching Practice
STEM • Arts
45mGrades 3 - 12

Sketching for Observation Exercises

STEM • Nature and Wildlife

3h

All Grades

Sketching for Observation Exercises

By California Academy of Sciences

All Grades

3h

Scientific sketching isn’t about making a pretty picture! It’s about looking at something so closely you notice something new. These exercises help students practice sketching for observation, data collection, and analysis during a science investigation.

Discover Activity

Sketching for Observation Exercises
STEM • Nature and Wildlife
3hAll Grades

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Copyright © 2026, Mizzen Education, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to empower, uplift and support out-of-school time educators.

Copyright © 2026, Mizzen Education, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to empower, uplift and support out-of-school time educators.