Activites:

Day One:

• ENGAGE #1: HOP Stop Deli (optional) 

Day Two:

• ENGAGE #2: Can You Classify Plastic Containers?

Day Three:

• EXPLORE #3: Can You Find the Floaters and Sinkers?

Day Four:

• EXPLAIN #4: Why Do They Float and Sink?

Day Five:

• EXPLAIN #5: How Do You Calculate the Density of a Bowling Ball? (optional)

Day Six:

• EVALUATE #6: How Can You Identify the Kind of Plastic in Your Groups’ Containers from Activity Two?

Day Seven:

• ELABORATE #7: Can You Use Your Procedure to Identify the Plastics?

Days Eight through Twelve:

• Extension #1: What Happens to Recycled Milk Jugs?
  A Slide Show on the ACC Web Site

• Extension #2: What Is the Life of a PETE Bottle?
  Demonstrations and Discussion

• Extension #3: Can You Find Them All?

• Extension #4: Can You Identify Plastics by a Strip Flex Test and Stain Test? 

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Industrial Testing (Revised from original HOP projects for schools who do not have the necessary equipment for the original projects)

The following activities of the Hands on Plastics™2 website is adapted from the original Hands on Plastics™ projects to be appropriate for middle school students.

Click here for more advanced versions of the Plastics Analysis Lab on the original Hands on Plastics site—designed for students with more advanced equipment like bunsen burners. Also interactive walk throughs are available for the Pendulum Impact Activities and Fatigue Resistance Activities described below.

• Industrial Activities 
• Procedure Template 
• Rubric For Scoring Scientific Procedures Using the Six Traits of Writing 
• Comparison Matrix for Abrasion Results 

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New Activities (Wisconsin Model Academic Standards)

1. Why Plastic?

2. A Poly Good Time

3. Building Brain Background

4. Sad Statistics 1

5. Sad Statistics 2 

6. Plastic Potpourri 

7. Not All Plastics Are Created Equal

8. Gelatin Egg Head 

9. Wild and Crazy Helmet Day

10. Career Day At Cooper—Helmets Are a Must

11. Helmet Spoken Here

12. When I Grow Up (Part 1)

13. When I Grow Up (Part 2)

14. Helmet Awareness

15. Extended Activities Across the Community

16. Making a Museum

17. Use Your Head

18. Using Plastic to Protect Our Environment

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