Lab Activities
Labs with Demonstration Videos:
Soap-Making Lab
- Print out and review the activity’s 5E Lesson Plan
- Watch the Lab Activity video
- Let us know how your soap came out: BioproductsUSDA@ncsu.edu
Wastewater Treatment Lab
Print out and review the activity’s 5E Lesson Plan- Watch the Lab Activity video
Packing Peanuts Lab
Print out and review the activity’s 5E Lesson Plan- Watch the Lab Activity video
Paper Recycling Lab (Deinking Recycled Paper via Flotation)
Print out and review the activity’s 5E Lesson Plan- Watch the Lab Intro video
- Watch this overview of the paper recycling process
- Watch the Lab Activity video
Additional Lab Activities:
Pineapple Biorefinery Lab
Lab Intro Video- 5E Teacher & Student Guides
- Additional Resources: Related Careers
- Companies that use pineapple waste to make textiles and biodegradable dishware
Biopolymer Lab
Lab Intro Video- 5E Teacher & Student Guides
- Biopolymer Opacity Scale
- Article: Ocean Cleanup device captures plastic in the Pacific Ocean
- Article: Cellulose -Based Food Packaging
- Additional Resources: Related Careers
Climate Change Lab
Lab Intro Video- 5E Teacher & Student Guides
- Additional Resources: Related Careers
Microplastics: Detecting particles in cleansers, sediment, and water
Biofuels/Bioplastics Lab (Enzymatic Digestion of Starch by Amylase)
Lab Intro Video: Setting the stage for the enzyme lab activity- 5E Teacher & Student Guides
- Supplementary Slides: Enzymes, Starch, PLA, Bioethanol, Fuel Cells
Photosynthesis/Algae Lab
Yeast Bioreactor Lab
Assessing Biomass Availability with Big Data Analytics
Lesson Plan- Clean Biomass Resources Spreadsheet
- Biomass Resource Solutions Spreadsheet
- Excel tutorial / Google Sheets tutorial
Recycling, Carbon Footprint, and Earth Day Activities
(Developed by SBBP Teacher, Sanjana Sharma)
Video: Sustainability lessons at Franklin County Early College High School- Lesson Plan: Recycling and Carbon Footprint Project
- Earth Day Activities: Event flyer / Contest announcement / Rubric for student videos
Designing the Greener Shoe (Life Cycle Assessment – LCA)
Teacher Guide: Designing the Greener Shoe_ A Lesson in Sustainability and Life Cycle Analysis- Shoe LCA Model Spreadsheet
- Life Cycle Assessment Student Handout
- Additional Resources: Sustainable Materials and Components for Footwear, Reebok’s Unisex Sneakers, Footwear’s (carbon) footprint
Sankey Energy Diagram Lesson
Lesson Overview (from SBBP teacher, Ana-Maria Topliceanu; modified from Biomass Conversion course)- Energy flow charts (by year, country, and state)
- Interactive energy flow chart diagrams
- Another interactive energy flow diagram for the US
Marine Plastic Case Study (Scientific Argumentation)
Lesson overview- Student argumentation handout
- Marine Plastic Data and Figures
- Article: G-20 urges ‘voluntary action’ on marine plastic crisis but fails to agree on common approach (Washington Post)
- “Talk Moves” Checklist
Bioeconomy & STEM Career Exploration
Career information on the STEM Career Awareness website- Bioenergy Career Map
- Career Exploration Sheet for Students
- Example Bioeconomy career poster assignment (Developed by SBBP teacher Karen Collier)
- Example STEM career exploration assignment (Developed by SBBP teacher Sandy Parker)
