Science Buddies

What Science Buddies is

Science Buddies is a free web resource for K–12 STEM learning, with materials for students, teachers, informal educators, and parents. It offers more than 1,300 project ideas and activities across subjects including astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth and environmental science, engineering, physics, mathematics, and computer science. Teachers can use free lesson plans built around experiments and activities for elementary, middle, and high school classes. Materials include teacher guides, student worksheets, PDF and Word documents, videos, quizzes, and rubrics. Teachers can assign resources through Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams or link them from Canvas, Schoology, and other learning management systems. Science Project Pathways uses a teacher-entered start date to create a schedule with recommended assignments and due dates. Students can seek project and science-fair guidance from volunteer scientists through the Ask an Expert Forum. Most features can be used without registering. The privacy policy says the service does not sell or share personal information for commercial purposes; its servers are in the United States, and credit card information submitted for purchases is not stored. Science Buddies identifies itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Its kits are sold exclusively through Home Science Tools.

Who it suits

Science Buddies suits K–12 students, teachers, informal educators, and parents looking for STEM activities and classroom resources. Teachers can use its lesson plans, scheduling support, and listed learning-management integrations.

Limits

The online educational resources plan is free. The listed access model is mixed, and kits are purchased through Home Science Tools.

Getting started

1. Open sciencebuddies.org in a web browser
2. Browse STEM projects, activities, or lesson plans
3. Use resources directly or register when needed
4. Assign materials through Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams
5. Link resources from Canvas, Schoology, or another learning management system
6. Enter a start date in Science Project Pathways to create a schedule
7. Purchase listed kits through Home Science Tools

Verdict

Science Buddies offers a broad set of free STEM learning materials, with project planning and classroom integrations for educators. Its kits are handled through a separate partner, Home Science Tools.