Eco-Base Discovery Lab | Science and Maths Project for Grades 4-7 | Printable PDF + Class Slideshow
Eco-Base Discovery Lab | Science and Maths Project for Grades 4-7 | Printable PDF + Class Slideshow
ECO-BASE DISCOVERY LAB
Ten sessions. One real problem. Something your child builds, tests and explains — no science degree required.
Designed by drawing on leading primary curricula from around the world. Fits alongside any homeschool plan or classroom, Grades 4–7 (ages 9–13).
Four scientists need somewhere to live beside a wild river. Can your child design it without wrecking the river?
That is the whole Lab, and it is harder than it sounds. A base needs water, warmth, a path in and a place to grow food. The river needs to be left alone. Something has to give, and by session six your child has to decide what - and say what it cost.
THE TEN SESSIONS
1. Meet the mission
2. Who can you trust? - reading a site sketch, and separating what you observed from what you assumed
3. Do the numbers work? - water, rainfall, tank size and garden area, with units
4. Which wrapping keeps the heat out? - a fair test with four ice cubes, paper, cloth and foil
5. What do your results show? - a bar chart, a three-sentence report, and one honest limit of the test
6. Choose the best place - three sites, the same rules, one decision, one trade-off
7. Plan your base - a top-view plan with three checks you can actually run
8. Build your base
9. Test it and make it better - run the checks, change one thing because of what you found
10. Present your eco-base - a one-minute pitch and a question to answer
WHAT YOUR CHILD ENDS UP WITH
A labelled model eco-base, built from recycling, blocks, nature or a detailed drawing - whatever you have. Plus a site decision with a reason, water calculations that hold up, a completed fair test with a chart, and an improvement they can explain.
WHAT YOU GET — instant download
📓 Student Workbook (43 pages): every question, activity and project log for all ten sessions, in our new field-notebook look.
🗝️ Answer Guide (18 pages): the answers, plus the next question to ask when your child is stuck, so they get there themselves. Includes a 20-point rubric.
🖥️ Class Slideshow (108 slides, PowerPoint + PDF): put each session up on a TV or board. The answers sit in the speaker notes.
🍎 Teacher Pack (8 pages): teacher guide, a ready-to-send letter to parents and the classroom licence.
You don't need to be a science teacher. The answer guide carries the subject knowledge, and your job is to ask the next question. We've written those out for you.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED FROM THE HOUSE
Cardboard and recycling. Four equal ice cubes and four small sealable bags. Paper, cloth and foil cut to the same size. A measuring cup or syringe with ml markings. A timer. A jug, a tray and 200 ml of water. Pencil, ruler, scissors, tape.
A NOTE ON WHERE IT IS SET
The river site is imagined, so the Lab works anywhere in the world. The worked history example is Mapungubwe, between the Limpopo and the Shashe, set beside ancient Egypt and the Nile.
HOW A LAB RUNS
- Ten sessions, designed to run one a day over two weeks. One a week across a term works too; go at your child's pace.
- Three stages: Look and learn (sessions 1-3), Try and test (4-6), Make it (7-10).
- Every session has the same five parts: Last time, Learn, Your turn, Project log, Stop here.
- Help lines give younger learners a first step. Extra challenge questions stretch Grades 6-7, and can be skipped.
- Works for one child at home, a pair, or a small group.
- Nothing specialised to buy. The materials list above is kitchen-drawer and recycling.
GOOD TO KNOW
- A4 pages; on US Letter, print with “fit to page”.
- Metric units and British spelling.
- Materials come from the kitchen drawer and the recycling bin.
- Instant digital download. Nothing is posted.
- The illustrations were made with the help of AI image tools. The learning design, questions and answers are written and checked by Primary Project Labs.
- Because the files arrive instantly, we do not take returns. If a file will not open or you find a mistake, message us and we will fix it or send a replacement.
- One household, or one teacher with their own class. Schools, tutoring businesses and learning centres: contact us about a group licence.
Primary Project Labs — Observe. Explore. Build.