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Mystery Science

Description

Mystery Science (K - 5)  is a site with “open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.” 

This Subscription is available to Enrolled and Flex families.

  • Hands-on — lead students in the doing of science and engineering.

  • Less prep, more learning — prep in minutes, not hours. Captivate students with short videos and discussion questions.

  • Easy to use – made for teachers by teachers.  Homeschooling parents can use this site easily, as well.

There are three levels to Mystery Science:

  • Mini-lessons are for families who have very little time or struggle to fit Science in at all. 5-15 min./week
  • Core lessons are for families who have more time for hands-on Science. 40-60 min./week
  • Anchor Layer is for families who want to take their Science lessons to the next level. 2 hrs./week

Every lesson begins with a Mystery that hooks your students. Then, there is a narration of an unforgettable story with stunning images and videos punctuated with opportunities for discussion. Every lesson concludes with simple hands-on activities designed to use supplies you already have (or are easy to get).

Here is how Mystery Science explains its mission.

Logging In

Go to the list of mysteries to find a mystery that you would like to use. Alternatively, go to Mystery Science Year Plan to choose a mystery. Then contact your HCOS support teacher to tell them the names of the mysteries so they can send you the student links. Links no longer expire. Once you receive the link from your support teacher, you can start using Mystery Science.

Using the Subscription

To find all Mystery Science lessons by grade level, go to Mystery Science Lessons By Grade Level.   Choose the grade tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

To find a year plan for using Mystery Science, following the BC Ministry guidelines, go to Mystery Science Year Plan.  Choose the grade tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

For information about starting up in the site go to Mystery Science – Getting Started.

NOTE:  If parents want to be able to assign mysteries and have the entire site available to them, the only way to do this is for them to purchase their access to the site.  The cost is $89.00 US for one year.  Mystery Science Pricing

Mystery Doug

Mystery Doug is a weekly video series from the creators of Mystery Science that inspires students to ask questions! It’s the perfect five-minute break for morning meetings, snack time, or any transitions in your day. Mystery Doug can also be found on YouTube.

Troubleshooting

Purchasing Access to Mystery Science as a Family?

Our HCOS School Membership only allows access to teachers - not the parents. Teachers send links to the family to use. The links allow families full access to Mystery Science.

If the parents would like a paid account, they need to sign up and purchase a subscription to the site through the purchasing department. This will cost 99.00 USD for a year.  (2024-25 pricing) Note:  Mystery Science does offer discounts on Homeschool Memberships during their early April and August sales, down to about 69.00 USD. 

They add:  “Homeschoolers: If you have never signed up for Mystery Science, you are eligible for a free trial membership.” Families just need to realize the trial does not give them access to the whole site. To unlock additional mysteries, you'll need to purchase a full Homeschool Membership.  After your free trial expires, you will only have access to the first Mystery in every unit. To unlock additional Mysteries, you'll need to purchase a Homeschool Membership.”

Why can't we open the link?

If parents purchase an account in Mystery Science and their teacher sends them a link, it will not open if the parent is signed in to their purchases account. Parents will need to sign out and clear their browser cache before clicking the link sent by the teacher. Parents do not need to log in to be able to open the link.

Questions

You can contact Margaret Basaraba by email for help with any questions.

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