Creative Resources for Teaching Kinetics
By AACT on April 7, 2026
As members of AACT, you have access to a huge classroom resource library. Finding the right labs and learning opportunities for your classroom can be overwhelming. This article highlights creative resources for teaching kinetics with thoughtful, new approaches to the subject. For more ideas, visit the kinetics unit plan.
The Stop & Go Gases demo is a favorite! In this demonstration, students will observe how carbon dioxide extinguishes a flame and oxygen feeds a flame. This demo can be used to teach how a catalyst impacts the rate of reaction.
For a lab with a strong focus on the concepts of kinetics and minimal prep time, try out the Kinetic Approach to Water Flow lab. This lab showcases the principles of chemical kinetics without using a chemical reaction. Students will have the opportunity to analyze data and make important connections through graphing their data.
A fun activity to end the unit is our Launching Rockets activity, which is the an AACT favorite! Each student uses stoichiometry to create the right amount of O2 to power their rocket and then explains why the catalyst is needed in that reaction. This activity features content from multiple units in Chemistry as it requires an understanding of reactants, stoichiometry, thermochemistry, and more!
We hope that the activities in this unit plan will help you to reinforce several of the topics covered in a unit on kinetics. Most of these lessons were made possible by great teachers who shared their own resources. We need your help to keep the collection growing. Do you have a great demonstration, activity, or lesson related to this topic that you would like to share with the community? Please send it along for consideration.