This is an activity about image resolution. Learners will recreate a solar image taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) using various sizes of building bricks, and discuss how their recreations relate to image resolution. Learners will also compare SDO images to solar images from older spacecraft to see how improved technology helps scientists learn more about the Sun.

This kit covers a historical overview of American representations of natural resources from ancient Indian basketry to contemporary web sites. It compares conflicting media constructions about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the damning of rivers, and Chukchi sea oil drilling. By showing the slow realization that natural resources are finite, students will learn valuable lessons in earth, natural and environmental sciences.

Cretaceous and Tertiary strata exposed in northern Alaska record clastic sediment deposition within a foreland basin adjacent to the ancestral Brooks Range, and form part of an important petroleum play. The goal of this U.S. Geological Survey report is to synthesize the complex stratigraphy of this area into a more simplified scheme. It discusses the regional geology of northern Alaska and the stratigraphy of the Colville Basin in detail. Maps, cross sections, correlation charts, and numerous outcrop photos with detailed captions accompany the text.

This video describes the work of scientists who are studying the precise combination of trees that would be most effective in reducing the level of greenhouse gases in the air around Syracuse, NY. This is a pilot study that will serve as a model for other urban areas.

Students will use visual analysis to examine two images of rocks. They will make their own observations of individual rocks through drawing, and understand how the same observation skills can be used in the study of geology.

In this paper and pencil exercise, students create graphs that describe the effect of a series of experiments using Daisy World, an energy balance model, that can be used to demonstrate concepts of equilibrium, homeostatis, and positive and negative feedbacks. Internet access and exploration with the actual Daisy World model is ideal, but not required. The resource is Activity 6 of the learning module, Global Balance, part of the lesson series Potential Impacts of Climate Variability and Change.

This video segment uses data-based visual NOAA representations to trace the path of surface ocean currents around the globe and explore their role in creating climate zones. Ocean surface currents have a major impact on regional climate around the world, bringing coastal fog to San Francisco and comfortable temperatures to the British Isles.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of the most popular of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. The CCC’s mission was to conserve the natural resources of the United States while providing relief to the poor and encouraging the recovery of the economy. The program provided employment to enrolllees and financial support to their families during the Great Depression, while developing much needed conservation and infrastructure projects for a country that had been devastated by over logging and farming practices that contributed to soil erosion. Known as "Roosevelt's Tree Army," the program improved national and state parks, prevented erosion, controlled flooding, and assisted with natural disaster recovery. The unemployment rate during the Great Depression was estimated at twenty-five percent, which left a generation of young men without employment or opportunities. During its operation from 1933 to 1938, the CCC employed close to three million previously unemployed young men, although it disproportionately assisted whites. This exhibition tells the stories of the CCC’s administration and controversial policies, the men who joined, and the contributions its projects made to the history of conservation in the United States. This exhibition was created as part of the DPLA's Public Library Partnerships Project by collaborators from Mountain West Digital Library. Exhibition organizer: Anna Neatrour.

This art history video discussion looks at Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, 5th century A.D.

A very short video introduction to how photosynthesis cycles energy through an ecosystem and a "real-world" application of ratios! Lindsay Hollister, JPPM's horticulturalist, taps a black walnut tree for its sap and park staff boil it down to create syrup. Included in this video are an animated food web showing the directions of energy flow during photosynthesis and when sap is "rising," which can be extended by students to include humans or more parts of their local ecosystem. Use the video as an introduction to activities about sugar and biological storage, and an excuse to sample maple syrup to taste the sugar. Alternatively, research trees nearby students could help tap and witness the biological transfer of energy themselves.

Always be sure you can successfully identify a plant before using it and take precautions to avoid negative reactions.

This resource is part of Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum’s open educational resources project to provide history, ecology, archaeology, and conservation resources related to our 560 acre public park. More of our content can be found here on OER Commons or from our website at jefpat.maryland.gov. JPPM is a part of the Maryland Historical Trust under the Maryland Department of Planning.

This very short video introduces the concept of sea level rise and ties it back to global warming. The video is brief, basic, and clear. It can be used for a quick introduction, but nothing deeper than that.

At first glance, starfish, more properly called sea stars, aren‰ŰŞt doing much of anything. In this video, Jonathan‰ŰŞs investigations reveal a slow-motion predator that hunts and attacks its prey. Traveling the world, Jonathan investigates sea stars from the tropics to the Antarctic and uses time-lapse photography to reveal an amazing complexity to the world of the sea star. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.

In Malaysia there is an island known for more sea turtles than virtually anywhere on Earth. In this video, Jonathan visits this amazing ecosystem to learn about the life cycle of sea turtles. He is surprised to discover an amazingly complex and competitive environment. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.

This is an activity about sunlight as an energy source. Learners will create a plant box and observe that a plant will grow toward the Sun, its primary source of energy. This hands-on activity is an additional lesson as part of the book, The Day Joshua Jumped Too Much.

This worksheet provides a pair of satellite world maps, showing vegetation in January and July, and has a series of questions guiding exploration of the similarities and differences in the two images. The activity is from Space Update, a collection of multimedia educational resources about the Earth and Space. Summary background information, data and images supporting the activity are available on the Earth Update data site.

Secretos de los Hibernadores. El Centro de Extensión y Educación en Ciencias Naturales colabora con la facultad de CSU, los Parques Nacionales y los programas de ciencia ciudadana para traducir su investigación científica actual en experiencias STEM únicas para los estudiantes en forma de kits educativos que se pueden prestar. Cada kit contiene casi todos los materiales necesarios (menos cosas comunes como agua y toallas de papel) para explorar algunos temas de investigación científica realmente interesantes. enviando un formulario de recogida local o un formulario de entrega disponible en el sitio web vinculado. Utilice la información de contacto en la página de descripción general del kit STEM para obtener más información. https://www.cns-eoc.colostate.edu/stem-kits/ Este kit se proporciona de forma gratuita para uso educativo.

Secrets of the Hibernators STEM Kit. The Natural Sciences Education & Outreach Center collaborates with CSU faculty, National Parks and citizen science programs to translate their current scientific research into unique STEM experiences for students in the form of Educational Kits that can be checked out. Each kit contains just about all of the materials needed (minus common things like water and paper towels) to explore some really interesting scientific research topics.The kits are available for teachers and informal educators in Colorado to check out for a duration of a week by submitting either a local pickup form or a delivery form available at the linked website. This kit is provided free for educational use. This Kit is available in Spanish.

The process of mud settling in a graduated cylinder was filmed as a time lapse series over about 2 hours. Students observe and analyze the sedimentation process.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Explore your own straight-line motion using a motion sensor to generate distance versus time graphs of your own motion. Learn how changes in speed and direction affect the graph, and gain an understanding of how motion can be represented on a graph.