In this activity from NOAA's Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, learners investigate …
In this activity from NOAA's Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, learners investigate how methane hydrates might have been involved with the Cambrian explosion.
Make a mini greenhouse to grow microgreens. Activity from Weekly STEM in …
Make a mini greenhouse to grow microgreens. Activity from Weekly STEM in a Bag. Colorado Americorp agents in Araphahoe, Denver, Garfield, Larimer, and Weld Counties. Work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service under Americorps grant number 18AFHCO0010008. Opinions or points of view expressed in this lesson are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of or a position that is endorsed by the Corporation or the Americorps program. This resource is also available in Spanish in the linked file.
Marine micro-plastics are a relatively recent issue in research (Thompson et al. …
Marine micro-plastics are a relatively recent issue in research (Thompson et al. 2004), in the media and in education and, due to novelty and relevance, they are a suitable topic for addressing Ocean Literacy within science teaching to different age groups. In fact marine micro-plastics can be used to introduce Ocean Literacy and environmental science, but also traditional science subjects like biology, chemistry and Earth science, with a system approach focused on "understanding the Ocean's influence on humans and human influence on the Ocean".
Inspired by the growing public interest for marine micro-plastics and by the lack of specific teaching activities in our country (Italy), we developed a vertically articulated curriculum on micro-plastics for students aged 5-15 years. Our proposal is based on a number of practical activities realized with different language and communication styles to be suitable for different age groups.
What do Prairie Chickens Need in Order to Survive Today's Prairie? This …
What do Prairie Chickens Need in Order to Survive Today's Prairie?
This middle school unit covering ecosystems, animal behavior and symbiosis was developed through the Storyline approach. Middle school students will be figuring out why prairie chickens have a very unique dance and understand the role cows play to help ensure the dance takes place. Using this approach, students engage in science concepts to help ensure the survival of the prairie chicken.
This Read & Seed lesson will focus on practicing mindfulness in a …
This Read & Seed lesson will focus on practicing mindfulness in a fun and nature centered way. We will read A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood and Dan Andreasen, and create our own mindfulness wands. Participate in a Movement/Music/Finger Play activity by practicing some garden yoga. This lesson is aimed at connecting young learners to their natural world and promote school readiness skills. This Read & Seed activity is presented by The Gardens on Spring Creek by the City of Fort Collins. https://youtu.be/MTczG8WcGXg
This Read & Seed lesson will focus on practicing mindfulness in a …
This Read & Seed lesson will focus on practicing mindfulness in a fun and nature centered way. We will read A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood and Dan Andreasen, and create our own mindfulness wands. Participate in a Movement/Music/Finger Play activity by practicing some garden yoga. This lesson is aimed at connecting young learners to their natural world and promote school readiness skills. This Read & Seed activity is presented by The Gardens on Spring Creek by the City of Fort Collins. https://www.fcgov.com/gardens/files/read-seed-website-mindfulness-in-the-gardens.pdf?1589213978
This Western Mining History database uses Mineral Resources Data System to list …
This Western Mining History database uses Mineral Resources Data System to list known Colorado historical mines by county. Each county site has links to the known mines within its borders. Some are known and named, others are unnamed. Mines should be assumed to be on private property unless other research is conducted. Data provided for each mine site include: Name, State, County, Elevation, Primary Mineral Mined, Latitude and Longitude and a link to Google Maps. Photos are provided where available. Additional information for some Mines are satellite photos, and ownership, business and historical records. Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a great database for student historical research or data and statistics classes. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.
Mineral Point, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary …
Mineral Point, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.
Several times per year, seawater floods some of the streets in Charleston, …
Several times per year, seawater floods some of the streets in Charleston, South Carolina. Taking steps to deal with this "nuisance" flooding can help the city prepare for sea level rise.
Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Historical Mining Towns in …
Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Historical Mining Towns in the Western United States with links to each states mining towns. The site includes an interative map and video. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, gold and Photos and maps of the western United States. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.
This NASA animation shows the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide over different …
This NASA animation shows the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide over different time scales. Viewers can compare the last 400,000 years, last 1000 years, and last 25 years. The data come from the Lake Vostok ice cores (400,000 BC to about 4000 BC), Law Dome ice cores (1010 AD to 1975 AD) and Mauna Loa observations (1980 to 2005).
At the end of a six-week class or unit on global warming, …
At the end of a six-week class or unit on global warming, students role-play representatives from various countries and organizations at an international summit on global warming.
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This is a version of the UN climate mock negotiations exercise developed …
This is a version of the UN climate mock negotiations exercise developed by Shangrila Joshi Wynn.
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In this activity, students will use actual CO2 data from the Mauna …
In this activity, students will use actual CO2 data from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii to create their own "Keeling Curve"; conduct an analysis of the data; and, attempt to match it to a mathematical function. They will then use the function to predict increases in CO2, both historical and future.
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Students gain experience using a spreadsheet and working with others to decide …
Students gain experience using a spreadsheet and working with others to decide how to conduct their model 'experiments' with the NASA GEEBITT (Global Equilibrium Energy Balance Interactive Tinker Toy). This activity helps students become more familiar with the physical processes that made Earth's early climate so different from that of today. Students also acquire first-hand experience with a limitation in modeling, specifically, parameterization of critical processes.
In this activity, learners use the STELLA box modeling software to determine …
In this activity, learners use the STELLA box modeling software to determine Earth's temperature based on incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial radiation. Starting with a simple black body model, the exercise gradually adds complexity by incorporating albedo, then a 1-layer atmosphere, then a 2-layer atmosphere, and finally a complex atmosphere with latent and sensible heat fluxes. With each step, students compare the modeled surface temperature to Earth's actual surface temperature, thereby providing a check on how well each increasingly complex model captures the physics of the actual system.
This course provides an introduction to the study of environmental phenomena that …
This course provides an introduction to the study of environmental phenomena that exhibit both organized structure and wide variability - i.e., complexity. Through focused study of a variety of physical, biological, and chemical problems in conjunction with theoretical models, we learn a series of lessons with wide applicability to understanding the structure and organization of the natural world. Students will also learn how to construct minimal mathematical, physical, and computational models that provide informative answers to precise questions.
Prior to this lab, students will have read and learned about valley …
Prior to this lab, students will have read and learned about valley glacier processes, glacier mass balance, warm-based and cold-based glaciers, and can identify various glacier landforms formed by erosion. They will also have had an introductory lecture on ice physics, but that is not necessary to complete this activity.
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Understanding global climate change is challenging, even for adults, yet having an …
Understanding global climate change is challenging, even for adults, yet having an understanding of this topic is consequential for the future. In this activity, middle school students learn about global climate change using models that allow them to make predictions, observations, and then explain mechanisms for climate change. Component ideas include change over time, deep time, and accumulation. Students are asked to act as advisers on how to lower energy use, and refine their understanding of how and why this is important, before testing their ideas and finally revising their advice.
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In this activity students build a hydrologic model of Mono Lake in …
In this activity students build a hydrologic model of Mono Lake in MATLAB and then use the model to evaluate the California State Water Board's 1994 decision regulating diversions from the watershed and design their own water management plan for the lake. In 1941 the natural water balance of Mono Lake was altered when the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) began diverting water from the watershed. The lake level dropped 45 feet by 1982 threatening the local environment. After a long legal battle the California State Water Board issued an order (D. 1631) limiting water diversions by LADWP in order to return the lake to a desirable level. As of June 2019 the lake surface has yet to reach the target elevation. In developing a water-balance model of Mono Lake students learn to idealize a hydrologic system as stocks and flows, translate their stock and flow diagram into a water balance equation and solve this equation over time using the forward Euler method. Once students have a working lake model they use MATLAB built-in functions to explore the variance and co-variance of hydrologic data and use these to constrain a probabilistic model of the Lake.
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