Curated OER
Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine
Learners use satellite data to see the correlation between sea temperature and sunlight in the Gulf of Maine. For this phytoplankton lesson students use Excel to analyze data.
California Academy of Science
Buoyancy Bulls-Eye
Why does a seastar sink, but a jellyfish float? Through a fun investigation, learners examine the concept of buoyancy using simple household items. The challenge: create neutral buoyancy for an action figure in water. With ample teacher...
California Academy of Science
Fish Forms
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you can add art to any lesson! While little learners are discovering why fish have specific body parts such as, scales, fins, and gills, they start making three-dimensional fish forms. Children...
Florida International University
Designing an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV): Concepts in Lift, Drag, Thrust, Energy, Power, Mass, and Buoyancy
Engineer an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to study concepts of physics. Using household materials, collaborative groups design and build an AUV and then test Newton's Laws of Motion as they apply them in underwater environments...
Rivanna Regional Stormwater Education Partnership
Invisible Passengers
How does water pollution affect the organisms living in the water? Use three science experiments to examine how erosion and other pollutants can affect water quality. Each experiment focuses on a different aspect of pollution and...
NOAA
Fishy Deep-sea Designs!
Oceans represent more than 80 percent of all habitats, yet we know less about them than most other habitats on the planet. The instructor introduces the epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, twilight, and midnight zones in the ocean....
Virginia Department of Education
Biomes of the World
Incorporate knowledge about biomes and ecosystems in multiple ways while encouraging creativity. Emerging ecologists collaborate and perform research to complete a graphic organizer about various biomes of the world. They conclude the...
Curated OER
Energy Resources: Where Are They and How Do We Get Them?
Future energy engineers visit several stations, each one dedicated to a different alternative source of energy. They describe how solar energy is converted into other forms of energy, the patterns of distribution of energy resources in...
Curated OER
Light Stick Chemistry
In groups of three with the lights off and the shades drawn, investigators place inactivated light sticks, in three beakers: one filled with ice water, another with lukewarm water, and the other with room temperature water. They wait...
Curated OER
The Art and Science of Impressionist Color
Discover Impressionist painting as students investigate the 19th century combinations of colors characteristically used. Students experiment with their own paintings, utilizing primary and secondary colors.
Curated OER
Rapa River Watch
Assess the risk of introducing a non-native species of snail to four different estuaries. Lab groups conduct research as habitat evaluation and present their conclusions to the class. The resource has a comprehensive booklet containing...
Curated OER
Tides - The Ins and Outs of Tides
Get your junior oceanographers to generate tidal prediction graphs on an interactive website. They will feel like experts in the field, or shall we say, experts in the ocean! This is a brief, but worthwhile activity that could be used to...
Kenan Fellows
Use of Dichotomous Keys to Identify Stream Organisms
What kind of organisms are living in the stream? After an explanation on how to use a dichotomous key, groups of three to four use the keys to identify macroinvertebrates from a local freshwater stream. Using the the concept of Stream...
Discovery Education
Physical Oceanography and Meteorology, Navy Search and Rescue Operation
It's an ocean rescue mission! Groups must find a pilot downed off the coast of the Chesapeake Bay. Rescuers must determine the distance needed to travel as well as the heading to get to the pilot's last known position. Taking into...
Polar Trec
Nature's Density Column
Nature provides density columns in the polar regions that provides food for many animals. Young scientists build their own density columns with water in order to answer analysis questions. Through a slideshow presentation, scholars...
Curated OER
Microfishing
Students use a simple method to collect living microorganisms from natural and/or artificial environments and develop skills in microscopy, observation, drawing, speculation, hypothesizing, oral presentation, and raising questions.
Florida International University
The Good, the Bad and the Nasty Tasting
Examine the benefits of chemical defense mechanisms. Organisms in oceans use chemicals to ward off predators. Duplicate this adaptation using a hands-on experiment in which you ward off your predators (your pupils) with some bad-tasting...
Curated OER
Faking It
Middle school earth scientists describe the behavior of the Coriolis force. They compare and contrast conditions under which the Coriolis force has a significant impact with conditions under which it has very little. They model the...
Curated OER
Liquid Rainbow
Students develop their own techniques for drawing a small sample of solutions into a straw. They hypothesize ways to increase the density of water, and discuss how salt-free rainwater tends to float on top of salty seawater.
Curated OER
Biotechnology/Bioinformatics Activity
Young scholars demonstrate the genetic principles of Heredity. They discover that each species has a unique Genetic fingerprint and that people can use "Genetic fingerprints" to solve a number of problems. They discuss examples of uses...
Florida International University
Are You Concentrating?
Explore the importance of a concentration gradient in the rates of dissolution. Using the ocean ecosystem, learners study rates of dissolution around coral reefs. A hands-on experiment helps individuals discover the effects of changing a...
Curated OER
Jacob Have I Loved
Students examine visual images about the novel, Jacob Have I Loved. They compare pictures from "America from the Great Depression to World War II" that are described in the book and other studies of the Chesapeake Bay. They present their...
Curated OER
Fish and Zooplankton Through Remote Sensing
Ecology aces examine sea surface temperature maps and relate temperatures to concentration in fish and zooplankton populations. Take your class to a computer lab and provide experience with actual remote sensing data. Some of the links...
Curated OER
Who Lives Here?
Young scholars identify various aquatic wildlife species. In this biology lesson students collect clues about animals that live in wetland habitats. Young scholars rotate through several stations displaying particular animal species to...