This fun Web site is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, they take a close look at the interdependence of all living things in the Dzanga-Sangha. The site opens by introducing kids to BaAka, a young girl who will guide them through the site. In the Connect the Dots, an interactive game, kids learn how the people, animals, and plants depend on each other to thrive three habitats.

This unit gives students insight into how various living things, inanimate objects, and environmental factors are related. It is designed to be completed in four to seven sessions. The unit investigates the following two questions. What kinds of relationships exist among plants, arthropods, and abiotic factors? Can the presence of a plant species predict the presence of an arthropod species, and visa versa?

This OLogy activity tests kids' knowledge about excavation strategies, the tools archaeologists use, and more with an interactive quiz. The 10-question multiple-choice test covers a wide range of topics, from "Why do archaeologists create a map of the site before they dig?" to "Archaeologists look for different soil layers that they identify by color and texture. If the layers haven't been disturbed, what can they tell us?" After making their 10 selections, kids can check their answers with a page that shows them how they did on each question and offers an explanation of the right answers.

Biodiversity is the spectacular variety of life on Earth and the essential interdependence among all living things. Students begin to learn about the term biodiversity at its most basic level. On their first field trip, students observe a natural space and report on what they see. They also begin to see the need for keeping written records and how to make scientific observations of their site. A series of optional mapping activities are presented that develop the skills required to create detailed and representational maps derived from observations and data.

In this classroom activity, young students learn what distinguishes dinosaurs from other animals. The activity opens with background information for teachers about these prehistoric reptiles. Working in small groups, students look through dinosaur books to gather interesting facts to share. As a class, students use their facts to create a semantic map. Then they explore the differences in dinosaur and lizard legs, and examine how these differences affect their stances. The activity concludes with a student worksheet that challenges them to identify the dinosaurs within a collection of animal illustrations.

In this classroom activity, young students explore the differences between bone and trace fossils. The activity opens with background information for teachers about fossils. After describing what a fossil is in their own words, students learn that a fossil is "any evidence of life that is at least 10,000 years old." They then explore the differences between trace and bone fossils by examining pictures. The activity concludes with a student worksheet that challenges them to identify trace and bone fossils.

In this classroom activity, middle school students learn what distinguishes dinosaurs from other animals. The activity opens with background information for teachers about these prehistoric reptiles. As a class, students compare the stance of lizards and dinosaurs in pictures and try to replicate both reptiles' walks. Students then learn that Museum paleontologists classify birds as dinosaurs, and work in groups to compare a T. rex skeleton with pictures of birds.

In this classroom activity, young students investigate what paleontologists can tell from a dinosaur's teeth. The activity opens with background information for teachers about dinosaur teeth. Students begin by looking at animal photos and describing each creature's teeth. They then conduct an experiment that helps them differentiate between the teeth of meat-eaters and plant-eaters .The activity concludes with a student worksheet that challenges them to identify meat-eating and plant-eating dinosaurs.

This fun Web article is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, they learn about Archaeology Piecing Together the Puzzle of History looks at how archaeologists use clues to assemble a picture of the past. Clues to the Past explains that, like all scientists, archaeologists begin with a question they want to explore. Fieldwork Is Where They Dig In explores the challenges of finding a site to excavate. Evidence of an Era has an overview of the many types of evidence archaeologists work with. Recording the Remains looks at the meticulous nature of an excavation. Making Discoveries in the Lab explains the work that begins after the fieldwork. Into the Collections explains the dual role of museum collections as public displays and research libraries.

This fun Web article is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, they learn about Earth science. Our Earth Is Always Changing looks at the fast changes produced by volcanoes and earthquakes and the much slower results of continental drift and mountain formation. A Peek Inside Our Planet explains and compares the Earth's four layers. Earth's Layers Work Together explores the role that each layer plays in the greenhouse effect, which makes life on Earth possible. Humans Are Just a Tiny Part of Earth's Long History puts the past 4.5 billion years into perspective.

This classroom activity helps students understand the benefits and drawback of globes, Mercator maps, and polar map projections. After closely examining all three, students discuss how we represent a spherical object like the Earth on flat surface. The printable five-page handout includes a series of inquiry-based questions related to the representation of Antarctica on the three types of maps.

Students learn about the subtractive nature of white light in this Moveable Museum unit. It contains two procedures in which students "take apart" white light and then "put it back together again." The six-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, step-by-step directions, an easy-to-assemble color wheel, and information about where to obtain supplies. Students use special glasses to see that white light is made up of all the colors of the rainbow and then create a colorful top and spin it to see how the different colors blend into white.

In this week-long unit, students examine weather reports from all over the world in order to understand global temperature patterns. Throughout the unit, students collect their findings in a portfolio. The comprehensive curriculum materials contain teacher tools, a Web activity in which students examine 12 months of weather data for several U.S. cities, comparing their findings with the same 12 months at Antarctica weather stations, two hands-on experiments, two Q&A interviews and a student handout with guidance for putting together their portfolios and examples of creative final projects.