A simple experimental apparatus made of rubber band and books is used by student teams challenged with demonstrating the concepts of friction, force, and inertia. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

In this group activity, learners use some common objects and work together to simulate the Coriolis effect. During the challenge, learners make predictions and test different scenarios. This resource includes background information about the Coriolis effect and helpful hints.

This video segment from Nature takes viewers to a road race in Death Valley.

Students learn about five types of renewable energy that are part of engineering solutions to help people in rural communities use less and cleaner energy for cooking and heating. Specifically, students learn about the pollution and health challenges facing families in rural China, and they are introduced to the concept of optimization. Through an energy game, students differentiate between renewable and non-renewable sources of energy.

Travel to the Pacific Northwest, home to some of the most seismically active areas in the U.S. Learn from experts about tectonic activity and find out if they know when the "big one” will hit.

In this activity, students are introduced to the concept of remote sensing. In the course of this experiment, students will investigate heat conduction on two surfaces and understand the application of these techniques to spacecraft investigations of surfaces in the solar system. Materials required for the outdoor demonstration include a cement step, sand, laboratory thermometers, foam rubber, and a meter stick. An optional indoor experimental set up uses twin desk lamps with equal-wattage tungsten bulbs and an infrared thermometer. A student datasheet accompanies the activity. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

This animation adapted from NASA shows the orbital paths of spacecraft in NASA's Earth Observing Fleet that are a source of wide-scale, primary research about Earth.

This kinesthetic activity simulates the process of evolution by natural selection. Students take on the roles of crab-like predators that exhibit one of four variants of feeding appendage: a spoon, fork, knife, and chopsticks. The simulation runs for three trials, as the predators use their appendages to harvest pinto beans, with varying success. Students track the frequency of each appendage type through three generations. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

This online board game involves moving a "research blimp" around the world. Advancing the blimp depends on spinning an embedded wheel and then correctly answering questions related to weather.

Science and education experts caution that climate-change topics can overwhelm and frighten young children. Science lessons chosen for this article focus on general environmental issues, such as the effects of litter, air pollution, and water pollution. The lessons also include actions and solutions to environmental issues. The free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle focuses on integrating age-appropriate science learning with literacy experiences.

This performance assessment aligns with NGSS Performance Expectation 4.ESS1.1 and is intended to be used as an interim assessment. These assessments can either be used summatively, as an end of learning activity, or formatively, utilizing student responses to identify next instructional steps.

Environmentalists have traditionally relied upon the power of their prose to transform the thoughts and behavior of their contemporaries. In 1963, Rachel Carson, a marine biologist with a penchant for writing, described a world without wildlife in Silent Spring and altered the way Americans understood their impact on the landscape. Like other writers we will encounter this semester, Carson realized that she could alter the perceptions of her contemporaries only if she was able to transmit her knowledge in engaging and accessible language. We will do our best to follow in her footsteps.

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.

An original informational story about Sun's role in heating Earth's air, land, and water and Sun's connection to the seasons and weather. The story encourages young readers to observe Sun's impact on weather and the seasons and to make predictions about the weather. The story is available in separate versions for grades K-2 and 3-5 and as a downloadable, full-color pdf. The story is a feature of the free online magazine that focuses on the seven principles of climate literacy.

The Second Grade Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects, How Can Dams Change the Land Around Them, uses a local phenomena of impact of the Wanapum Dam on the Columbia River and a crack in that dam to understand erosion and changes in the landscape.  It is part of Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects project, a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, North Central ESD, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects  can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons.  Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for  current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) pnenomena based, focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.

In this demonstration, students detect the interference of waves and measure wave phenomena using an experimental apparatus consisting of a laser pointer, a second surface mirror scrap (like a bathroom mirror) binder clips, razor blade, ruler, and a white wall or projection screen. Appendices with a discussion of physical principles and extension activities are included. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

This laboratory activity demonstrates how seismic waves are generated and helps students understand how they can reveal the composition of Earth's inner layers. Students will construct models by filling shoe boxes with various materials, drop rocks on them to generate 'seismic waves', record the waves, and make observations about their differences.

The main objective of this cross-disciplinary course is to understand the historical development and the current status of ideas and models, to present and question the constraints from the different research fields, and to investigate if and how the different views on mantle flow can be reconciled with the currently available data.

This demonstration is designed to show how the inputs and outputs of energy or mass in a system balance. Students create a reservoir model using a hose, a bucket, a tub with a drain and overflow triangle, a ruler, and water, to understand the inputs and outputs of a local watershed or reservoir. A worksheet accompanies the activity. The resource is supported by teacher background information, assessments, and a scoring rubric. This is Activity 1 of the learning module, Global Balance, part of the lesson series, Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.

In this activity, students create a reservoir model using hoses, a bucket, a flat pan, and water, to understand the inputs and outputs of a local watershed or reservoir. The resource is supported by teacher background information, assessment suggestions, and a scoring rubric. This is Activity 2 of the learning module, Global Balance, part of the lesson series, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.