This article, written for students in grades 4-5, introduces the concept of albedo and describes the shrinking of Arctic sea ice. Modified versions are available for students in younger grades.

In this adapted ZOOM video segment, cast members calculate how much water they each use during a typical shower. They compare their results to their original predictions.

This video features scientists in New Zealand's Southern Alps, examining samples from the rocky landscape once dominated by glaciers. Their research, combined with other climate records, has revealed a link between glacial retreat and rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air.

An interactive lecture that uses flash animations showing the researcher and their experiments that were used to develop the basic concepts in Mendelian genetics. Includes multiple choice questions students can answer in class.

The purpose of this resource is to investigate the center pixel of a homogeneous land Cover Site in order to understand that individual land areas are part of a larger land system.

The purpose of this resource is to investigate the idea that every dynamic system has energy and matter in different forms.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Freshwater salinization, which can be caused by saltwater intrusion, urbanization, and climate change, is becoming an extensive global environmental problem. Microeukaryotic plankton are key components of aquatic ecosystems and play significant ecological roles. However, few studies have investigated the influences of small salinity shifts on microeukaryotic plankton community assembly and co-occurrence networks in inland freshwaters. In a recent study, researchers used high-throughput sequencing to analyze microeukaryotic plankton communities in a subtropical urban reservoir. They found that increasing salinity altered the community composition and led to a significant decrease in plankton diversity. The salinity changes influenced the microeukaryotic plankton community assembly primarily by regulating the deterministic-stochastic balance. The core plankton sub-network had greater robustness at low salinity levels, while the satellite sub-networks had greater robustness at medium/high salinity levels..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this field investigation, students will identify and determine the population size of snails in an aquatic environment.

This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at American energy consumption and the resulting production of greenhouse gases.

This is an interactive map of California and the Sierra Nevada mountains, showing how the amount of water stored in the snowpack will vary under different climate scenarios. The tool shows observations and projections from 1950 to 2090, and uses low or high emission scenarios to model future snowpack. The tool can be adjusted to show different months of the year and various climate models, graphed by site.

Remove a problem species and make a natural soap! Lindsay Hollister, JPPM's horticulturalist, shares how to identify the invasive English Ivy vine and make a soap from the saponins it naturally produces. These molecules naturally deter predators from eating the species, but their structures also make them bond to both waters and fats. Consider using the video or conducting the activity at your location as an integrated introduction to learning about biodiversity and the structures of molecules or atoms, since saponins are valuable as a soap because they are able to bond with either water or fats/lipids.

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. JPPM is a part of the Maryland Historical Trust under the Maryland Department of Planning. If you evaluate or use this resource, please respond to this short (4 question!) survey at bit.ly/3GrTjPk

In this video from DragonflyTV, follow the investigation of Isaac and Anjali as they record, measure, and analyze data about how the Sun's position in the sky affects a solar-powered car's speed.

This introductory video summarizes the process of generating solar electricity from photovoltaic and concentrating (thermal) solar power technologies.

In this 'Energy Education for the 21st Century' design challenge, students construct and evaluate a solar-powered model car. Students utilize the design process and undergo review by their peers to select an optimal gear ratio and components for their car. As a culminating activity, students compete in a Solar Sprint race modeled after the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Junior Solar Sprint competition.

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members assemble a solar still and make fresh water from saltwater, demonstrating two steps of the water cycle, evaporation and condensation.

Student teams design and build solar water heating devices that mimic those used in residences to capture energy in the form of solar radiation and convert it to thermal energy. In this activity, students gain a better understanding of the three different types of heat transfer, each of which plays a role in the solar water heater design. Once the model devices are constructed, students perform efficiency calculations and compare designs.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum/Geology of National Parks module. Students use the geometric mean and multiplicative standard deviation to examine the right-skewed distribution of nutrient concentrations in water-quality data at Mammoth Cave National Park.

Learn about the sounds of the night. Mary and Mike stay up late to explore the magic and music of nighttime. We sing songs about the beauty of the night and a young pianist plays Clair de Lune under the light of the moon. Our friend, Dr. Lerdau, teaches us about nighttime creatures who are making music of their own: owls, crickets, and even plants! Enjoy a lovely evening with us as we discover the simple beauty of our surroundings.

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Presented by VPM.

Songs and Stories with Mary and Mike uses music and story as the joyful pathway to learning for young children while integrating and modeling the state's new EC learning standards for literacy, math, and social-emotional learning as well as the National Standards for Music Education. The show forges connections across the greater community by featuring guest teachers, artists, musicians, authors, and community members. With every music selection, book selection, and guest spotlight, Mary and Mike strive for a rich, diverse, beautiful representation of all people and cultures. The message to beautiful learners is clear: they are loved, they are valued, and they can do amazing things.

This video discusses two key signs of global change in the Southern Ocean: changes in Antarctic bottom water and ocean acidification.

This Web site profiles AMNH's Southwestern Research Station (SWRS), a year-round field station that allows biologists, geologists, and anthropologists to study the diverse environments and biotas of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. The site includes an overview of the field station and its work, information on courses offered, and information for visitors, researchers, interns and volunteers.