Students learn how a telescope's aperture determines how much light it can gather in this Moveable Museum unit. It has three procedures, one of which is optional. The four-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, step-by-step directions, and information about where to obtain supplies. In this activity, the light collector is not a lens or a mirror, but a hole in a cardboard box. Light enters through the hole and lights up the box. Users can change the size of the hole and see how the amount of light entering the box changes. The results show why increasing the aperture of a telescope increases the amount of light it can collect.

Produced by the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, this booklet records the findings of the DIVERSITAS/Systematics Agenda 2000 International Workshop that took place at the AMNH in 1998. The objective of the New York workshop was to develop recommendations for undertaking country assessments and national reports of taxonomic knowledge and capacity, for preparing and designing national strategies and action plans to meet the goals of the Global Taxonomy Initiative, and for building regional networks in support of country - driven activities that advance the GTI. A major component of the workshop addressed how systematic inventories can serve as an organizing framework for building taxonomic knowledge and capacity, and thus advancing the GTI.

Produced by the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, this booklet records the findings of the DIVERSITAS/Systematics Agenda 2000 International Workshop that took place at the AMNH in 1998. The objective of the New York workshop was to develop recommendations for undertaking country assessments and national reports of taxonomic knowledge and capacity, for preparing and designing national strategies and action plans to meet the goals of the Global Taxonomy Initiative, and for building regional networks in support of country - driven activities that advance the GTI. A major component of the workshop addressed how systematic inventories can serve as an organizing framework for building taxonomic knowledge and capacity, and thus advancing the GTI.

This Web article is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here they meet two Museum scientists who go fossil hunting every year in the Gobi, and view the duo's scrapbook. In addition to seeing photos and illustrations from the Gobi scrapbook, students learn about the journey to Mongolia, discover the challenges of fossil hunting, and see what a typical day is like for these scientists.

This Web site, created to complement the Museum's Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, offers a virtual visit to the Museum, complete with text, photos, and a downloadable desktop background. The site contains information on ten exhibition highlights.

This online directory lists government environmental organizations that can help you identify good field sites, find educational programs and materials, and contact scientists or naturalists who can answer your questions. Along with the national headquarters for these organizations, the directory includes at least one contact each for the Northeast, Southeast, West, Midwest, and Northwest. Where available, the mailing address, phone number, Web site URL, and email address are given. In addition, the directory has links to two Web sites where additional state and regional resources can be located.

We owe our lives to gravity. It holds the atmosphere to Earth and keeps us all from falling off into space. Not to mention that without gravity, the stars and planets—including Earth—wouldn't even exist! This Moveable Museum article, available as a nine-page printable PDF file, introduces the key concepts of gravity, orbits, weight, and weightlessness.

In this classroom activity, young students are introduced to sets and subsets. The activity opens with background information for teachers about cladistics. After brainstorming different ways to group the class itself, students work in small groups to identify subsets of coins. The groups then complete a worksheet that challenges them to group dinosaurs into sets and subsets and share their results with the class.

This online article, from Biodiversity Counts, is a guide to finding local specialists who are knowledgeable about plants and arthropods. It includes: an overview of how local specialists can be of help; a link to the Directory of Local Specialists, a list of specialists who have agreed to work with participating schools; a list of additional organizations, with links to Web sites, that are good sources for local specialists; tips on how to find local specialists from Linda Beyt, a middle school teacher in Louisiana and a Biodiversity Counts mentor; and tips for enlisting volunteers by Karen Spaulding, a middle school teacher in Massachusetts and a Biodiversity Counts mentor.

Just like the permanent exhibit it was created to complement, the online Hall of Biodiversity showcases the beauty, diversity, and abundance of life on Earth while warning of the threats posed by human activity. Along with a brief introduction to the exhibit, it includes these four sections: Spectrum of Life - A virtual journey through 3.5 billion years of evolution on Earth. The interactive cladogram includes detailed information on more than 25 diverse life forms. Transformation of the Biosphere - An overview of how the Earth is continually experiencing climatic changes and changes brought on by physical events, such as meteorite collisions. The Dzanga-Sangha Rain Forest - An explanation of what visitors will find when they explore this walk-through diorama at the Museum, which features the sights and sounds of a dense tropical rain forest. Solutions - A list of concrete actions individuals can take to help save the Earth's resources for generations to come.

In this biodiversity activity, students learn how to construct their own cladogram. They consider four coins (quarter, dime, nickel, penny), identifying defining characteristics. Then, students construct a Venn diagram, followed by a cladogram. The two-page printable PDF includes tips for both teachers and students.

In this biodiversity activity, students learn how to construct their own dichotomous keys. They use either specimens they've collected or ones you bring into class, such as shells, fruit, or leaves. The one-page printable PDF includes guidelines about what students should look for and include when creating their dichotomous keys.

This series of activities provides a sample of possibilities for using the Digital Universe with your students. The activities were drafted in consultation with classroom teachers and museum experts, but have yet to be pilot tested in classrooms. They are an initial exploration into the educational possibilities for using the Digital Universe data set in the classroom.

In this classroom activity, young students compare their feet to the foot of a large Apatosaur. The activity opens with background information for teachers about the enormous size range of dinosaurs. After using personal references to describe the size of dinosaurs, students examine the outline of an Apatosaur footprint. Students then estimate how many of their footprints would fit inside the Apatosaur footprint and conduct an experiment to test their estimate.

This OLogy activity teaches kids the many things they can do to preserve biodiversity. The printable checklist includes detailed examples in nine categories.

This article, part of Biodiversity Counts, provides insight into the important task of identifying plant specimens. The article includes a list of tools that are part of a botanist's field kit.

In this Biodiversity Counts activity, students create their own aerial insect net using common and inexpensive supplies: net fabric, a coat hanger, a wooden handle, duct tape, a sewing needle, and thread. The online activity page includes illustrated step-by-step directions and a brief introduction to the use of fabric nets.

This Biodiversity Counts illustration shows students how to make a simple killing jar to preserve arthropods for further study. As the labeled drawing shows, all that's needed is a jar with a lid, tape for reinforcement, a few drops of ethyl acetate, and a paper towel.

In this Biodiversity Counts article, students learn how to preserve their plant pressings.

In this Biodiversity Counts activity, students learn how to press and preserve plant specimens. The online page includes illustrated instructions about how to layer and maintain pressings until the specimens have dried.