Science

A -Z-Animals was developed as a simple resource for animal facts, information and resources. Since it started in November 2008 the encyclopedia has grown rapidly to now include over 450 different animals. Animals form the largest of the natural world's five kingdoms, with nearly 2 million different animal species having been recorded and new animals are still constantly being discovered. Animals are the most varied living things on the planet. We look into what sets animals apart from other living organisms and from one another. We also look at their behaviour including how they communicate and interact with others; their anatomy including skeletons, senses and movement; the habitats in which they live; and the conservation that is being done around the world to try and protect them.

Learn about the science behind bubbles and Bubble Magic with Tom Noddy. Bubbles have fascinated physicists and mathematicians for centuries. Sir Isaac Newton made his own bubble formulas, others preceded and followed him in efforts to understand their nature. One of the most useful ways that they have served science is in showing minimal areas when applied to various geometric frames. If you look closely at the suds in the sink the next time you are doing the dishes you'll be tempted, at first, to agree that this is a good example of the chaos of nature. There are so many different shapes to the cells...pyramids, boxes, multi-sided irregular shapes all stuck together. Look closer... Bubble walls always join three walls along an edge at three equal 120° angles. The edges always join four edges at a point, the angle there is always 109° 28' 14". That apparent chaos is, in fact, a network that is demonstrating nature's insistence on minimal forms. Nature is always minimizing but rarely do we see so perfect an example of that tendency as we do when we look at a soap bubble ... or a cluster of soap bubbles.

In Sponge Lab Biology's Build a Body students construct a human body system-by-system. To build a body, students drag and drop into place the organs and bones of a human body. Each organ and bone is accompanied by a description of the purpose of that bone or organ. The systems that students can build in the Build a Body activity are the skeletal, digestive, respiratory, nervous, excretory, and circulatory systems. Build a Body has a case study menu in which students can read about diseases, disorders, and and other concerns that affect the human body. Build a Body was designed with high school students in mind. Build a Body could be an excellent resource to pair withBiodigital Human or Healthline's Body Maps. Have students use the Body Maps and Biodigital Human to study the construction of the human body then use Build a Body to test their knowledge.

For people who are interested in monarchs, a butterfly garden is an easy way both to see more monarchs and to contribute towards their conservation. And if you plant a garden, you'll be able to watch not only monarchs but also many other butterfly species right in your backyard. Butterflies are easy to watch, since they're active during the warm parts of the day. With a pair of binoculars, a good field guide, a variety of flowers in bloom, and a sunny calm day, you can sit in your yard and, with practice, identify many different butterfly species. Are you missing that one species you really want to see? Next year, include its favorite plant in your garden.

Have you ever wondered if caterpillars have teeth? How high butterflies can fly? At theChildren's Butterfly Site, find in-depth information about the behavior, appearance, life cycle, and handling of butterflies and moths. Despite their small size, butterflies and moths are some of the World's most wondrous animals. Their beauty, seemingly miraculous metamorphosis, and apparently carefree flight all spark our imaginations. This project is based upon work previously supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Program.

Dirt gets no respect. When we're not ignoring it, we're walking on it, or doing our best to wash it off. Look up dirt in the dictionary and you'll find words like filth, impurity, and excrement. You might even say that dirt gets treated like, well dirt. But gardeners know better. Gardeners give dirt the reverence it deserves, because they know that the right soil can make the difference between sparse, sickly plants and thriving bumper crops. What is dirt, and what makes some dirt superior for gardening? The stuff we call dirt—more formally, soil—is actually made up of two distinct types of material: minerals (the main ingredient) and much smaller amounts of organic matter; that is, living things and their decaying remains. Vist this website and get the real dirt on dirt.

Earth’s Birthday Project (EBP) educates children about the Earth—its beauty, resources and conservation. Our programs engage children in scientific inquiry and empower them to act as informed and responsible citizens. Since EBP's founding in 1989, more than 15 million children have participated in hands-on classroom activities and the Big Gift to the Earth. EBP’s hands-on science provides teachers with simple activities to capture children’s imaginations by engaging them in close observation of animals and plants. Many feature encounters with live insects. All are developed to meet four important criteria: fun, simple, inexpensive, and effective.

Family science night lesson plans offer something new and fun for both elementary students and their families. The Western U.P. Center for Science, Math & Environmental Education and Michigan Tech University conduct family science nights for elementary schools in Houghton, Baraga, Gogebic, and Ontonagon Counties. Elementary students may have to solve a problem, do an experiment, tackle an engineering challenge, or conduct an investigation. The program is sponsored by the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, with funding from the Wege Foundation and the National Science Foundation, with a grant from the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. It is conducted in collaboration with Michigan Technological University's Departments of Education and Civil & Environmental Engineering.

Come be a part of the Nutrition Expedition! Lower elementary students can explore Little D's Nutrition Expedition®, which helps those students identify and classify foods into the Five Food Groups and identify the health benefit of each food group. Upper elementary students can play Arianna's Nutrition Expedition™, which helps kids identify and classify foods into the Five Food Groups, create nutritious Combination Foods and identify the health benefit of each food group. These games are a fun way for kids to learn about the Five Food Groups and the benefits of eating healthy meals — especially breakfast — and experiment with some winning combinations of foods!

Pandas' Earthquake Escape is a fictional story based on a real-life event. In real life, XiXi, a Giant panda did escape from the destroyed Wolong Panda Reserve when the 7.9 earthquake rocked Northern China on May 12, 2008. Author Phyllis Perry uses the adventures of a mother panda, LiLing, and her one year old cub, Tengfei, to teach children about earthquakes, animal survival, and to reinforce a mother's instinct to protect her child. After the quake, mother and cub run from the wreckage. Confused and afraid, they get lost! How will they survive outside their reserve? Will they find food? Will they find shelter? And will they safely endure the earthquake after-shocks? There is something to be learned from every natural disaster, and LiLing and Tengfei give children an opportunity to see it through their eyes. With the help of Susan Detwiler's vivid illustrations, author Phyllis Perry uses a factual event to teach children about earthquakes and animal survival.

The Progressive Science Initiative (PSI) is a program designed to support high levels of student achievement in physics, chemistry, and biology and was developed over 10 years by teachers. This program has led to high levels of Advanced Placement (AP) participation and passing rates. Using the same research-based, successful approaches as PSI, the Progressive Mathematics Initiative (PMI) was developed by teachers to support all of K-12 mathematics. Developed first to support the teaching of Algebra, these courses now also lead to AP Calculus. (Shared by Morgridge Family Foundation)

Find a wide variety of science lesson plans at this BBC website. Objectives and teaching activities can be found to support science in the classroom for topics including living things (food chains; health and growth; life cycles; micro-organisms; plants and animals), materials (gases, liquids and solids; rocks and soils; reversible and irreversible changes), and physical processes (circuits and conductors; earth, sun, and moon; forces in action; friction; light and dark; magnets and springs).

"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated." -Wilson A. Bentley.Snowflake Bentley attracted world attention with his pioneering work in the area of photomicrography, most notably his extensive work with snow crystals (commonly known as snowflakes). By adapting a microscope to a bellows camera, and years of trial and error, he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. He would go on to capture more than 5,000 snowflakes during his lifetime, not finding any two alike. His snow crystal photomicrographs were acquired by colleges and universities throughout the world and he published many articles for magazines and journals including, Scientific American and National Geographic.

Worm composting is a method for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. The great advantage of worm composting is that this can be done indoors and outdoors, thus allowing year round composting. It also provides apartment dwellers with a means of composting. In a nutshell, worm compost is made in a container filled with moistened bedding and redworms. Add your food waste for a period of time, and the worms and micro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into rich compost. The following information is based on the experiences of a network of worm composters linked to City Farmer, Vancouver, and the excellent and practical book Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof.

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Science

A-Z Animals

Beacon Learning Center

Better Lesson

Bubble Magic

Buglife

Build-A-Body

Butterfly Garden

Butterfly Website

Captain's European Butterfly Guide

Children's Butterfly Site

Cookie

Crispy's Apple Stand

Dirt on Dirt

Earth's Birthday Project

Family Science Night Lesson Plans

Geology.com

HippoCampus

Internet4Classrooms

Interactivate

Khan Academy

Kidzone

Let's Talk About Insects!

Mineralogy 4 Kids

National Geographic Kids: Animals

National Science Digital Library

Nutrition Expedition

Pacific Science Center

Pandas' Earthquake Escape

Pebbles, Sand and Silt

PhET Simulations

PSI/PMI

Quiz Hub

SAS Curriculum Pathways

SAS Curriculum Pathways

Scale of the Universe

Science Lesson Plans

Science Spot Kid Zone

Snowflake Bentley

This Planet Really Rocks!

Volcano World

Watch Know Learn

Worm Composting

Upcoming Events

Non-Contracted Day (No School) Snow day make up (if needed)

Teacher Appreciation Week

Interagency Meeting