February 2015

Teacher Submissions
Partner Announcements
Windows to the Universe Facebook Group

Happy Birthday Windows to the Universe!
by Roberta

February marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of Windows to the Universe!  This project started with funding from NASA in February 1995, and we've been working to maintain and grow this resource with the support of many sponsors since that time!  Our sponsors have included multiple NASA offices and centers, multiple NSF projects, collaborations with NOAA, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmopsheric Processes at Colorado State University, the Center for Space Weather Modeling at Boston University, the American Geosciences Institute, the American Geophysical Union, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the High Tide project at Old Dominion University -- to name just a few of our sponsors!  Over this period, we have reached nearly a billion people around the world, at a cost of only about $10 million over 20 years.  We've been able to provide resources to countless teachers and students around the world thanks to a very small staff and volunteers.  Thank you to all the educators and scientists who have contributed to this resource - we look forward to continuing to serve Earth, space, and environmental science educators and learners in the coming year!

We have a full program coming up at the Chicago NSTA, so please be sure to scroll down to see our workshops at the conference.  We also have numerous resources and programs highlighted below - be sure to check them out!


Windows to the Universe Educator Membership Options!
by Roberta

Windows to the Universe offers membership options for Windows to the Universe educators that include course webpage support, as well as options for homework and online quizzes.  We will continue to offer Basic Educator Membership (which provides advertising-free access to the website plus additional member benefits), but we are expanding now to offer Silver Educator Membership (Basic Educator Membership supplemented by course webpage support and course login for students) or Gold Educator Membership (with course support including online quizzes and homework upload/download and individual student subscriptions).  We also offer support for classrooms, with or without course support.  For more details, see our Educator Membership Benefits and Services page.

We hope you'll visit the Windows to the Universe web site many times this year, and we hope to see you at one of our sessions at the NSTA National Conference in Boston (see table below).



  Site and Science News

NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Begins First Stages of Pluto Encounter

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft recently began its long-awaited, historic encounter with Pluto. The spacecraft is entering the first of several approach phases that culminate July 14 with the first close-up flyby of the dwarf planet, 4.67 billion miles (7.5 billion kilometers) from Earth.

“NASA first mission to distant Pluto will also be humankind’s first close up view of this cold, unexplored world in our solar system,” said Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “The New Horizons team worked very hard to prepare for this first phase, and they did it flawlessly.”

The fastest spacecraft when it was launched, New Horizons lifted off in January 2006. It awoke from its final hibernation period in December 2014 after a voyage of more than 3 billion miles, and will soon pass close to Pluto, inside the orbits of its five known moons. In preparation for the close encounter, the mission’s science, engineering and spacecraft operations teams configured the piano-sized probe for distant observations of the Pluto system that started in January with a long-range photo shoot.

The “optical navigation” campaign that continues this month marks the first time pictures from New Horizons will be used to help pinpoint Pluto’s location.

Throughout the first approach phase, which runs until spring, New Horizons will conduct a significant amount of additional science. Spacecraft instruments will gather continuous data on the interplanetary environment where the planetary system orbits, including measurements of the high-energy particles streaming from the sun and dust-particle concentrations in the inner reaches of the Kuiper Belt

More intensive studies of Pluto begin in the spring, when the cameras and spectrometers aboard New Horizons will be able to provide image resolutions higher than the most powerful telescopes on Earth. Eventually, the spacecraft will obtain images good enough to map Pluto and its moons more accurately than achieved by previous planetary reconnaissance missions.


NASA, NOAA Find 2014 Warmest Year in Modern Record

The year 2014 ranks as Earth’s warmest since 1880, according to two separate analyses by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists.

The 10 warmest years in the instrumental record, with the exception of 1998, have now occurred since 2000. This trend continues a long-term warming of the planet.

Since 1880, Earth’s average surface temperature has warmed by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius), a trend that is largely driven by the increase in carbon dioxide and other human emissions into the planet’s atmosphere. The majority of that warming has occurred in the past three decades.

“This is the latest in a series of warm years, in a series of warm decades. While the ranking of individual years can be affected by chaotic weather patterns, the long-term trends are attributable to drivers of climate change that right now are dominated by human emissions of greenhouse gases,” said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt.

NASA's GISS analysis incorporates surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures, and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations. This raw data is analyzed using an algorithm that takes into account the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and urban heating effects that could skew the calculation. The result is an estimate of the global average temperature difference from a baseline period of 1951 to 1980.

NOAA scientists used much of the same raw temperature data, but a different baseline period. They also employ their own methods to estimate global temperatures.


NASA’s Chandra Observatory Detects Record-Breaking Outburst from Milky Way’s Black Hole

Astronomers have observed the largest X-ray flare ever detected from the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This event, detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, raises questions about the behavior of this giant black hole and its surrounding environment.

The supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, is estimated to contain about 4.5 million times the mass of our sun. Astronomers made the unexpected discovery while using Chandra to observe how Sgr A* would react to a nearby cloud of gas known as G2.

Read more about this unique discovery and view amazing images taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.


Ocean Gyres

A gyre is another name for a swirling vortex.  Ocean gyres are large swirling bodies of water that are often on the scale of a whole ocean basin or 1000's of kilometers across (hundreds to thousands of miles across).  They are larger than the whirlpools of water in the ocean called eddies.  Eddies are on the scale of 100 km (60 miles) across and dissipate over a few months.  Ocean gyres dominate the central regions of open ocean and represent the long-term average pattern of ocean surface currents.  Ocean gyres in the Northern hemisphere rotate clockwise and gyres in the Southern hemisphere rotate counter-clockwise due to the Coriolis effect.

The major gyres of the ocean include:  North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian Ocean gyres.  Many smaller gyres exist too.  One such gyre, the Beaufort gyre in the Arctic Ocean, is featured in the small illustration found to the left.

One of the largest ocean gyres, the North Pacific gyre, is home to an area called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  This area contains a relatively high concentration of marine litter.  It is estimated to cover an area roughly twice the size of Texas and contain approximately 3 million tons of plastic litter, though much of this plastic is broken up into pieces too small to see with the naked eye.  Although the precise origin of the litter is not known, scientists believe that the Garbage Patch was created gradually as the Northern Pacific Gyre captured foreign material and that material was transported to the center of the gyre by centripetal forces and wind-driven surface currents, creating an area with concentrated litter.

Surface ocean currents, ocean gyres, deep ocean circulation and the atmosphere are all parts of the complex Earth system.  Understanding ocean-atmosphere interactions is a key part of understanding global climate change as well as how different things like water, energy, nutrients or pollutants move through (or get trapped within!) different parts of the Earth system.


Learn More about Cosmic Rays!

Cosmic rays are a type of radiation that comes from space.  They aren't really "rays" at all, but a type of particle radiation.  There are several different types (and corresponding sources) of cosmic rays:  solar cosmic rays, galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays, and anomalous cosmic rays.  Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere shield us from most of this high-energy radiation, though astronauts in space and satellites aren't so lucky.  Future missions to the Moon and Mars will need to take special precautions to protect crews and equipment from cosmic rays.  

Surprisingly, the greatest threat from cosmic rays is not at the time when the Sun is at the most active phase of its 11-year solar cycle.  Radiocarbon dating using carbon-14, with its many applications to archeology and other fields that delve into our past, would not be possible if there were no cosmic rays.  Want to know more about these and other questions?  Click here to delve deeper into the mysteries of cosmic rays!


"Chilly" Classroom Activities

February in the northern hemisphere often brings with it chilly temperatures and snow and ice to go with those dropping temperatures.  Did you know that we have a suite of activities that have to do with the poles of the Earth?  Get in the mood for some "chilly" classroom activities!

We have some powerful visual interactives that can only be used online.  Middle school to high school students can access this page to look at animations of annual variation of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, to compare images of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice side-by-side, and to utilize an interactive about the Earth's north magnetic pole.

We have several activities that cover the topic of glaciers.  Model a Moving Glacier has students make a model of glacier motion and then experiment with it.  There's also Glaciers: Then and Now where students compare photographs of glaciers to observe how Alaskan glaciers have changed over the last century.

Want to teach about polar life?  Try out our Arctic Life Mobile which you can print and use in your elementary classroom.

Simply want to have some chilly fun?  Try our polar jigsaw puzzles, polar word search, or send a polar postcard to someone you love!


Celebrate Black History Month!

February is Black History Month.  Celebrate these important people and their culture in your science classroom by taking time to do the Earth Scientist Project with your students.  This is a research, writing, and presentation activity where students learn about scientists.  It's also a great activity to use in encouraging teamwork.  Here are some scientists you might want to focus on to celebrate Black History Month:

Evan B. Forde is an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Florida.  He has been an oceanographer since 1973, and was the first black oceanographer to participate in research dives aboard the submersibles ALVIN, JOHNSON SEA LINK, and NEKTON GAMMA.  His current research is aimed at understanding how hurricanes form and intensify, and he also works extensively in science education.

Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmental activist, and the founder of the Green Belt Movement, an organization that promotes environmental conservation and community development.  In Kenya, the Green Belt Movement works to organize jobs for poor rural women and promote the planting of new trees to fight deforestation and stop soil erosion.  Dr. Maathai was the first East African woman to earn a PhD in 1971, and for her efforts to protect the environment and the poor of Africa she was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.  She died of complications arising from ovarian cancer while receiving treatment at a Nairobi hospital on September 25, 2011.

Warren Washington is a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, where he is currently the head of the Climate Change Research Section.  He has been a climate scientist for over 50 years, and has served as a key advisor to many different government agencies.  From 2002-2006, Dr. Washington served as the Chairman of the National Science Board, which helps to oversee the National Science Foundation and advises the President and Congress on scientific matters.  He has won many awards and honors over the course of his career, and is a nationally recognized expert on climate change.


Birthdays in February

Windows to the Universe is celebrating its 20th birthday this month!  We share this birthday month with many prominent scientists.

  • February 8 - Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907) - a Russian chemist who created the first version of the periodic table of elements.
  • February 11 - Thomas Edison (1847-1931) - a famous American inventor who patented over a thousand inventions, including the light bulb, phonograph and a motion picture machine.
  • February 12 - Charles Darwin (1809-1882) - English naturalist whose book On the Origin of Species laid the basis for modern evolutionary theory.
  • February 15 - Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) - an Italian physicist, astronomer and philosopher who was called "the father of modern science" by Albert Einstein.  
  • February 19 - Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) - a Polish astronomer and mathematician who introduced the heliocentric model of the universe.
  • February 25 - Maria Kirch (1670-1720) - a German astronomer who discovered the comet of 1702.
  • February 28 - Linus Pauling (1901-1994) - an American chemist who was awarded a Nobel prize in chemistry for his work in biochemistry and a Nobel peace prize for his efforts to stop nuclear weapons testing.



  Calendar of Events

World Wetlands Day - February 2

February 2 marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands, an international treaty aimed at preserving wetlands around the world.  Every year on this date, the Ramsar Convention (an organization that coordinates international cooperation in wetland management, named after the city in which the treaty was drafted) promotes a wide variety of activities and materials to help educate people around the world about wetland ecology and management.  This year’s theme is "Wetlands for Our Future – Join us!" and is geared at enticing youth to experience wetlands for themselves.

For more information about World Wetlands Day and to see posters, handouts, and games that help promote this day, click here.


What Week Will You Pick to be Your Green Week? February 2-May 2, 2015

Green Week is turning 6!  Celebrate by selecting any week from February 2 to May 2, 2015, to be your Green Week!  Participate for the whole week, a day, or just one lesson, reading, or activity. Schools and groups are encouraged to take this opportunity to spend time with students discussing sustainability topics and exploring ways they can make a difference. 

The Green Education Foundation is hosting National Green Week.  Get started by signing up today!


GSA Geocorps - Deadline is February 3, 2015

Students are encouraged to apply for the Geological Society of America's GeoCorps America program, which works with the National Park Service, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management to place young geoscientists in paid geoscience-related positions at national parks.  Find out more at http://rock.geosociety.org/g_corps/index.htm.


It's for the Birds! The Great Backyard Bird Count is February 13-16, 2015

Citizen scientists - get ready, get set, count!  The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where birds are across the continent.  Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts.  It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event.  It's free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.  The 2015 GBBC will take place February 13-16.  Kids can participate too!

February is also National Bird Feeding Month.  The month recognizes that winter (in the Northern hemisphere) can be a rough time for birds and that February is an ideal time for promoting and enjoying the bird feeding hobby, which is home-based and nature-oriented.  Get started today!


NSF Summer Research Experience - Geoenvironmental Challenges - Application Deadline is February 15, 2015

The application is now available for a nine-week National Science Foundation summer undergraduate research experience for future Earth science, chemistry, and biology teachers from around the country.  Applications are due by February 15, 2015. To apply, visit the project website at http://capone.mtsu.edu/mabolins/REU.pdf  For questions, contact Dr. Mark Abolins at Mark.Abolins@mtsu.edu

Details:

* A nine-week undergraduate science research experience in the greater Nashville, TN area.

* May 31 – August 1, 2015.

* For future middle school and high school Earth science, chemistry, and biology teachers.

* Includes one-week field trip to Mammoth Caves and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

* Includes travel to the 2016 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado.

* $4,500.00 stipend + all expenses (including room, board, and travel to Denver).


NESTA/W2U Workshop at Chicago National NSTA Conference: Earth Science Rocks! Using Earth Science Activities to Engage Students as Scientists - March 13, 2015

March 13, 2015, 08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
McCormick Place, Skyline W375e
Chicago, Illinois

During this session, we will share engaging activities that address fundamental concepts in geology central to Earth Science disciplinary core ideas brought out in the NRC Framework (ESS-2A and 2B). Our activities will address Earth materials, plate tectonics and associated phenomena, the rock cycle, and the coupled Earth system. We will explore different types of Earth materials - igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic, and how we use them in society. We will look at simple physical models to understand how plates have moved in the past and how they move today, generating dynamic phenomena we know as eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis. We will examine the rock cycle, and through simple physical models discover how sedimentary rocks are formed. We will discuss how landforms and the rock cycle are influenced by other spheres of the Earth system.

Participants will try out all activities during this hands-on workshop, ensuring that they will leave the session knowing how to use them in their classroom. Participants will receive a handout with links to lesson plans and other complimentary resources available on the Windows to the Universe educational website (www.windows2universe.org), which is a project of the non-profit National Earth Science Teachers Association.


NESTA/W2U Workshop at Chicago National NSTA Conference: Harnessing the Power of Earth System Science for Developing Science Practices and Crosscutting Concepts - March 13, 2015

March 13, 2015, 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
McCormick Place, Skyline W375e
Chicago, Illinois

The study of Earth system science provides abundant opportunities to develop student’s science practice skills and their understanding of crosscutting concepts in the context of learning about disciplinary core ideas that are timely and relevant to student experience. The NRC Framework identifies multiple core ideas – ESS2.C – 2.E; ESS3.A – 3.D – that span Earth’s systems and are linked to NGSS performance expectations. Increasingly, students will be expected to collect and analyze data, build models, and employ scientific practices to answer questions about the Earth system. This session will provide exemplary teaching resources to assist teachers in their transition to the NGSS ESS Standards. Participants will engage with hands-on lessons focused on timely topics such as black carbon, eutrophication, and climate change that utilize the cross-cutting concepts to unite core ideas and incorporate a variety of science and engineering practices. This workshop focuses on freely available materials available through the National Earth Science Teachers Association and its flagship ESS education website, Windows to the Universe, as well as resources provided through other programs sponsored by federal agencies and non-profit partners.


NESTA/HHMI Workshop at Chicago National NSTA Conference: Multimedia Tools and Classroom Resources for Teaching Earth System Science - March 14, 2015

March 14, 2015, 08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
McCormick Place, Skyline W375e
Chicago, Illinois

Earth is a dynamic planet that has undergone vast changes over geologic history. This NESTA-HHMI workshop investigates our changing Earth while modeling Earth system science classroom resources.


NESTA/ESIP/W2U Workshop at Chicago National NSTA Conference: Using Data in the Earth and Space Science Classroom to Engage Students as Real Scientists - March 14, 2015

March 14, 2015, 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
McCormick Place, Skyline W375e
Chicago, Illinois

The past 20 years have been exciting times for the fields of Earth and Space Science (ESS) as technology has changed the way scientists view Earth and space. Measurement platforms provide a myriad of data to answer questions about Earth processes and how humans are affecting them. The Next Generation Science Standards have applied this new view in developing grade-appropriate performance expectations that mirror the work of scientists. Students will be expected to collect and analyze data, build models, and employ scientific practices to answer questions about the natural world. A central aspect of this process is data – acquisition, analysis, and interpretation. This session will provide exemplary teaching resources to assist teachers with the use of data in the classroom in meaningful applications that engage students in the study of Earth and space science. Participants will engage with hands-on lessons that utilize the cross-cutting concepts to unite core ideas and incorporate a variety of science and engineering practices. This workshop, which is offered through collaboration between the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) and the Earth System Information Partnership (ESIP), focuses on freely available materials offered by ESIP-associated programs, NESTA, and its flagship ESS education website, Windows to the Universe


NESTA/W2U Workshop at Chicago National NSTA Conference: How Weird Can It Get? Developing Weather and Climate Literacy - March 14, 2015

March 14, 2015, 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
McCormick Place, Skyline W375e
Chicago, Illinois

Join us in this activity-based workshop as we explore key topics in weather and climate that address NRC Framework ESS2.D - Weather and Climate. Using effective hands-on activities, we will explore activities that demonstrate fundamental concepts of atmospheric and climate science – radiation balance, atmospheric circulation, climate, climate change, and greenhouse gases. These activities provide opportunities for students to develop their science practice skills as well as their understanding of crosscutting concepts in the context of learning about disciplinary core ideas that are timely and relevant to student experience. Activities used in the workshop are aligned to the National Science Education Standards, and relevance to the NRC Framework and the NGSS will be highlighted. Participants will receive a handout with links to lesson plans and other free resources available on the Windows to the Universe educational website (www.windows2universe.org). This website has been developed with sponsorship from NSF, NASA, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and university sponsors since 1995. Many additional free activity lesson plans are available on the web site, a project of the non-profit National Earth Science Teachers Association.


Coming Up - Environmental Education Week 2015 - April 19-25, 2015

EE Week, sponsored by Samsung, is April 19-25, 2015.  EE Week 2015 will focus on Greening STEM

Though it seems far away, it's not too early to prepare for the celebration of EE Week at your school, workplace or in your community.  

The EE Week blog provides educators with a forum to interact and engage with experts and their peers on a variety of topics surrounding environmental education and Greening STEM.


Earth Science Week 2015 Theme Announced: "Visualizing Earth Systems" - October 11-17

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce that the theme of Earth Science Week 2015 will be "Visualizing Earth Systems." 

Earth Science Week 2015 learning resources and activities will engage young people and others in exploring ways of visualizing Earth systems. Using technologies ranging from on-site data collection to satellite-based remote sensing, scientists investigate conditions of Earth systems. And today's geoscientists display their findings in charts, graphs, diagrams, illustrations, photos, videos, computer-generated animations, and 3D-printed creations.

"With this theme, Earth Science Week explores what it means to see our planet through eyes informed by the geosciences," says Geoff Camphire, AGI's Manager of Outreach. "Geoscientists are finding innovative ways to not only examine natural phenomena, but also present that information to professional, educational, and other audiences. In addition to tools such as telescopes and microscopes, we also can view and map changes in natural systems through new avenues such as computer games, smartphone apps, and online videos."

Earth Science Week 2015 will be celebrated October 11-17. For more about this week and ways to get involved -- including newsletters, local events, and classroom activities -- please see the Earth Science Week web site.



  Other Announcements

EARTH: A Dry and Ravaged Land: Investigating Water Resources in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest countries, with an economy largely based on subsistence agriculture. Working in an arid climate on thin margins of profitability and sustenance, Afghan farmers depend on reliable, year-round sources of surface water and groundwater to irrigate their crops and water their livestock. Seasonal flows of streams and rivers fed by melting snowpack high in Afghanistan's mountains also recharge alluvial aquifers located in populated valleys and provide city dwellers with drinking water. But the arid country is already highly susceptible to drought, and climate change threatens to alter precipitation patterns. With the population expected to increase by 80 percent by the year 2050, all factors point to water being one of the most critical national needs.

Since early 2002, American geoscientists have been working in Afghanistan to help the country develop reliable water supplies. Recent developments have included re-establishing the hydrologic expertise of Afghan scientists and creating local and national groundwater monitoring networks as well as a national climatic network. Although further improvements are needed, U.S. Geological Survey scientists working in Afghanistan hope that these advances will assist Afghanistan's planners and managers to assess and monitor current and future water resources. 

Read more about the work these scientists are doing to secure Afghanistan's future in the January issue of EARTH magazine


National Park Videos Explore Climate Change

The National Park Service invites you to view videos on a variety of climate change topics, including citizen science, sea-level rise, glaciers, and more!

Through these educational videos, teachers and students can learn the basics about climate change topics, explore the National Park Service’s unique position in responding to climate change, understand the challenges of managing parks in the face of climate change, and find out more about the science behind climate change.

See videos online on the National Park Service web site and YouTube.


Nature Conservancy Eyes Science of Earth Habitats

The Nature Conservancy offers informational resources ideal for educators aiming to teach about a wide range of geoscience topics, including the ecology of various habitats and ways that communities interact with them.

Videos and other materials convey the work of scientists engaged in conservation efforts around the world. For example, educational resources on floodplains explore the many ways that humans rely on floodplain areas for clean water, agriculture, and healthy ecosystems.

Throughout the Nature Conservancy website, you can find a wealth of resources on natural habitats, including webcasts on the environment, interviews with scientists, and articles explaining how habitats pose potential hazards to communities living there.


Earth Science Classroom Activities Now Searchable Online

Ever wish you could go online to search for a classroom activity tailor-made to match the Earth science topic you’re teaching? Visit the Earth Science Week Classroom Activities page - continually updated and recently redesigned - for more than 120 free learning activities.

Activities are organized and searchable by various criteria, including specific Earth science topics. To find the perfect activity for your lesson, just click on “Search Classroom Activities.” Search by grade level and science education standard. Maybe most useful, you also can search among 24 categories of Earth science topics, from energy and environment to plate tectonics and weathering.

This database-driven resource is ideal not only for supplementing a prepared curriculum, but also for generating activities that address current events such as fossil discoveries and volcanic eruptions.


NSF Offers Online Climate Change Resources

For Earth science teachers and students searching for the most up-to-date information on climate change, the National Science Foundation (NSF) offers a useful web site.

“Our planet’s climate affects - and is affected by - the sky, land, ice, sea, life, and people found on it.  To understand the entire story of climate change,” according to the site, “we must study all of the natural and human systems that contribute to and interact with Earth’s climate system.”

Use the NSF Climate Change site to read an NSF report summarizing the current state of knowledge about climate change, and to access resources dealing with related news, discoveries, statistics, and publications.


NOAA Teaches Educators About Oceans, the Atmosphere, and Climate

The U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promotes educational resources and opportunities for students and teachers about oceanic, atmospheric, and climate change science.

On NOAA’s Education Resources Website, you’ll find lesson plans, interactive activities, educational games, videos, images, scholarships, career opportunities, and detailed information on weather, climate change, oceans, and satellites.  Also, look for information on NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Program, which allows a K-16 teacher to serve aboard a NOAA ship as a researcher.

In addition to online offerings, NOAA’s Office of Education conducts teacher development workshops throughout the year to help improve oceanic, atmospheric, and climate literacy among science teachers.  Find out where a workshop is being held in your area.


EPA Has Climate Resources For Teachers and Students

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers a climate education web site for students, teachers, and school administrators, including information and activities related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In one activity, for example, middle school and high school students estimate and conceptualize their schools’ emissions and explore ways to mitigate them. Also, teachers can learn from climate experts and search a database of lesson plans, videos, books, and tools. Visit the EPA web site at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/school.html.


National Parks’ Web Rangers Explore Geoscience

The National Park Service wants you to become a Web Ranger! The interactive Web Ranger program helps people of all ages learn about the national parks. For example, enter White Sands National Monument in New Mexico from your desktop and identify animal tracks left in the 275 square miles of gypsum dunes that give the park its name.

“Rock Around the Park,” another geoscience activity for Web Rangers, shows how erosion has shaped the landscapes of national parks such as Arches National Park in Utah and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Or you can explore over 220 national parks with fossils, including dinosaur fossils.  Learn about what dinosaurs munched on millions of years ago in “Dino Diets.”

Find all of this and more on the Web Rangers site. Play more than 50 games, invent a Web Ranger name, create a personalized ranger badge, find out what parks are in your area and start learning about Earth science in the national parks at http://www.nps.gov/webrangers/ today!


The Young Meteorologist Program (YMP)

The Young Meteorologist Program (YMP) is an innovative, fun, and informational online game designed to help students learn to prepare for weather-related disasters. YMP was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the non-profit organizations American Meteorological Society (AMS) and PLAN!T NOW as a free resource that can be utilized in classrooms to help students comprehend complex natural phenomena, and learn actions they can take to keep themselves and their families safe.

Weather is a feature that inspires curiosity and fear, and impacts every person on Earth. The AMS is distributing this online game to its vast network of U.S. K-12 science teachers, ensuring this resource reaches thousands of AMS-trained science teachers and their students. Educators can use this activity to supplement general Earth science lessons at their schools. There is an expanded section for educators available on the Young Meteorologist website that includes lesson plans, related math activities, videos, and discussion pieces ideal for helping teach about weather.

YMP is set up as a five-module game covering natural disasters including hurricanes, lightning, flooding, tornadoes, and winter storms. Using new media, students follow Owlie, a young owl led by two meteorologists, and Girdie, a wise bird who challenges common misconceptions people have about weather events. The game is filled with clever rhymes, familiar games, and some math to reinforce safety messages, and is best suited for middle school-aged students. The entire game takes 1-2 hours to complete, ending with a certificate of completion to share with family and friends.


NASA Challenges Students To Train Like An Astronaut

An engaging NASA program brings the excitement of space exploration to children learning to live a healthy lifestyle.  Inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiativeNASA's Train Like an Astronaut program aims to increase opportunities both in and out of school for kids to become more physically and mentally active.

The program uses the excitement of space exploration and astronaut training to challenge, inspire and educate kids to set physical fitness goals and practice fitness and proper nutrition.  Kids will explore mission challenges, learn the science behind nutrition and learn to train like an astronaut.

The activities align with National Education Standards that are part of physical education and health curriculum in schools throughout the country.  Teachers can easily modify the activities to create an environment that supports all learners.  No special equipment is required and the activities involve no heavy lifting.  Although designed for 8-12 year olds, the program is for anyone who is curious about space exploration and what it takes to be an astronaut.  Participants simply visit the website, find a favorite exercise and get started.


ScienceNews for Students

Can you observe a species evolving?  Can lizards learn?  Will the Sun’s cycle stay the same?  Has ADHD been linked to air pollution?  Find answers to these questions and delve into more of life's curiosities at ScienceNews for Students.  The site presents timely science stories categorized by subject, along with suggestions for hands-on activities, books, articles, and web resources.

ScienceNews for Students is run by the Society for Science and the Public.


Spot the Space Station Over Your Backyard with NASA Service

For over 14 years, crews have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station.  You can see the orbiting laboratory when it passes over your home!  NASA's "Spot the Station" service will send an email or text message to those who sign up for the service a few hours before they will be able to see the space station.

"It's really remarkable to see the space station fly overhead and to realize humans built an orbital complex that can be spotted from Earth by almost anyone looking up at just the right moment," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations.  "We're accomplishing science on the space station that is helping to improve life on Earth and paving the way for future exploration of deep space."

When the space station is visible -- typically at dawn and dusk -- it is the brightest object in the night sky, other than the moon.  On a clear night, the station is visible as a fast moving point of light, similar in size and brightness to the planet Venus.

The ISS's trajectory passes over more than 90% of Earth's population.  To sign up for "Spot the Station," visit:  http://spotthestation.nasa.gov


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