Remind your middle school scientists how fox ear size varies depending on the climate they live in; large ears allow heat loss while small ears keep heat in. Discuss how a cold-blooded animal might try to regulate body temperature. Then...

Ninth graders explore the characteristics and diversity of mammals, including key adaptations.

Second graders identify characteristics of and group animals by the five categories of vertebrates.

Students choose a fish from anywhere within the Ocean Center. They observe it for a given time, recording its behavior. Students comprehend the concept that living things have individual characteristics that enable them to live in their...

Introduce the logic behind a dichotomous key or administer a group performance assessment with a fun and challenging classification lesson. With explicit instructions for the teacher and for collaborative groups, as well as engaging...

Students investigate mammals and blubber. In this science lesson abut the sea, students perform an experiment that will help them in discovering how blubber keeps sea mammals warm.

Fourth graders work in groups. They are given magazines. Students cut pictures of five mamals, five birds, five reptiles, five amphibians, and five fish. They place the pictures in a plastic bag. Students switch bags. They are explained...

Students observe, describe, and record characteristics of ocean animals (mammals and fish) and sea shells. They conduct an experiment comparing and contrasting sugar water, salt water and fresh water and create a mural of coral reef...

Students study echolocation and understand how dolphins use it to locate prey, escape predators, and navigate their environment. They view a video, "In the Wild-Dolphins with Robin Williams" and see first hand how dolphins communicate. ...

Learners investigate the effect of temperature on cold-blooded animals, using a 5 x 8 inch index card to represent a dinosaur as their model organism. Students measure temperature changes that occurs at different angles to a light...

Sometimes science is puzzling. Using an online animation, individuals manipulate skeletal bones of an ancient species to recreate its skeleton. Learners complete the skeletal puzzle and learn about the process of paleontology in person...

Seventh graders classify fish according to their characteristics. In this classification lesson students learn how to group animals including birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Students create habitats in jars to understand integral aspects of plants' and animals' habitats.

Students explore the concept of environmental stewardship. In this science lesson, students investigate data from the International Coastal Cleanup, identify sources of marine debris, and discover the impacts of this debris on wildlife.

Students work together to discover the concept of echolocation. They examine dolphins and their behaviors. They discuss how humans could use this information to help them in their everyday lives as well.

Students examine the consequences of cutting down large amounts of forests throughout the world. In groups, they use the internet to complete a module taking them on a tour through different temperate forests. To end the lesson, they...

Plant and animal life of the ocean is the focus of this science lesson. Young scientists sort a variety of seashells and explore why many sea animals have shells. They examine the shells, write journal entries highlighting the...

Students examine the nature of venom. They conduct an experiment to demonstrate how proteins such as venoms can be denatured using raw eggs, beakers, heated water, and compresses.

Students investigate hunters and prey by creating a food web.  In this animal life lesson, students investigate a single organism in preparation for a field trip, discovering its diet and habitat.  Students each discuss their...

Students will explain the Archimedes's Principle. In this activity on plankton, students will describe three factors that can affect the buoyancy of plankton. This activity contains extensive background information, extensions, and...

Second graders identify animals with each letter of the alphabet. In groups, they create a PowerPoint presentation which shows the information they have collected about each one. Using all of this information, they create an animal...

Students classify animals into six major animal groups and describe the characteristics of the animals found within each group.  In this living and non-living animals lesson, students observe a variety of animals, both living and...

An ecosystem is really just the flow of energy through many different living organisms. A study of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book leads to an environmental science activity in which learners study how various factors can affect...

Middle schoolers discover correlations in food preferences of invertebrates, and assess stream health through use of kicknets, invertebrate keys, CBL systems and probes.