Can Earth's oceans produce a steady supply of clean energy? Scholars explore the uses of tidal and thermal energy in the 11th installment of a 13-part series about ocean-based alternative energy sources. Learners examine the...

Begin with a demonstration of exothermic reactions and discussion of chemosynthesis. Your aspiring oceanographers research vent communities and then craft a mural of a vent community. This is a terrific method of introducing learners to...

Here is a great hands-on activity that should lead to a greater understanding of salt water, why the ocean is salty, and how ocean waves are formed. This terrific, old-school lesson has clearly described activities, and all of the...

Students determine Earth's deepest trench, outline continents, major ocean mountains, and trenches on color-key map using Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils, identify oceans' geographic features, locate significant oceanic features around...

Explore the properties of water and the affects of El Nino. Middle schoolers will learn about the devastation an El Nino can cause as well as the definition of El Nino. Additionally, they will discover the cause of El Nino along with the...

In this science learning exercise, 5th graders answer multiple choice questions about the ocean, animals, rocks, and more. Students complete 25 questions.

Examine the effects of temperature and pressure on solubility and the states of matter of ocean water. Learners make inferences about the unique chemistry of ocean water at different depths. They engage in an activity related to...

For the warm-up in this cool climate instructional activity, you will need to click on "Mapping" and then "US Mapping" once you arrive at NOAA's "US Climate at a Glance" page. Earth science explorers realize that 2012 was a warm winter...

At a depth of 3,000 m in the ocean, the pressure is 300 times that at sea level! In the activity, individuals predict what will happen to Styrofoam cups submerged 3,000 meters into the ocean. They then convert these units to soccer...

What makes the ocean blue but a glass of ocean water nearly colorless? Investigators prepare tubes of water to examine the color of water. Scholars discover the relationship between light absorption, color variations, and water depth as...

What do we do when a dive is too dangerous for humans to accomplish? Send in the robots! Middle school scientists get acquainted with several different models of submersible robots in the second lesson of six from NOAA. Lab groups then...

Who knew that a possible answer to Earth's energy resource problems was lurking deep beneath the ocean's surface? Part four of a six-part series introduces Earth Science pupils to methane hydrate, a waste product of methanogens. After...

During the first century of Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the government sent out a total of seven voyages into the Indian Ocean. Young historians will discuss, explain, role play, and compare the decisions made by rulers during the...

Learners make puzzles from world maps, dramatizing how much of the globe is covered by ocean.

Using bunsen burners, Erlenmeyer flasks, thermometers, hollow glass tubes, stoppers, and rulers, learners experiment with and measure how water expands when heated. The activity connects the expansion of water when heated to global...

Take a field trip to a location where water and land meet to study patterns of sediment organization in wet habitats: river or ocean beaches, sand dunes, tidal marshes, the edge of a pond, or a woodland stream. Small groups collect pairs...

The water cycle, rainfall, and the flow of water into rivers then out into the ocean are the main ideas covered here. After a teacher-led discussion and activity, learners pair off and write a commentary about the water cycle that is to...

Young scientists access the EARTH Web site in order to engage in this lesson life forms found in the ocean. Student groups of 3 - 4 choose one set of deep-sea organism images. The groups decide how they would classify their organisms and...

Oceanography enthusiasts are given a series of thought experiments to consider in order to relate the solubility of gases and solids to underwater volcanoes. It is not particularly engaging to perform these thought experiments. Choose...

Students use a light microscope to observe the organisms living in a sample of ocean or fresh water. Students create a drawing of the organisms that they observe. Students then discuss the different body plans of the organisms and the...

Students study the various species found in and around oceans. They examine the variations in underwater life, determined by ocean depth. Afterward, they create dimensional relief boards of seascapes. In addition, they write a play about...

Introduce environmental science or engineering explorers to different forms of sampling. They read an article about "Robo-lobsters," lobsters being studied to help design robots that can used to sniff out pollution in ocean waters. The...

Students model the food chain. In this activity, students play a game resembling checkers that simulates the food chain within the ocean. Students make changes to the game to better represent how the food chain operates.

Some very good graphics are included in this informative presentation on the life of Christopher Columbus and the voyages he took. Among other things, students discover that Columus missed the chance to be the first European to view the...