Scholars make a model to discover how the force of trade winds over the Pacific Ocean creates an El Niño. Super scientists observe how the severe weather affects life in water and on land. 

Buoys around our coastlines are equipped with sensory devices which monitor temperature, salinity, and water pressure. Emerging earth scientists examine some of this data and relate salinity to the electrical conductivity of the surface...

How much does your class know about the relationship between climate change and carbon dioxide? Science scholars explore the nature of greenhouse gases and rising ocean temperature through demonstrations, research, and experiments. The...

Middle school earth scientists describe the behavior of the Coriolis force. They compare and contrast conditions under which the Coriolis force has a significant impact with conditions under which it has very little. They model the...

Students practice analyzing images, maps and graphs from Internet-based educational resources. They explore the correlation between sea surface temperature and coral bleaching. Students comprehend that coral reefs are collections of tiny...

Discover firsthand the effects of internal waves on coral reefs. Through a series of experiments, learners simulate internal waves and upwelling events as they make observations on the movement of water and other debris. They then...

A classic investigation on the density of liquids is explained for you in this lesson plan. Te begin, you prepare water samples of different salinities and then add different food coloring to keep them separated and easily identified....

Students integrate history and science while discovering how salinity affects the density of water. After a lecture/demo, students work in groups to complete a lab activity that demonstrates how salinity affects the density of water.

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...

Placing a thermometer and a glass tube into a flask of cold water and sealing it, you can expose it to heat and very visually demonstrate thermal expansion to your earth science class. Follow it with a discussion about how the increasing...

Young scientists track Hurricane Katrina across the Atlantic Ocean as they learn about these destructive forces of nature. Provided with a table of data tracking the location and conditions of Katrina over a one week span, students...

Mammals of the ocean unite! Or not. The 20th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates how warm-blooded marine mammals survive in water. In the class activity, learners use...

Cruise ships offer many engaging opportunities for real-world math adventures. These large, floating cities use resources with numbers into the thousands place. Young mathematicians are asked to calculate numerical information...

Scholars build a compass using a needle, cork, magnet, and a water-filled cup in order to locate the magnetic north and south.

Step right up! An engaging research-centered instructional activity, the third in a series of six, has young archaeologists study the amazing animals of the Cambrian explosion. Working in groups, they profile a breathtaking and odd...

How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...

Can you go ice fishing in the ocean? Learners examine the freezing point of different saltwater solutions. Each solution has a different concentration of salt. By comparing the freezing points graphically, they make conclusions...

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

Linear perspective, estuaries, and water ways converge in a science-inspired art project. The class uses what they've learned about eco-systems, estuaries, and the food chain to create scale models of a local marsh. While the...

Students use materials found at a resource table to design simple devices that will house instruments to take water samples from a tub of water. They design 3 instruments, each varying in density so that one will float, one will hover...

What's black and white and can dive up to 1,800 feet under water? That's right, penguins! Learn this and many other amazing facts about these unique birds with this handy reference sheet.

Sea ice contains 17 sub-types based on age and various characteristics. Scholars observe ice floating in a simulated ocean and record their observations. Then, they view photographs of different types of sea ice and learn to...

This is a nicely done presentation on the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Most young historians don't realize that Columbus made, not one, but four journeys from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. This PowerPoint does a...

A set of first grade geology lessons focuses on plate tectonics and movement of plate boundaries. During the pre-lab, learners experience three types of plate movement through a kinesthetic demonstration. The lab...