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On the Microbe Trail: Bacteria and Aseptic Technique
Young scholars pour, label, streak, seal and store plates in an incubator. They identify areas in their environment that provide a rich fauna of microbes once they have been swabbed. They identify areas of contamination through a...
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Interpreting the History, Geology, and Ecology of Monterey Bay
Students explore what they know about Monterey Bay in the special topics course and share their information with K-12 grade children at local schools by participating in the Virtual Canyon Project. Students in this service learning...
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To Light or Not to Light
Students examine the role of light and dark in a living environment. In this photosynthesis lesson, students hypothesize about the best environment for plant growth, record observations using plant seeds in various light and dark...
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Careers in Science
Stuents explore the current job market for scientists. They explore types of jobs, salary range and job requirements. Students write a letter of application for a particular job.
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Microbes: Too Smart for Antibiotics?
Students examine how germs spread from one person or object to another. They discuss antibiotic resistant bacteris and examine the benefits of microorganisms. They explore methods of curbing antibiotic resistance.
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Half Life Lab
Seventh graders model radioactive decay using pennies, collect data from their model, apply scientific visualization techniques to their data and create animated models explaining the concept of radioactive half-life.
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Marine Protected Areas
Learners design a research project about a Marine Protected Area they chose. In this marine biology lesson, students gather fish count and catch data then graph them. They create an information poster about their findings.
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The Seasons
Second graders determine the ways in which deciduous trees lose their leaves by investigating fallen leaves and how the weather changes throughout the seasons. They obtain knowledge about why and what causes the weather to change...
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A River Runs Through It
Students solve an environmental problem on a local river. They use their knowledge of river ecology to develop an action plan. They use river-monitoring equipment to collect river- monitoring data, including biological, physical, and...
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Investigating the Biosphere With Planetary Models
Students create a biosphere using the computer program SImEarth. They work in small groups to create "Daisyworld" in which they model aspects of the Gaia hypothesis. They form a question to answer and choose variables to investigate in...
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Epidemiology: Graphing and Analyzing Health Data
Students graph data on fetal and infant mortality rates collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They identify trends in the data and propose potential causes for the trends.
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Strawberry DNA Extraction
Students explore the DNA of strawberries. In this science lesson, students extract the DNA of strawberries. Students complete a lab report.
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Different Types of Orange Juice Contain the Same Amounts of Vitamin C?
High schoolers measure and compare the amount of vitamin C in orange juice samples. They discover the effects of different factors on the concentration of vitamin C. They participate in an experiment to test the orange juice.
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What Do Monarch Caterpillars Eat?
Learners record and analyze what types of food monarch caterpillars will eat.
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Root, Root, Root for the Nutrients
Students observe the growth of a seed, predict what will happen when seeds are planted without soil, and conduct an experiment using a hydroponics system.
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Will Biotech Crops Solve World Problems?
Young scholars read an online article to examine what biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology are. They answer questions and complete worksheets based on the article's information.
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Hazard Mitigation: Bioterrorism
Students discuss different ways to spread infectious diseases. In this bioterrorism lesson, students model the rate of smoke emission using CalRoad software. They analyze the effects of airborne release of biological...
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Kinesin and Exocytosis
Students design a visualization to illustrate the role of the protein kinesin in exocytosis of a secretory material in a directed manner.
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Who's the Baddest?
Students are introduced to the realm of social insects, their role in the environment and the biological features that make them unique.
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Heat Transfer and Pollution
Pupils perform computer simulations on air dispersion. In this chemistry lesson plan, students calculate energy transfer based on specific heat and temperature change. They explain the causes of smog.
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Rapid Mycological Assessment
Students examine types of mycology methods. They practice using new vocabulary and answer key questions. They complete a field survey and analyze their results.
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Nature Notes
Pupils spend some time outdoors and record their observations of abiotic conditions, geologic surroundings and living organisms. They reflect and write about the experience of being observant in nature.
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Ten Important Hardwoods
Students discuss ten important Pennsylvania hardwood trees, examine characteristics of each tree species, evaluate economic and ecological importance of hardwood trees, and recognize at least two characteristics of each species.
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Investigating the Biosphere with Planetary Models
Students model the biosphere and manipulate variables affecting change and plan their experiments with the help of others. They describe their question, hypothesis, and methods of investigation.