Activity
NASA

Water Works on a Blue Planet

For Students 6th - 12th
Keep within a water budget. Learners find out that less than 2.5% of Earth's water is available to drink—and that there is a fixed amount of water. Scholars read an interesting article comparing the available water to a game of Monopoly...
Article
Other

Explorable: Ancient Astronomy, Science and the Ancient Greeks

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the influences of other cultures on ancient Greek astronomers, and the advances made by the Greeks. It highlights major astronomers and those who contributed important ideas from the 6th to the 2nd centuries BC, including...
Article
University of Oregon

University of Oregon: Greek Science: Early Cosmology

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the evolution of ideas about the cosmos, from the Magic Cosmology of the Neolithic age to the stage of Mythical Cosmology, to the Geometric Cosmology of the ancient Greeks. The third stage advocated a rational approach to...
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Other

Ancient History: 10 Ancient Greek Inventions and Discoveries Still Used Today

For Students 9th - 10th
Ten of the important inventions and innovations of the ancient Greeks are described. These include the water mill, the odometer, alarm clocks, cartography, the Olympics, geometry, Hippocratic medicine, philosophy, democracy, and...
Article
A&E Television

History.com: 8 Ways the Original 'Star Trek' Made History

For Students 9th - 10th
When "Star Trek" premiered on NBC in the fall of 1966, it promised "To boldly go where no man has gone before." More than half a century later, it has done just that. The original "Star Trek," which lasted for only three seasons, birthed...
Article
Other

History World: History of Greek Science

For Students 9th - 10th
Presents the history of Greek science from the 6th century BC to the 2nd century AD. Navigate using the menu on the left. Covers major figures in science and mathematics, their theories and beliefs, and the influence they had, as well as...
Article
History of Computing Science

History of Computing Science: Past Computer History

For Students 9th - 10th
An in-depth lecture and PowerPoint slideshow on the history of computing can be found here. It gives an overview of the advances in science that made desktop computers possible, starting with the invention of counting, to the...
Article
Other

Pre History of Cognitive Science: Robert Burton: The Anatomy of Melancholy 1621

For Students 9th - 10th
This site tells of Robert Burton's ideas and opinions on Cognitive Science; the site helps explain Robert Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy."
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Other

Unc Charlotte: History of Scientific Racism [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A scholarly article by Anthropology Professor Jonathan Marks on the history of scientific racism. Published in the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Piecing Together the Structure of Dna [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Outlines the history of the scientific efforts that went into the discovery and mapping of the structure of DNA, spanning one hundred forty years.
Article
American Institute of Biological Sciences

Action Bioscience: Natural History Museum Collections in the 21st Century

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover why some people feel that natural history museums are more import now than they have ever been. Familiarize yourself with some of the challenges these museums are facing.
Article
University of Wisconsin

The Why Files: Olympics: Science of the Sporting Life

For Students 9th - 10th
When the Winter Olympics begin we can study the science of sports: biomechanics, figure skating, high jumping, mental preparation, alcohol and athletes, sports doctors, staleness, and training in the ancient Olympics.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: How Volcanic Activity Fit Into Systems of Earth [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article explaining the history of our scientific understanding of volcanic activity, ending with questions for students about scientific methods and historical contexts.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Development of a Mechanism for Continental Drift [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the history of scientific theories about continental drift, and the major researchers involved in this work.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Pendulum Motion, Time, and Shape of Earth [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article outlining the scientific history behind the evolution of theories about measuring time based on the movement of a pendulum, and about how gravity would impact a pendulum's movement depending on one's proximity to the Earth's...
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Detection of Black Holes [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article outlining the scientific history behind the discovery of black holes. The writer discusses how scientific theories guide scientists in creating explanations for natural phenomena.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Story of Cosmic Microwave Background [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the history of the scientific research that led to the discovery of cosmic background radiation, which, according to the Big Bang Theory, is linked to the origin of the universe.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: The Story of Dark Matter [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The scientific history behind the discovery of dark matter. Questions are posed throughout about how theories are developed to provide possible explanations of natural phenomena.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Development of the Periodic Table [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the history of the development of the periodic table of elements, particularly the work of Dmitrii Ivanovich Mendeleev.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Pendulum Motion [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The history of the pendulum and its importance both in timekeeping, and in how timekeeping was used to solve other problems, such as determining longitude on a map.
Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Realization of Global Warming [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the history of how scientists developed their current understanding of global warming. It discusses why it is difficult for some people to accept that human beings have caused the Earth to warm, without controlled...
Article
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Aristotle

For Students 9th - 10th
An excellent look into the life of the ancient Greek intellectual thinker, Aristotle. This article details Aristotle's childhood and travels as well as his various theories.
Article
A&E Television

History.com: History This Week: The Mother of Level Measurements

For Students 9th - 10th
September 24, 1902. A new cooking school is set to open at Boston's 30 Huntington Avenue. The rooms will soon be filled with trainee cooks, who will watch in awe as the school's namesake and principal, Fannie Farmer, lectures on...
Article
A&E Television

History.com: What Was the Scopes Trial Really About?

For Students 9th - 10th
The Scopes Trial, also known as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was the 1925 prosecution of science teacher John Scopes for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school, which a recent bill had made illegal. The trial featured two of the...