Biospheres in Your Backyard

Bird is the word! Teach life science scholars the importance of our feathered friends and the roles they play in our ecosystem. Using the plan, learners investigate the birds in their areas, determine the biotic and abiotic factors that...

On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...

As one of the most biodiverse places in the world, Monteverde Park in Costa Rica is home to more than 100 mammal species, more than 400 species of birds, over 10,000 insects, and over 2,500 types of plants. In this final activity in the...

Is everything really connected? Take your class on a walk outside, where they will make observations and write them down on a worksheet. Once they are back in the classroom, learners will work to determine if and how things like birds,...

Aliens aren't the only things that could invade Earth. In fact, there may be an invasive organism right in your backyard! In the activity, middle school learners explore invasive species by studying their impacts on ecosystems and...

How diverse is the world we live in compared to the way things used to be? Young biologists explore diverse organisms and relate the structure of each organism to its ability to survive in our current environmental conditions....

The Anthropocene covers the last century in an unofficial geological era. An informative video considers both the pros and cons of progress. It discusses the environmental impact, changes in lifestyle, political changes, wars, and...

Take your enthusiastic ecologists outdoors to explore the biodiversity right in their own schoolyard! In preparing for this activity, it may be worthwhile to research websites with local flora to help in the plant identification portion. 

Students investigate a hypothesis about birds in their backyard using identification and survey skills.

Everybody needs somebody... especially in nature! Show your young ecologists the finer points of NGSS standard LS2A, Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, using the helpful ideas in the video. The narrator discusses the...