Making the Colors Dance: Water and Bonding

Whether or not you think mice are nice, you'll love the colorful activity! Scholars examine evidence for evolution in the rock pocket mouse through video, discussion, and collaborative work. Learners watch a video regarding variation in...

The fascinating topic of human skin color is examined in this article from Muse magazine. It highlights a study done by a pair of scientists on the relationships among strength of sunlight, vitamins, and melanin in the skin. The results...

Students examine the spectra of light sources that have similar colors.  In this light lesson students complete an activity using various lights in the classroom and discuss the colors and the heat generated. 

You may not know if that zebrafish in your fish tank is a model citizen—but it is definitely a model organism! What can we learn about ourselves from a tiny zebrafish? Discover more about the polygenic trait of skin color through a...

This visually vibrant activity demonstrates what happens when dish soap weakens the bonds that hold fats and proteins suspended in milk. Perhaps you can have chemistry lab groups perform this activity when they are learning about...

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...

Students explore factors that control variation in human skin color and the implications of this information for human society. They understand that skin color is no longer considered a credible scientific standard by which to classify...

Coloring pages showcase microbes—bacteria, viruses, and protists. Scholars have the option to download a coloring book and scavenger hunt or color the page directly on the computer. Three paragraphs describe each microbe. 

"What Darwin could not appreciate...is that there is a fundamental relationship between the intensity of ultraviolet radiation and skin pigmentation, and that skin pigmentation itself was a product of evolution." Viewers are provided...

I can see your epidermis. A short video shows how we get our skin color. It explains how melanocyte cells in the epidermis produce melanin, and that the type and amount of melanin controls skin color.