How do seeds get around? It's not like plants can control seed dispersal—or can they? Dig deeper into the amazing mechanisms of seed dispersal observed in tropical plants through interactives, a video, and plenty of hands-on data...

Life has its ups and downs ... especially if you're an animal! Biology scholars engage in a population study through an inquiry-based lesson. Pupils work together to explore the factors that affect deer populations, then examine the...

As of 2015, there are 53,481 oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Scholars determine how species diversity is impacted based on the ecosystem's distance from a drilling platform.  It focuses on finding the mean of data sets...

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill directly impacted an area of the Gulf of Mexico the size of Oklahoma. A marine biology lesson looks at the impact of an oil spill on the deeper parts of the ocean. Scholars download actual data collected...

How do we count the fish in the ocean? An engaging lesson models how to estimate fish populations with observational surveys. Class members begin by studying the behavior of fish on the coral reef in the oceans. They...

Students access data to characterize coral reefs. In this scientific research lesson, students access data and explain the need for such data when monitoring coral reefs. They will identify and explain three major threats to coral reefs.

Can your biology class crack the Case of the Crown Jewels? Junior forensics experts try their hands at DNA restriction analysis in an exciting lab activity. The lesson introduces the concept of restriction analysis, teaches pipetting and...

The Burmese python is on the loose ... and he's hungry! Illustrate the differences between causative and correlative relationships through an inquiry lesson. Pupils examine several sources of information to determine if there is a...

Research the impact that changes in biotic or abiotic factors might have on an ecosystem. Debate for or against the changes and take action in the community. This resource ideally follows stream studies that young ecologists may have...

Do you think the lab smells like rotten eggs? Sorry to hear about your sulfering. A set of five experiments covers many different topics including seasons, gravity, food, precipitation, and photosynthesis. Though not presented as a...

When judging diversity of an ecosystem, both species evenness and species richness must contribute. After a discussion of diversity and a guided example using the Shannon-Weaver function, scholars use the same function on two other...

Many variables impact your body mass, not just diet and exercise. Scholars collect and study data about body mass to better understand the complexity of a sensitive topic. They learn about leptin deficiency, the hypothalamus, and more.

Human impacts on the environment can sometimes be difficult to measure, especially under water! An activity centered on ocean acidification gives science scholars the opportunity to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on marine life....

Students are able to name one kind of harmful bacteria and why it hurts us and also name one kind of helpful bacteria and how we use it. They describe the process of growing bacterial cultures in a lab. Students create a reasonable...

Learners are able to use a secchi disk to measure the turbidity of water by determining the depth at which the sechi disk is no longer visible and using the data in a formula to quantify the results. They are able to use Vernier probes...

Tenth graders discuss anomalies in nature and science. They discuss times that anomalies led to the collection of data that explained the phenomena and contributed to changing scientific understandings. Students work in groups to...

Biology beginners observe traits in a collection of plant parts to realize the tremendous amount of genetic variation within a species. They consider rules of nature and discuss what would happen if they changed. They also examine data...

High schoolers examine the clinical effects of environmental toxicants on living organisms by collecting and analyzing scientific data and identifying ways of detection and diagnosis.

Students use a mathematical simulation of genetic drift to answer questions about the factors that influence this evolutionary process. They run a series of simulations varying allele frequency and population size and then analyze their...

Can a coral cure cancer? Take seventh and eighth grade science sleuths to the underwater drugstore for an investigation into emerging pharmaceutical research. The fifth installment in a series of six has classmates research the wealth of...

Who actually goes looking for a virus? Expose your class to the high-stakes life of an epidemiologist on the trail of the Nipah virus. Pupils engage in a short video, then examine how scientists predict, model, and find the source of...

Help your students gain sensitivity and become aware of the implications of the words they see, hear, and use about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. After making lists of words or phrases they hear or use in school...

Students become engaged in wetland conservation as they take part throughout the school year in restoring a small wetland at the Tracy Aviary. They visit the Tracy Aviary wetland at various times during the year and become involved in...

Larvae transportation on the New England seamounts is based on the density of the water. Scholars calculate density and graph salinity versus temperature to better understand the distribution of organisms in a water column....