Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...

Students obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.

With the global temperature on the rise, the effects of climate change are starting to be seen. However, many people have a difficult time conceptualizing the long-term effects, such as sea levels rising. Given an easy and effective...

Young scientists design a rocket to launch using Newton's Laws of Motion in order to discover for themselves the forces of motion. 

How is sea coral like a thermometer? Part three of a six-part series from NOAA describes how oceanographers can use coral growth to estimate water temperature over time. Life science pupils manipulate data to determine the age of corals...

How do you decide the best person for each job? Would it be easier if you didn't have to consider their feelings? The lesson begins with a discussion of underwater robots. Then groups research one of these robots and present their...

Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, island arcs, mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanoes ... there are so many features associated with plate tectonics. The 14th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography...

Students describe the characteristics of wetlands and identify their ecological functions. They inspect items and use them to create metaphors about wetlands.

Meteorology or earth science classes reach for the sky with this lesson plan! You will need to purchase a Fizz Keeper® device and temperature strip for each lab group if you want them to perform this as an activity rather than you doing...

Can your class correctly classify plant species? Individuals explore native plants of the local environment and correctly classify them into their respective categories. They investigate differences in the plants and discuss similarities...

Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great lesson plan exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove leaves/twigs while...

It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory lesson in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The lesson includes a comparison of...

What's life like aboard an ocean exploration vessel? Junior oceanographers examine the important role of communication in ocean research in lesson two of a five-part series from NOAA. The materials introduce the class to life on...

Students explore the various types of renewable energy. After reading articles, they discover the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy. They also explore the challenges to switch over to using more and more renewable energy...

Seventh graders use a pond to explore macroinvertebrates and other organisms. They use a dichotomous key to classify the organisms and maintain a journal recording their findings.

Sixth graders collect soil samples and record the location of the samples by using GPS.

Students articulate the connection between energy consumption and the global economy. They identify and define the connection between energy consumption and environmental health. Students formulate suggestions concerning how the nature...

Students build a robot out of a 3-¿¿ inch floppy disk drive, two floppy disks, and some other miscellaneous supplies. They apply information they gather about electrical circuits from a web-based circuit design program.

High schoolers explore and classify organisms found in a Rocky Mountain Ecosystem. Through discussions, students examine the effects upon an ecosystem if a component was removed or a new component was added. As a class, they survey...

Fourth graders investigate the bison's struggle for survival. They discuss the importance of bison while participating in an role playing activity showing how important the food supply and surroundings are to their survival.

Students research energy conversions. In this energy lesson plan, students describe the basic operation of a steam engine.  They explain the energy conversions in the steam engine's operation. 

Students examine trees and discuss how the environment effected the tree. They also predict what the area look like in fifty years.

Students compare and contrast side-scan sonar to other methods used to find objects underwater. In this underwater search lesson, students describe side-scan sonar and make inferences about the topography of an unknown landscape. This...

Students hone in on their skills at reading diagrams.  In this dimensional instructional activity students collect information on the functions of organs then figure out how all the parts work together.