Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Prime Time Primates: The Mating Game

Research two species of primates, the lemur and the aye-aye, to discover their survival strategies and adaptive behaviors. Select another primate species to investigate and work in a cooperative group to gather information from many...

Explore the evolutionary advantage of stereoscopic vision and the fully opposable thumb, and describe how each adaptation might affect the use of tools in humans and primates.

Investigate the science behind global warming with these classroom activities. Compare light and dark objects to see how they respond to light absorption and heat generation, and describe the albedo values of various materials.

Explore the effect of overcrowding on a population, and play a game that demonstrates what happens as a population loses its space. Investigate cooperation in social groups, the benefits of sharing food and what happens when the system...

Explore the techniques and steps in training an animal by attempting to train a classmate to perform a simple task without using known words. Train him or her to respond to a vocabulary of nonsense words with hidden meanings.

Investigate the scientific principles of biospheres, and observe the effects of biological processes on closed systems.

Explore scientific research that says continued brain activity may delay or slow the loss of memory function. Investigate and practice different techniques to increase recall.

Explore the science of sound and the human ear, and explain how this applies to the operation of cochlear implants for the deaf. Observe how structures can be "tuned" to respond to different frequencies.

Investigate how geneticists use selective breeding to capitalize on hybrid vigor by using colored chips to represent traits in succeeding generations. Use Explain why farmers must buy new hybrid seed each year.

Explore some of the hard questions and issues related to scientific research and project funding. Role-play a mock Congressional hearing to discuss the wisdom of a new scientific venture with no perceivable practical use to mankind.