Catching aquatic macroinvertebrates is an exciting, hands-on activity that makes for an unforgettable ecology field trip. This is an outdoor activity and is a great way to examine the diverse organisms of freshwater ecosystems with your homeschool or science class. This activity will enhance your classroom studies of biodiversity, bioindicators, entomology, or aquatic food webs. […]
Tag: environmental science
Perhaps you have made a “cup of dirt” from pudding. But you can turn this simple snack into a tasty science activity by creating a soil horizons parfait! For this activity, you will make a parfait with 6 layers to represent the 6 horizons. This is an entertaining and tasty way to teach your students […]
Life’s beginning varies a lot among mammals. We can group mammals into three main categories based on how their babies come into the world. The main types of mammals are called monotremes, marsupials, and placentals. Monotremes Most mammals give birth to live babies instead of laying eggs. However, there are a couple of exceptions: platypuses […]
A keystone species is an organism that plays an exceptionally large role in its ecosystem. It provides materials or services that enrich the lives of other organisms in the ecosystem. Without the keystone species, the ecosystem would look very different and other organisms that rely on the keystone species would suffer. Now, let’s look at […]
Some saguaro cacti live for 200 years or longer! Saguaros grow very slowly. The speed of growth depends on many factors such as precipitation, temperature, and soil quality. Let’s explore the saguaro cactus life cycle in five steps! Notice that desert animals play a key role in two of these steps. Before we dive in: If […]
Earth’s lithosphere (surface) is broken into massive, irregularly-shaped pieces, called tectonic plates. Some of the plates are so large that they span entire continents. Others are smaller. Tectonic plates sit atop a denser, soft part of the mantle called the asthenosphere. If you need a refresher, view my Layers of the Earth post. The theory […]
A volcano is an opening in the crust where lava, volcanic gases, and ash are expelled onto the earth’s surface. They typically have cone-like shapes with depressions at their centers. There are three main types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes (also known as composite volcanoes), and cinder cones. Apart from these main types, other categories […]
In school, you usually learn that the three main layers of the Earth are the crust, mantle, and core. Geologists call these compositional layers because the layers are defined by the materials they are made of. However, geologists also think about how different layers of the Earth move: for example, do they flow easily? Are […]
If you are a teacher, you know that combining math activities with real-world applications can make things a bit more interesting. Now taking applied math OUTSIDE?! Your students might just find that math is more fun than they ever thought it could be!
Taxonomy is the science of organizing and classifying living beings into groups. It is important in the fields of wildlife biology, botany, mycology, zoology, microbiology, ecology and more! Introducing your students to taxonomy is a great way to start exploring the biodiversity of life on earth!