The Living Machine Unit is a series of activities and studies designed to focus the student on various aspects of wetlands systems. In groups, students build an artificial wetland in the classroom. This is a long-range study designed to allow students to discover the interrelations between flora and fauna in an ecosystem. They will use writing, math, and research skills to investigate the artificial ... Full description.

By examining the NIST Stone wall via the Internet, students will determine the weathering rate of various rocks in the mid-Atlantic region. They will then pick a rock to use in building their "dream house" and justify their choice. Students should have a background in types of rocks. Full description.

This lesson will provide students with the opportunity to use NASA satellite data to compare and contrast water vapor (precipitable water) data with precipitation over the United States (Jan 1994 ? Jun 2005). Full description.

This Park Geology site provides links to tours of individual National Parks, Monuments, and Recreation Areas with sand dunes. Where appropriate for each park, links are provided to maps, photographs, geologic research, related links, visitor information, and teacher features (resources for teaching geology with National Park examples). The list includes places such as Death Valley and Mojave National ... Full description.

This Why Files article investigates the current and expected decline of fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, and petroleum) as prices increase and amounts available decrease. This article looks at a possible solution: gas hydrates found in frozen ground around the world. What is known about hydrates and how they can be used, as well as possible downfalls of this new resource are discussed. Full description.

This website integrates video footage and information with lesson plans and activities to teach students about the rock cycle and rock types. Storytelling is used to help students understand the changes a rock undergoes as it passes through the rock cycle. These activities are intended to be used at the end of a unit on rocks and minerals. There are lesson plans for the activities with materials, ... Full description.

This activity illustrates how dark land surfaces, light land surfaces and water all heat at different rates. Students determine whether land or water absorbs heat more quickly and how this difference affects weather and climate. Full description.

This virtual field trip to Stone Mountain Georgia includes both a narrative and photographs of such features as flow banding, tourmaline pods, and several types of xenoliths. Intrusive granite and diabase dikes are shown at both the east quarry and old route 78 locations where products of weathering such as saprolite, kaolinite, halloysite, and gibbsite reside. Photographs of an area of the east quarry ... Full description.

In this activity students will use a dilution experiment to understand the concept of part-per-million (ppm) and part-per-billion (ppb) measurements. Through discussion, they will be able to relate these dilutions to concentrations of gases in our atmosphere. As result of this activity, students will come to understand the concept of part-per-million (ppm) and part-per-billion (ppb) measurements, ... Full description.

This site provides background information and a general description of Cyanobacteria, which are both aquatic and photosynthetic. That is, they live in the water and can manufacture their own food. The site explains the importance of these bacteria in the production of oil deposits. More important, however, is the fact that the oxygen atmosphere that we depend on was generated by numerous Cyanobacteria ... Full description.