This resource is part of the Science Education Gateway (SEGway) project, funded by NASA, which is a national consortium of scientists, museums, and educators working together to bring the latest science to students, teachers, and the general public. This lesson plan features a student self-study guide for making comparisons of the rotation rates of 3 planets (Jupiter, Uranus, and Saturn) and the Sun. ... Full description.

Black holes are some of the strangest objects in the universe. While the physics of these objects is not understood, and they cannot be seen directly, indirect observations have revealed for certain that black holes do exist. This animation shows an artist's conception of what it might be like to see a super-massive black hole in the center of a spiral galaxy. A background essay and list of discussion ... Full description.

This short Why Files piece is about a recent discovery concerning the Tyrannosaurus rex. It presents evidence, based on biomechanics, that suggests that this dinosaur was not a fast runner, as once thought. Full description.

This elementary school/middle laboratory activity requires students to watch a demonstration of air pressure changes and then answer several questions. It is part of the Atmospheric Visualization Collection (AVC), which focuses on data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program. Full description.

This text discusses differences in ocean tides. Along America's Atlantic Coast, two high and low tides occur daily. Such tides are called semidiurnal. On the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, the tide is diurnal, meaning that it moves in and out again once a day while in the Pacific Northwest, there are mixed tides, two highs and two lows a day, characterized by significant disparity between successive ... Full description.

This resource provides a textual explanation as well as animated illustration of elliptical orbits with different eccentricities. It also shows how the Sun is at the focus of an ellipse, and some of the math behind elliptical orbits. Beginner, intermediate and advanced versions of the content are available. Full description.

Hands-On Meteorology is a collection of interactive concept models and active learning materials for meteorology instruction. The concept models illustrate conceptually difficult processes in atmospheric science. Users change parameters in the concept models and examine the outcomes of such changes. Concept models allow for student note keeping and data export. Active learning exercises are provided ... Full description.

This text belies the folk wisdom that water twirls down the toilet clockwise due to the Coriolis force. It even explains that the Coriolis force is not a true force after all and merely an effect. A unique explanation of the Coriolis Effect on large masses of moving air over the surface of the Earth and, by extension, ocean currents is provided. Full description.

In this two-part activity, students learn about electromagnetism by constructing electromagnets and observing their behavior. They will discover that there is a close relationship between electricity and magnetism in that moving magnets can induce electric currents and that electric currents can cause magnetism. They also learn that electric current flowing in a wire creates a magnetic field around ... Full description.

This site contains information about the San Francisco earthquake of 1989, which lasted only 15 seconds, but caused highways to collapse and buildings to crumble. About ninety people were killed, and more than six billion dollars of property was damaged. Photographs, shaking cartoons and easily accessible text explain the how and why of Earth's earthquakes. Topics include plate movement, types of ... Full description.