This site offers an introduction to minerals, crystals and gems. Lesson plans involve creating a classroom exhibit and investigating rocks and minerals, watching crystals grow, and looking for minerals and mineral products (including a mineral scavenger hunt). There is also a section on Smithsonian resources, including teaching aids, books, and websites. Full description.

At this site the question and answer format is used to provide information about the Earth's magnetic field. Frequently asked questions are linked to detailed answers. Along with standard questions about the magnetic poles and how a compass works, there are sections about geomagnetic models, Space Weather Scales and magnetic field reversals. Links lead to a site to download the latest model as well ... Full description.

The answers on this page were written in response to questions from readers of the Bad Meteorology pages. Although the questions presented here are often ones asked by a specific person, each is chosen to characterize a group of similar questions which have been asked about the topic. Topics include: the vapor-holding capacity of air, reasoning and prediction, relative humidity, and boiling point. Full description.

In this activity students will work with ice to learn math concepts: perimeter, diameter, circumference, adding decimals, and linear measurement. This math lesson will evolve into an inquiry-based study to determine if the dimensions of the ice will make a difference in the way the ice floats in the water. The inquiry lesson may lead to further inquiry-based investigations for extended learning in ... Full description.

This lesson plan has students follow the path of pollution from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. They will name and locate countries to which radiation traveled and describe how air pollution moves from one area to another. In addition they will compare the chronological sequence of radiation travel with geographic distribution. Provided are: essential elements, objective, focus, a list of materials, ... Full description.

The properties of a rheid represent essentially all Earth materials: they behave elastically over short time scales and plastically over long time scales. In this demonstration, silly putty is used to help explain these properties as well as the yield strength of a material. Full description.

In this activity, students capture snowflakes in a manner that preserves their shape. Afterwards, students can study the ice crystal shapes and then hang their snowflakes up as art. There is information about how snowflakes are formed and simple steps to conduct the activity. Full description.

This activity allows students to compare the thermal properties of carbon dioxide with those of air, and can be extended to compare water vapor as well. Students discover that the gas which absorbs the most heat (infrared radiation) is the most effective greenhouse gas because in the atmosphere it would absorb more infrared coming from the surface of the Earth. This activity could be used as either ... Full description.

This website is provided by ThinkQuest, a global network of students, teachers, parents, and technologists dedicated to youth-centered learning on the internet. This ThinkQuest site is one of over 4000 student created entries. It discusses what rocks are; describes sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks; identifies properties of these rock types; and covers the rock cycle. Mineral identification, ... Full description.

This activity centers around the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, which contains brief descriptions of what people might have felt in an earthquake and what might have happened to buildings and natural features. The different levels of the scale are designated with Roman numerals, and they correspond to groups of effects that are produced by about the same amount of shaking. During this activity, ... Full description.