This online collaborative project is part of the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) program, which has developed internet activities for the elementary, middle, and high school level student. Based on data collected by their household members and their classmates, students determine the average amount of water used by one person in a day. They compare this to the average ... Full description.

The New Millennium Observatory (NeMO) is a seafloor observatory off the coast of Oregon, which studies the relationships between submarine volcanic events and the chemistry and distribution of hydrothermal vents and the biologic communities that depend on them. The research activities at NeMO provide an extraordinary educational opportunity, both from the daily reports from expeditions at sea and ... Full description.

This site is designed to engage students in grades 7-12 in activities that focus on collaboration and communication strategies. These activities will strengthen student understanding of and ability to use collaborative processes and communication practices to clarify, conceptualize, and make decisions. Students will compare the risks of varying courses of action that confront scientists and engineers. ... Full description.

In this lesson, students draw their perceptions of a typical scientist, evaluate stereotypes in their drawings quantitatively, and then discuss the origins of these stereotypes. The lesson objectives include considering that people like themselves can become scientists. Full description.

This lesson introduces "pre-trigonometry," the estimate of the distance to a far-away point. Students will use "pre-trigonometry" to calcuate distance and will use the "thumb method" of estimating distances in the field and understand the reason it works. Finally, they will understand how astronomers used the diameter of the Earth's orbit around the Sun as a baseline for estimating the distance of ... Full description.

In this activity, students develop and demonstrate their ability to use textual information and data to persuade a reading audience of the benefits of using microcalorimeter detectors to do X-ray astronomy. They will summarize in their own words various reading selections, and use results from previous exercises in their persuasion writing. This final assignment will serve as closure. Students have ... Full description.

In this lesson plan, students explore how the universe has evolved since the theoretical Big Bang and create dramatizations of various eras in cosmic evolution. This page provides objectives, resources/materials, a related article and timeline, activities, follow-up questions, evaluation ideas, vocabulary, interdisciplinary connections, and links to additional information. Full description.

This activity is part of Planet Diary and is an online investigation of where earthquakes occur. Students research past earthquakes to see if any have occurred in their region. This activity has an accompanying page of websites for further research. Full description.

This educational module is designed to teach students about predicting weather. This includes a series of activites about clouds, moisture, air and rain for students to complete. There are curriculum connections to art, writing and math as well as links for more resources and live weather data. Full description.

This project provides an opportunity for students to research the changing shorelines of Texas. It engages high school students who live along the coast in the study of their natural environment including dune and beach dynamics on the Texas coast. Scientists from the University of Texas at Austin provide the tools and training needed for scientific investigation. Students and teachers learn how to ... Full description.