In this lesson plan students will learn about how climates differ, in particular, how desert climates compare to climates in other areas. They will also learn how meteorologists collect all kinds of weather data, including daily high and low temperatures and average monthly rainfall, from all over the world. Students will use similar weather data to create a graph comparing three climates. Full description.

This lesson explores how scientific knowledge changes in the context of abrupt climate change. Until a few years ago, it was believed that climate changes gradually on Earth. But results from ice cores and other geologic records of past temperature changes indicate that this is not necessarily the case and that abrupt climate changes may be the norm rather than the exception. Using this issue, students ... Full description.

This interactive activity has elementary and younger middle school students investigate the causes and effects of periodic climate change. A fun crash course in El Nino is followed by a game in which students practice climate predictions. Kids who love the weather will be intrigued by this website, which investigates El Nino and the tools scientists use to monitor and predict the conditions that create ... Full description.

This collection of climate change graphics from Earth: Inside and Out is part of the museum's Seminars on Science series. The collection includes six visually rich graphics entitled Climate Records in the Ice Core, Changes in Climate, Time Spans over which Different Phenomena Affect Climate, Eruptions Recorded in the Ice, Year Without a Summer, and Global Warming. These graphics allow the student ... Full description.

This article, from Earth: Inside and Out, takes a look at dendroclimatologists, scientists who study climate changes by examining the growth patterns of old trees. It introduces students to the work of Gordon Jacoby, a dendroclimatologist and co-founder of the Tree Ring Laboratory at Columbia University. The site explains the growth rate of trees and provides a picture of Earth's temperature changes. ... Full description.

Earth's different climate classifications are featured on this site. Introductory material on climatology and climate controls is presented, along with a classification of climatic zones that is divided according to latitude. For each classification there is an example graph of temperature and precipitation, a photograph of a typical location, and information on geographic distribution, characteristics, ... Full description.

This forty-eight minute radio broadcast discusses the drought of Spring 2002 in the United States and its possible consequences, such as low water levels altering the biology of the Great Lakes. The show also discusses the causes of drought, long-range climate forecasts, and the connection to El Nino. Full description.

This activity will help students learn about how tree rings provide a record of past growing conditions and, by inference, climate. They use this principle to work out how cores from three different trees (three strips of paper marked with stripes to represent rings) fit together to represent a longer period of time and then use this composite record to plot a graph of changing climate conditions. ... Full description.

This site serves as a broad introduction to the subject of abrupt climate change. It cites several historical examples of climate change and their impact on human civilization. In addition, some of the current questions about climate are presented including the drying of the Sahel since the 1960s and changes in the El Nino pattern. The site includes links to a question and answer feature, paleoclimate ... Full description.

The point of these pages is to examine the scientific basis behind abrupt climate change, and evaluate the likelihood of it happening in the future using a question and answer format. Information ranges from a definition of abrupt climate change to the precursor signals that we could monitor now to indicate an imminent abrupt climate change. Included are links to more information and references to ... Full description.