This lesson plan uses NASA satellite data to correlate cloud cover over Africa to the solar declination. The four seasons on Earth have a scientific basis. The Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees from vertical. This tilt and the Earth's orbit around the sun are the reasons for the seasons. Earth's tilt and orbital position cause differing angles at which the sun's rays hit the surface of the Earth. As Earth ... Full description.

This lesson plan uses NASA satellite data to contrast amounts of cloud coverage over different climate regions in Africa. It introduces the circulation pattern of Hadley Cells and the band of convergence and convection called the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The lesson also discusses how frequent cloud cover and precipitation occur along the ITCZ and how climate affects the people living ... Full description.

This graphical interface on CD-ROM allows access to Earth science information, animations, games and activities for K-12. It is organized by spheres: atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and cryosphere; the modules can be run alone, or as a linked system. Each sphere contains a library of hot topics, general topics and images that can be updated over the Internet, as well as who, what, how ... Full description.

This tutorial provides detailed information about how clouds receive their names and the importance of root words. It was designed to help students make accurate observations for the Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) project. Students will also learn to associate different clouds into height groupings. Information is provided about the cloud types and on how to distinguish similar clouds ... Full description.

This set of five activities and supporting teacher material allows students to explore the beauty, science and mythology of the aurora through art and writing. This standards-based, flexible ?plug and play? program is based on research in bringing science into the literacy and art classroom. It can be used as a complete sequence of lessons of can be used as guidelines for teachers to develop their ... Full description.

This astronomy program is designed for middle school children in out-of-school-time settings. The program explores basic astronomy concepts (like invisible light, telescopes) and focuses on the universe outside the solar system (stars, galaxies, black holes). By offering programming on these topics outside of the classroom, where schedules are less constrained, Afterschool Universe engages students ... Full description.

Epo's Chronicles is a weekly web comic which takes place in the distant future. The comic follows a fictional storyline incorporating both recent and classic scientific discoveries from NASA missions while educating the reader. The primary goal of Epo's Chronicles is to teach space science in an engaging format. Accompanying each episode are explanatory notes and glossary entries to help explain the ... Full description.

This team-based, interactive educational experience aims to engage students in real-world problem solving. The volcano on the normally tranquil island of Montserrat has come to life. As flaming pebbles and lava begin their devastation, emergency response teams learn that a hurricane is approaching. Using real-time hurricane and seismic data, teams of student specialists assist Mission Control, by ... Full description.

This flyer is a two-page overview of the Student Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) education project. It covers the project's educational contributions, societal benefits, educational outgrowths, and scientific findings. The flyer shows the numbers and locations of S'COOL participation and regional observation coverage. It also contains URLs for online resources (e.g., GLOBE contrail education and ... Full description.

Visitors can view this image of the Nimbus 7 satellite, which has been used to measure ozone levels as part of the TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) program. Full description.