This illustrated talk presented at the meeting of the National Science Teachers Association on November 18, 2000, provides tips and examples on why and how to make the study of science interesting. The works of Oersted, Ampere, Faraday, William Gilbert and Robert Norman are used as examples of research on magnetism. Direct application to Earth Science is cited in regard to how the magnetic record ... Full description.

In this activity, students create artifical convection currents using hot and cold water, food coloring, and bottles. A materials list, instructions, and a brief explanation of the convection phenomenon are included. Full description.

In this activity students will see what porosity is by observing the filling of pore space by a liquid. The objective is to dispel a common misunderstanding about what a reservoir is. The term pool of oil conjures up images of underground caves filled with oil, but in fact oil and natural gas are found in the pore spaces surrounding grains comprising sedimentary rocks. Because of this activity students ... Full description.

This demonstration of how seismic waves reflect when they encounter a change in rigidity or incompressibility requires a helper to hold one end of a stretched-out slinky as stiffly as possible. The helper represents a material with a much greater rigidity than the slinky; waves can then be sent and reflected along the slinky. The site also discusses a demonstration of reflection from a less rigid ... Full description.

This is a demonstration of the principle of elastic rebound for the cause and recurrence of earthquakes. Under the Elastic Rebound Theory, the continuous motion of plates on Earth causes stress to build up at the boundaries between the plates, where friction keeps the boundaries locked. Stress is continually building up, and earthquakes act to relieve that stress. In the demonstration, the two sides ... Full description.

In this demonstration, an overhead projector, diffraction grating, and a series of filters are used to introduce the basic concepts of the visible electromagnetic spectrum and the relationship between wavelength and absorption of light. The overhead projector is used to project the spectrum from the diffraction grating on the board or wall. A series of colored filters are used to filter the light ... Full description.

This demonstration uses an overhead projector, a bowl of water, and a beaker of sand to model a situation in which waves cannot pass through a central object. It is used to illustrate the fact that S-waves cannot travel through liquids. This is another piece of evidence for the nature of the Earth's interior from which we hypothesize that the Earth has a liquid outer core. Full description.

This presentation of digital images illustrates the origins of the glacial record in New York. It is designed for classroom use, and contains narrative for each slide, images of glacial features in New York, classic examples of glacial features from around the country, and diagrams of glacial processes. Full description.

This demonstration models the manner in which the convection currents in the mantle of the Earth cause movement of the plates. Convection currents in the mantle were thought, for many years, to be solely responsible for plate tectonic movements, with the movement taking rocks down at destructive margins and new rocks forming when plates spread. It is now thought likely that there are three possible ... Full description.

This easily built classroom apparatus is ideal for gaining a better understanding of how earthquakes work and how they are recorded. The apparatus consists of a heavy object that is dragged steadily with an elastic cord. Although pulled with a constant velocity, the heavy object repeatedly slides and then stops. A small vibration sensor, attached to a computer display, graphically monitors this motion, ... Full description.