This Gulf of Maine educational website takes students aboard the submersible Alvin. Classroom activities explore nautical and mythical names, such as the Titanic, instruct students how to make a model of the ocean floor in a shoebox, and introduce topics such as deep sea vents and plate tectonics.

The material found at this site provides original, multidisciplinary, inquiry-based ideas to help enrich science teaching using the world famous Great Salt Lake as a springboard theme. During the lesson students will have the opportunity to view two types of algae (fresh water and Great Salt Lake species) under 400x magnification with a compound microscope. Students will make observations and record their observations on a recording sheet where they will describe what they see through drawing and words. The students will learn to identify different qualities such as cell structure, movement and other behavioristic qualities of the two different types of algae.

This Ocean Explorer lesson plan (PDF) explores the questions: What colors, if any, are visible down in the deep sea? What is bioluminescence? Students will learn about white light (visible light), the quantity and quality of light as related to ocean depth, the difference in water penetration between red light and blue light, bioluminescent organisms, the color of most bioluminescent light, and why organisms bioluminesce. The lesson plan includes background information and keywords, a list of materials, teacher preparation instructions, learning procedures, related links, evaluation and extension ideas, and correlation to the national standards.

This site features links to broadcast quality audio files and transcripts from an interview with Dr. Carol Stoker about the Mars Analog Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) which is to take place near the Rio Tinto in Spain. Interview topics include the MARTE expedition, the definition of an extremophile, the significance of the color and pH of Rio Tinto, equipment for the MARTE experiment, the possibility of a Mars drilling mission, and the resemblance of Rio Tinto geochemistry to that of Mars.

This National Geographic lesson plan explores bioluminescent creatures and the underwater world in which they live. Using shoeboxes and black paint, students are directed to build a deep-sea model and inhabit it with fish made out of black construction paper. Students then use the model to describe how organisms use bioluminescence and learn about its use as camouflage. In addition to a detailed protocol, the lesson plan includes suggestions for assessments and links to additional information.

This 27-page educator guide is a NASA Quest resource about Microbial Ecology and related Astrobiology activities. Students will construct a Winogradsky Column to observe the growth of microbes in a column of mud. During this investigation students will develop a hypothesis, record their observations and results, and form conclusions. They will compare and contrast their methods during the investigation with those of the astrobiologists performing research in the field and the laboratory. It includes student handouts and assessment rubrics that may be duplicated without copyright restrictions.

This five-minute Quick Time video demonstrates how to build a Winogradsky Column. The video is published by NASA Quest and can be used as a teaching supplement to classroom activities including the Winogradsky Column. This video requires Quick Time player to view, which can be downloaded on site.

This Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education activity (PDF) encourages students to practice experimental design and scientific writing through the study of bioluminescence. Students observe and experiment with bioluminescent dinoflagellates (Pyrocystis fusiformis), learning how and why they produce light. The activity includes information for teacher preparation, an introduction to bioluminescence, defined vocabulary terms, a list of necessary materials, procedure, assessment questions, and references.

This hands-on exercise introduces students, grades K-8, to the idea of soil as a habitat for many different organisms, links between the biological adaptation of an organism and the physical demands of its habitat, and identification of soil and aquatic organisms. The activity includes objectives, standards addressed, materials needed, teaching tips, procedure, questions with potential answers, summary of learned material, and additional resources. The exercise was a product of the Soil and Environmental Camp June 2003. PDF document.

This is the expedition page of the 2002 Mission to the Abyss. Developed by the University of Delaware Graduate College of Marine Studies, the site highlights the mission and crew, seafloor geology, creature features, and high-tech tools used in the study. This interactive website allows students to explore the submersible Alvin, find out how hydrothermal vents form, define the deep ocean, study plate tectonics, and meet hydrothermal vent organisms. The site includes extreme experiments, including: compression of a fluid vs. a gas, rising under pressure, my cup shrinks, soda squeeze, and plant pressure.

This is an article from "Teachable Moments in the News," a newsletter that takes recent Earth and space science related news stories and places them in a context relevant to the science curriculum. This particular edition describes the Goldilocks Zone, a range of environmental conditions that can support life. Teachers are provided a brief introduction, relevant news links, and developed lesson plans. Some lessons are in PDF format. Activity themes include: exploration of environmental conditions necessary to sustain life, physical and behavioral adaptations of organisms, and identification of resources on Earth that are essential for life to thrive.

This Great Moments in Science radio transcript discusses the history of bioluminescence. It covers the first scientists to study bioluminescence, organisms capable of making light, biochemistry of the phenomena, and interesting stories. The audio version of this program can be downloaded and requires RealPlayer.

This Great Moments in Science radio transcript describes the three types of bioluminescence (bacterial, extracellular, and intracellular) and associated medical applications. The audio version of this program can be downloaded and requires RealPlayer.

This Great Moments in Science radio transcript describes photons of light (not to be confused with bioluminescence) that can be seen only with the most sensitive photodetectors. Scientists believe that this light might be used by cells to communicate with each other. The audio version of this program can be downloaded and requires RealPlayer.

This is an on-line prototype for a book aimed at teaching kids the effects of acid mine drainage on our environment through experimentation and observation. Experiments introduce litmus paper, pH testing, neutralization, identification of aquatic organisms and their use as water quality indicators, acid mine drainage, organisms in acidic environments (including plants, bacteria, and algae), oxidation-reduction reactions, the manganese cycle, the water cycle, and treatments for acid mine drainage. The entire document is also available in a downloadable Adobe PDF format.

In this online activity, students use lichens and tardigrades (water bears) to investigate their use as bioindicators of key air pollutants. When lichens are exposed to some kinds of air pollutants, especially to sulfur dioxide, the lichens are injured and die. The lichen coverage in a specified area should be a good indicator of the level of air quality. The diversity of the tardigrade species on the lichens will be used to develop another level for bioindication of air quality. Sections of this activity include: introduction, sulfur dioxide and lichens, sampling procedure for lichen coverage, tardigrade sampling, sampling procedure for tardigrades, calculating diversity using the Simpson Diversity Index, interpretation of results, and references.

The pages represent an online biology textbook created by Prof. Kimball who taught at Harvard, Tufts, and Phillips Andover Academy before he retired. He now maintains this free biology book, constantly updated and set up for easy browsing and searching.

This downloadable booklet contains five inquiry- and standards-based classroom activities for grades 5-8 and three math extensions spanning topics from Defining Life, to Determining the Chances of Extraterrestrial Life.

This National Geographic lesson plan explores bioluminescent organisms in the sea. In this activity, students explore the benefits of bioluminescence by conducting a simulation and viewing pictures of bioluminescent marine animals on the Web. The conclusion of the activity entails students pretending to be deep-sea divers and writing journal entries about their impressions of a bioluminescent animal they have encountered. In addition to a detailed procedure, the lesson plan includes suggestions for assessment, ideas for extending the lesson, and links to related websites.