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 educational web site features life forms of deep sea hydrothermal systems. Hosted by the American Museum of Natural History, this site offers a brief introduction of the community and then focuses on Vestimentiferan tube worms, Vescomyid clams, and Bathymodiolid mussels. The site includes interactive games, teacher resources, a glossary, and more.

This Why Files informative page is part of a series that features the narrative of Bob, the bobtail squid. Bob describes the symbiotic relationship formed between his ancestors and the bioluminescent bacteria that offer him protection from predators. The next page in this series describes the relationship from the enslaved bacteria's perspective and features scientist Margaret McFall-Ngai. Links are provided to glossary terms and a bibliography.

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.

In this lesson students discover the factors that are indicative of chemotrophic nutritional strategies. This NOAA lesson plan is designed to teach students about the factors that are indicative of chemotrophic nutritional strategies. Students will be able to describe at least three chemotrophic symbioses known from deep-sea habitats. They will identify and explain three indicators of chemotropic nutrition. This hands-on activity uses online data resources and includes: focus questions, background information, evaluations and extensions, as well as resources and student handouts.

This collection of lesson plans, created by the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, highlights color change in cephalopods. This page provides links to each lesson plan, which are in PDF format and feature an informative, image-rich introduction followed by a hands-on laboratory activity. The lesson plans highlight cephalopod color change, vision, light quality, and light quantity.

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 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.

The EurekAlert news article for kids features a brief summary of the Hawaiian bobtail squid. This animal has a built-in flashlight on its underside, which is beamed downward by stacks of silvery reflector plates made from an unusual family of proteins.

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 is a companion website to a NOVA television series investigating strange life-forms found in toxic caverns. The program reviews the traditional theory of cave formation; introduces new theories of microbial sulfuric acid production; examines the role of oil-feeding microbes in dissolving limestone; presents the discovery of microbes in caves that live solely on chemical nutrients; and reviews other extreme environments. The site offers an interview with a microbiologist, an essay by a caver, a slide show of decorated caves, a teacher's guide including the classroom activity entitled "Microbial Townhouse," and interactive animation about cave formation.