This article examines the ocean's role in heat absorption and carbon dioxide absorption. The consequences of changes in those, as well as in ocean water salinity, are discussed. The article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

Through a series of questions and answers, readers are introduced to the basic fundamentals of the carbon cycle and the importance of carbon as a greenhouse gas. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

A question and answer format is used to differentiate between weather and climate, and to provide a brief overview of global warming. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

The greenhouse effect is explained in this series of related questions and answers. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This article explains the role that the ocean- and the effect of ocean warming- plays in determining the temperature differences between the North and South Poles. The article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

Arctic warming produces biological winners (whales) and losers (polar bears). This article explains why they are impacted differently and includes supplemental images. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

In addition to instructions for making a model bee out of polymer clay, this site also contains related information about bees: a fact list, factors that threaten them, suggestions on how to help them, a waggle dance diagram and video, and even bee metaphors used in our language. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This is an activity about identifying and classifying objects in space. Learners will complete a worksheet asking them to identify certain pictures as a planet, moon, or asteroid. This activity requires a computer with Internet access and access to the Solar System Update software, and is Solar System Activity 2 in a larger resource, Space Update.

In these math problems, students will examine the characteristics of water droplets in clouds.

In this scenario-based, problem-based learning (PBL) activity, students investigate cloud formation, cloud classification, and the role of clouds in heating and cooling the Earth; how to interpret TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) images and data; and the role clouds play in the Earth’s radiant budget and climate. Students assume the role of weather interns in a state climatology office and assist a frustrated student in a homework assignment. Learning is supported by a cloud in a bottle and an ice-albedo demonstration, a three-day cloud monitoring outdoor activity, and student journal assignments. The hands-on activities require two 2-liter soda bottles, an infrared heat lamp, and two thermometers. The resource includes a teacher's guide, questions and answer key, assessment rubric, glossary, and an appendix with information supporting PBL in the classroom.

Students determine the ability of various lenses and mirrors to gather light in order to compare and calculate their light gathering power. This activity is part of Unit 3 in the Space Based Astronomy guide that contains background information, worksheets, assessments, extensions, and standards.

This demonstration shows that similar-appearing lights can be distinctly different, suggesting that the light emitted is generated in different ways. It requires some advance preparation/setup by the teacher and three recommended sources of orange light, that can be purchased at a hardware or department store. Includes extensions and additional background information on light generation in a section on underlying principles. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

This is an activity about the electromagnetic spectrum and how light is split into its component frequencies or colors. Using a diffraction grating, learners will observe four different light sources and sketch their spectra. This activity requires access to a sodium vapor or mercury vapor light and two neon signs of differing color, as well as diffraction grating material. This is Astronomy Activity 2 in the Space Update collection of activities.

In this activity, students will create their own travel brochure or poster inviting people to visit a place where they could see an aurora. It is recommended that the class complete Lesson 1 in this series - What I know about the Aurora - prior to this activity. Includes teacher notes and instructions, student workshops and an online, animated story, and related teacher resources on aurora. This is lesson four of a collection of five activities that can be used individually or as a sequence; concludes with a KWL (Know/Want-to-know/Learned) assessment activity.

In this activity, students investigate sea level change during glacial maxima during the Ice Ages, and learn how lowered sea level presented additional routes for intercontinental human migration. Summary background information, data and images supporting the activity are available on the Earth Update data site. To complete the activity, students will need to access the Space Update multimedia collection, which is available for download and purchase for use in the classroom.

This is an activity about identifying images of different space bodies and determining the cause of the craters pictured in each. Learners will use the Solar System Update software within Space Update to complete a worksheet. This is Solar System Activity 4 in Space Update.

This is an activity about identifying constellations. Learners will look for constellations in the Sky Tonight online program, draw images of these constellations, and attempt to find them in the night sky. Learners will also be asked to make connections between the shape of a constellation and its namesake. This activity requires the use of a computer with Internet access. It also requires access to the clear night sky. This activity is Sky Tonight Activity 1 in a larger resource, Space Update.

This experimental activity is designed to develop a basic understanding of the relationship between temperature and pressure and that a barometer can be constructed to detect this relationship. Resources needed to build a simple barometer include a canning jar with metal lid ring, large balloon, a block of wood, ruler, a nail, wood glue, hammer and a screwdriver. The resource includes background information, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is chapter 6 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations.

This example explains how contour mapping teaches both estimation and spatial visualization skills. To have experience visualizing 3-dimensional fields from a 2-dimensional map helps students throughout their mathematical career. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

In this activity, student teams identify the locations of coral reefs around the world, examine infrared satellite images of the Earth, and research the impacts that are threatening the survival of coral reefs. Each team creates a short oral presentation describing the coral reef they have researched. Students then plot on a composite map the locations where coral bleaching is occurring. Student worksheets, a teacher guide, and assessment rubric are included. This activity is part of Coastal Areas: Coral Reefs in Hot Water, part of the lesson series, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.