Exploring the Environment

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• Learn more about biology, biosphere, climate change, cooperative learning, digital imaging, El Nino, environmental science, farming, geology, hydrosphere, lithosphere, meteorology, natural history, North Korea, oceanography, problem-based learning, remote sensing, science, and South Korea.

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Exploring the Environment, developed by NASA Classroom of the Future, is an online series designed to “promote science-literate and reflective students who are knowledgeable of the earth’s processes and their responsibilities for stewardship.”Find activities and learning modules for coral reefs, global climate change, the Florida Everglades, Yellowstone fires, mountain gorillas, volcanoes, hurricanes, water quality, and biodiversity in the rainforest. Think about how past history, present political ideology, and the natural environment have shaped the North and South Korea of today. Take a trip to the island of Oahu and use NIH images to measure distances to your chosen destinations or take your own spacecraft on a mission to Mars.

Problem-based secondary activities are available from the Exploring the Environment home page. Simply click the Modules and Activities link and choose the problem scenario that fits your topic. Using observation and problem-solving strategies, students can answer questions such as “Are our industrial and agricultural practices changing Earth’s climate?” or “How can remote sensing images provide information that would be useful in preventing an outbreak and spread of the Rift Valley fever virus?” The materials for research and data analysis come from real data and images provided by NASA and other government sites. These activities vary in complexity, and are designed for grades 5 to 12.

There are both teacher and student websites in this program, the student pages are listed on the bottom right under Related Websites. Upper elementary and middle school students may enter their virtual science museum Earth Science Explorer through the castle door and ride the elevator to the exhibits. Displays, exhibits, and print resources include images, diagrams, and animations for students to explore at their own pace. Begin on the Dinosaur Floor with Meet the Dinosaurs, an interactive opportunity to explore the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Triassic periods in the Diorama Room. Other rooms on this floor focus on the disappearance of dinosaurs from the Earth. Disease, Volcanoes, Giant Impact, and Orbital Changes include facts behind the theories that explain the dinosaurs’ extinction.

Hop back on the elevator or take the Staircase of Geologic Time to the Earth Floor. Here you can explore life science topics such as diversity, adaptation, and biomes or earth science topics such as plate tectonics and rock/water cycles. So many spheres, so little time! Learn about the Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Cryosphere, Biosphere, Atmosphere and the even the Exosphere, none of which, by the way, is an exact sphere.

Designed for kindergarten through fourth grade, the ETE’s K4 Earth Science instructional materials for the youngest students include a variety of online activities. For example, students can learn about the Earth System by sorting images into the proper sphere, life, air, water, or rock. Both online and hands-on activities are provided for biomes, weather, remote sensing, and Earth system topics.

The Teacher’s Lounge and other instructional support resources throughout the Exploring the Environment family of sites require a password. Teachers’ pages include loads of instructional materials about working with students in teams, being a facilitator in a student-centered lesson, and assessment options and guidelines. There are also module-specific teacher pages with background information and a preparation checklist. The password is free, and these pages really make the site, so getting a password is highly recommended. Requests are processed manually, so allow two weeks for processing.