Acid Lake
Add acidity to a healthy lake and see what happens to the plants and animals in this interactive activity adapted from EcoKids.
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3-8 |
Flash Interactive
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Analyzing an Ecosystem
In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta, identify the living and nonliving things in an ecosystem. Then look further at the living things to identify the producers, the consumers, and examples of mimicry.
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3-8 |
Flash Interactive
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Ancient Farmers of the Amazon
This video segment from Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race" tells the story of the leafcutter ant and the fungus it farms -- an example of mutually beneficial symbiosis.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Antarctic Ecosystem
In contrast with its largely lifeless interior, the Antarctic coastal marine environment supports a vibrant and diverse ecosystem. Explore the region's living bounty in this interactive activity adapted from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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5-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Antarctic Food Web Game
In this interactive game adapted from the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, build a food web that illustrates the flow of energy in an Antarctic ecosystem and the relationships between predators and prey.
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5-8 |
Flash Interactive
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Arctic Atlas
In this interactive atlas adapted from UNEP/GRID-Arendal, explore different environmental features of the Arctic. Select from a list of themes to customize your map, then zoom in to take a closer look at one of six featured regions.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Arctic Ecosystem
Despite seemingly inhospitable conditions, the Arctic environment has a vibrant and diverse ecosystem. Explore the life that thrives in this region in this interactive activity adapted from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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5-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Arctic Tundra
This video segment from Wild Europe: "Wild Arctic" explores the struggle for survival in one of Earth's most extreme environments.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Biodiversity in the Dzangha-Sangha Rain Forest
In this interactive activity from the American Museum of Natural History, play "connect the dots" and discover the connections between the people, animals, and plants in three habitats of the Dzanga-Sangha rain forest in the Central African Republic.
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5-8 |
Flash Interactive
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Carnivorous Plants
In this video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, learn about carnivorous plants that act as both producers and consumers in an ecosystem. See sundews and blatterworts capture and digest insects.
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K-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Changing Arctic Landscape
In this video adapted from the Artic Athabaskan Council, learn how warmer temperatures in the Arctic are transforming the landscape, triggering a host of effects such as permafrost thawing and insect infestations.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Compare the Poles
Explore the defining features of the Arctic and the Antarctic in this interactive activity adapted from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Contaminants in the Arctic Food Chain
The levels of contaminants found in particular animals vary widely depending on where they fit into the Arctic food chain, as described in this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.
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5-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Contaminants in the Arctic Human Population
In this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, learn how human populations in the Arctic are affected by industrial contaminants in the food chain.
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5-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Coral Kid
In this video segment, ZOOM guest Cassie takes us on a tour of the coral reef near her home in Key Largo, Florida, and points out some of its unique features.
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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Coral Reef Connections
Dive in and explore what makes this beautiful world so fragile. In this Evolution Web feature, discover how coevolution has shaped the ecological relationships among reef creatures.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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The Coral Reef Ecosystem
Students examine a coral reef ecosystem to learn about its living and non-living parts and how they interact. They apply what they have learned to explore the world's biomes, including how the animals in each are adapted to their environment.
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6-8 |
Lesson Plan
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Creepy Crawlies
This interactive feature from the NOVA: "Odyssey of Life" Web site explores the often unwitting relationship we share with the billions of organisms that reside in our bodies and in our homes.
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K-8 |
HTML Interactive
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Dating Lava Flows on Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaiʻi
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists search
for carbonized remains of plants preserved in lava flows to find out how
long it has taken rain forests on Hawaiʻi to regenerate after
a volcanic eruption.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Deep Sea Vents and Life's Origins
Deep-sea vents are home to strange, luminescent life forms that thrive through chemosynthesis. This video segment from NOVA: "Volcanoes of the Deep" hypothesizes life's beginnings in this extreme environment.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Desert Biome
This video segment from NOVA: "A Desert Place" describes the physical characteristics and organisms that define the desert biome.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Discovering Antarctica
Take a guided tour of Antarctica by watching brief video segments of its landscape and wildlife in this interactive activity adapted from the British Antarctic Survey.
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K-8 |
HTML Interactive
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Documenting Glacial Change
This collection of comparative glacier images adapted from the National Snow and Ice Data Center shows substantial changes in five Alaskan glacier positions over periods of 60 to 100 years.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Energy Flow
This feature, adapted from Interactive NOVA: "Earth," follows the path of energy as it is transferred via the food chain from one type of organism to another.
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K-5 |
Flash Interactive
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Exploring the "Systems" in Ecosystems
In this media-rich lesson, students use a systems thinking approach to explore the components and processes of ecosystems. They analyze both a hypothetical and a local ecosystem by identifying abiotic and biotic components and their relationships.
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6-8 |
Lesson Plan
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Global Trends Quiz
In this interactive quiz from NOVA, take the Environmental Challenge and test your knowledge of human impact on the world's natural resources and climate.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Homo Sapiens Versus Neanderthals
This video segment, adapted from NOVA, explores reasons why Homo sapiens had an advantage over Neanderthals in the pursuit of territory and natural resources.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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How Did Life Emerge Here?
This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the emergence of life on the islands of Hawaiʻi from a barren volcanic platform under the ocean waves to the rich explosion of life that covers the many climate zones of the islands today.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Inuit Observations of Climate Change
In this video adapted from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, an Inuit community collaborates with Western scientists studying climate change. Inuit observations are recorded and included in the data collection process, expanding the scientists' understanding of changes in the area.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Life of a Tree
In this interactive activity adapted from the National Arbor Day Foundation, take a sixty-two-year journey observing the inner layers, rings, and environmental factors that affect a tree's growth and life cycle.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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A Night in the Coral Reef
Coral reefs are often portrayed as brightly lit, bustling underwater marvels full of colorful creatures. This video segment, adapted from NOVA, paints a different picture as it explores the nocturnal behavior of organisms in the reef.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Nihoa Island
This video segment adapted from the NOW-RAMP 2002 Expedition documents a research expedition to Nihoa Island. It showcases Nihoa's unique birds and plants, the threat posed by invading grasshoppers, and restoration efforts.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Pearl and Hermes Atoll
This video segment adapted from the NOW-RAMP 2002 Expedition documents a research expedition to Pearl and Hermes Atoll in Hawai`i. Watch as biologists assess the bird and plant populations and then work to eradicate invasive species.
|
5-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Penguin Response to Climate Change
Find out how climate change is affecting Antarctic Adélie penguins and their ecosystem in this video segment adapted from Lloyd Fales and Sweetspot Pictures, Inc.
|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Polar Bears and Climate Change
In this video from the World Wildlife Fund, learn how rising temperatures in the southern Arctic could lead to polar bear extinction.
|
6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Prairie Dogs
In this video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, learn about the prairie dog, the importance of its role in its ecosystem, and how it is affected by an ever-growing human population.
|
3-8 |
QuickTime Video
|
Tracking Polar Bears
In this interactive activity adapted from the USGS Alaska Science Center, track the movements of a polar bear as it migrates across the changing Arctic sea ice and compare the paths of four different polar bears.
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K-8 |
Flash Interactive
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The Value of Wetlands
This video segment adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department explores the role of the wetlands in our environment, including providing habitats for wildlife, acting as natural water filters, and playing a part in the greater water cycle.
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4-10 |
QuickTime Video
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