Resources
- BioBlitz (Grades 3-5; Grades 6-12)
- Provided by National Geographic Education Programs
- Biology, Earth/Environmental Science
- Curriculum and Lesson Plans
- For Educators, Students
- These educational resources introduce students to skills that scientists use in the field. Students learn how scientists use skills such as observation, recording, identifying species, and mapping when they're working in the field.
- iLABCentral-The Place to Share Remote Online Laboratories
- Provided by Bio-Community.org
- General Learning Resources, Lab Resources
- Making high school science labs more real, more engaging, and more accessible. Online laboratories (iLabs) are experimental facilities that can be accessed through the Internet, allowing students and educators to carry out experiments from anywhere at any time. Remote labs enrich science and engineering education by vastly increasing the scope of experiments that students have access to in the course of their academic careers. As partners, the Center for Educational Computing Initiatives at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northwestern University's Office of STEM Education Partnerships offer the following through The iLAB Network: Gives science teachers and learners in traditional and online high schools, museums, and informal science education programs the ability to experience the excitement and authenticity of using high-end equipment to investigate the world in the same way that scientists do. Provides new research and learning opportunities for students, allowing them to share and discuss procedures and results. Prepares teachers to integrate iLABs in a range of science courses (including AP courses), encouraging them to go beyond the current paradigm of cookbook science labs with outdated or inappropriate equipment. Allows access by students and other audiences around the world who might not otherwise have the resources to purchase and operate costly or delicate lab equipment.
- AP Environmental Science Curriculum
- Provided by Center for Land-Based Learning
- Earth/Environmental Science
- General Learning Resources, Hands-On Projects, Curriculum and Lesson Plans
- For Educators, Students
- The SLEWS Environmental Science Curriculum includes multi-day lessons with labs, activities, and supporting multi-media. This is a curriculum for teachers interested in using restoration projects as a basis for standards-based learning in the classroom. It is a series of stand-alone lessons that, if strung together, can become the foundation of a biology or environmental science course rooted in real-world experience. The Science Writing Prompts are single-day prompts designed to prepare students for specific SLEWS field days while encouraging thoughtful science writing. Graphs and media also accompany them. They were created through a yearlong research project in collaboration with SLEWS teachers and the UC Davis School of Education. The original classroom companion to the SLEWS program, Workbook: A SLEWS Curriculum, provides background readings on ecological restoration, plant communities and wildlife in the California Central Valley, and measuring success of restoration through monitoring. Each chapter includes activities and extensions to connect concepts to real life situations in students’ own neighborhood as well as your class’ SLEWS restoration project.
- Bridge-to-Employment Silicon Valley
- Provided by Bay Area Biotechnology Education Consortium
- Earth/Environmental Science, Chemistry, Math, Computer Science, Technology Education
- General Learning Resources, Hands-On Projects
- For Students
- High school student summer internship program. 6 weeks at companies, university and research non-profit labs. Includes company tours. Culminates in a poster presentation celebration event.
- BABEC biotech curricula labs
- Provided by Bay Area Biotechnology Education Consortium
- Earth/Environmental Science, Chemistry, Technology Education
- Hands-On Projects, Curriculum and Lesson Plans, Science Kits, Lab Resources, Articles
- For Educators
- Hands on biotechnology curricula and labs for all levels of life science, biotechnology and forensics classes.
- Educator Giveaways
- Provided by Bay Area Biotechnology Education Consortium
- Lab Resources
- For Educators
- Free giveaway of industry and university science surplus equipment, supplies and furniture for teachers of K-12, community college and university faculty. Research non-profits are also welcome with proven 501(c)3 status.
- What's Cooking
- Provided by Pitsco Education
- Earth/Environmental Science, Physics
- Science Kits
- For Everyone, Educators, Students
-
Objective:
Identify and record the temperature of the solar oven over a period of time for a cooking project.Description:
Experiment with the solar oven by measuring and recording the temperature over a period of time and plan a cooking project.Procedures:
Build the Solar Oven Kit and place the completed Solar Oven in the Sun, positioning it carefully for maximum exposure to direct sunlight.Measure the temperature inside the oven every 15 minutes for 60 minutes. Record your findings of the temperature increase.
Prepare ingredients following a chosen recipe for a cooking project. Take careful consideration while choosing your cooking project and be sure to factor in your temperature findings.
Remember that solar cooking takes longer than cooking with conventional ovens. The oven may not get hot enough to safely cook products containing egg.
Discussion:
What were the temperature increases? Graph your results.Continuation:
Experiment recording the temperatures of the oven at different times of the day when the Sun is in different locations in the sky. What effect does this have on your results? Will it take longer to cook the same project at 8:00 a.m. than it would at 12:00 noon?
- Blade Overload
- Provided by Pitsco Education
- Physics
- Science Kits
- For Educators, Students
-
Objective:
Design and construct a turbine with four, five, or six blades to determine optimum energy output.Description:
Experiment with a Wind Gen using four, five, or six blades to determine the maximum energy generated.Procedures:
Brainstorm design ideas for a turbine with four, five, or six blades that will attach to the completed Wind Gen. Record these design ideas on paper or graph paper.Select what you believe to be the best design. Draw and construct the newly designed turbine blades to scale.
From balsa wood, design and construct the turbine frame that will attach to the motor of the Wind Gen.
Attach the turbine blades to the frame. Create a data table to record the results of your experiment.
Test the newly designed turbine and record the data from the experiment.
Discussion:
Draw conclusions about your turbine design.
- California Academy of Sciences
- Provided by Bio-Community.org
- General Learning Resources
- Standards-based science activities, lesson plans, images, glossaries, & more. Borrow a kit full of exciting materials to use in your classroom! Available for preschool though grade 12, kits include lesson plans, games, specimens, books, DVDs, and more. Activities are designed to be fun and engaging while meeting California Science Content Standards.
- Khan Academy
- Provided by Bio-Community.org
- General Learning Resources
- The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. A not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere. The library of videos covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with playlists on finance and history. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer. All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.