Diane Ripollone led a mapping activity in her 10th-grade earth science class. After reading a book about coal mining, students used tabletop maps and MapMaker Interactive to learn about natural resources in different states around the country. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Discovering Geological Resources through Maps
Loris Chen designed a unit that guides her eighth-grade students through an exploration of smartphones. Students follow the product life cycle from beginning to end, discovering what raw materials are used, how they are sourced, and how sustainable they are. The project culminates with students producing videos to share their ideas for improving smartphone sustainability. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Investigating the Stories Behind Smartphones
ENVIRONMENT Across Asia, rampant extraction of sand is eroding coastlines and scouring waterways. San mining is taking a toll that scientists are beginning to assess—and environmentalists hope to reduce. (Science) How do miners “quarry” sand? Use our resource to learn more. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Sand mining is a multi-billion dollar industry, practiced … Continue reading Sand Mining Threatens Ecosystems and Endangered Species
SCIENCE Known as a nodosaur, this 110 million-year-old, armored plant-eater is the best-preserved fossil of its kind ever found. (Nat Geo Magazine) Zoom in on dinosaurs and the early Cretaceous in North America. Discussion Ideas The nodosaur was not unearthed at a paleontological dig. How was this fossil discovered? Excavations at Suncor’s Millennium Mine, an oil mining operation in northern Alberta, Canada, unearthed the fossil. … Continue reading Dinosaur Mummy!
What did you learn this week? Let us know in the comments or at education@ngs.org. This week, we learned … … there is a Museum of Endangered Sounds that preserves all those obsolete ’90s tech noises. How many sounds in the museum can you identify? What are some everyday sounds you think might be obsolete in 20 years? Resource: Sound out your city! … Continue reading 10 Things We Learned This Week!
