The transit of Venus is a rare astronomical event that has been well documented throughout history. The most recent transit occurred in June of 2004, and the one before that took place more than 100 years earlier in 1882. This site from the South African Astronomical Observatory provides information and first-hand observations of the 1882 event from Wellington, South Africa. Just prior to the event, an observatory was erected at the Huguenot Seminary for girls, and some of the historical observations made from that site in 1882 are provided here for your perusal.

This video adapted from the Valdez Museum & Historical Archive, explores what happened during the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 through original footage, first-person accounts, and animations illustrating plate tectonics.

This movie shows a total eclipse of the Sun which occurred in 1994. It is accompanied by a link to a written description of the Sun's physical characteristics.

This NASA page is an image set illustrating the 20g centrifuge at the Ames Research Center. The photographs include two of human subjects strapped in the place at one end of the centrifuge arm.

This tutorial explains some of the techniques developed by astronomers to determine the distances of objects we see in the sky. Links to additional information are embedded in the text.

This site presents graphic plots of solar wind and magnetic field data from the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft.

This Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a test in which a small satellite was tethered to the Space Shuttle in 1992. Numerous wide-ranging links provide further information.

This Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) image shows a laboratory test of the ion drive engine used to propel the Deep Space 1 exploratory probe across the solar system in 1998. The site includes a description of how the device works and provides links for related information.

This APOD page features the first confirmed image of an extrasolar planet orbiting a sun-like star. Text and numerous links provide additional information; one link goes to the press release of the confirmation.

This Astronomy Picture of the Day depicts the Himalayan mountain range in Nepal. The image was taken from the International Space Station. Links provide background information about Skylab, the Himalayas, and plate tectonics.

This Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the "dust flaps" that Apollo 17 astronauts jury-rigged on the lunar rover. The site describes the origin of lunar dust and provides links for further information.

The COSEE network promotes a better understanding of the key role the ocean plays in global environmental cycles and processes. COSEE activities highlight the contributions ocean-science researchers make to scientific knowledge in these important areas. Each COSEE represents one or more ocean science research institution, an informal science education organization, and at least one affiliate organization representing the formal education community.

Children learn how seasonal weather changes affect everything, from the behavior of animals to the way we dress and play.

This video segment adapted from First Light explains why the highest peak in the Pacific, Mauna Kea, is an ideal site for astronomical observations. Featured are new telescope technologies that allow astronomers to explore the universe in more depth.

This module introduces the concept of biological absorption, storage and distribution of chemicals.

This website provides instructions on how to find and download images directly from the WISE archive. Anyone with an internet connection now has free access to high-resolution infrared images from the WISE mission. These instructions explain how to get the images you want, without using complex terminology and options that may be difficult for the layperson to navigate.

In this video, an environmental technologist visits an abandoned coal mine in Kentucky to talk about how a remediation system (a series of settling ponds and treatment cells) is neutralizing the acid drainage flowing from the mine and keeping it from damaging a creek downstream.

For years, our oceans have been hard at work absorbing the carbon dioxide that humans create through burning fossil fuels. Find out what effect that extra CO2 is having on our seas.

This module provides an intrioduction to acid and base chemistry. The Arrhenius and Bronsted-Lowry concepts of acids and bases are discussed as well as the pH scale and neutralization reactions.

Selected resources provide three web-based activities to complement science lessons in an issue of Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle. The free, online magazine for Grades K-5 teachers explores the essential principles of climate literacy.

This web page contains a homework assignment that asks the student to solve problems based on the launch and flight of a rocket. Developed as an alternative to traditional textbook homework, this item is based on the work of the Activity Based Physics project (ABP). Students must make estimations and build their own mathematical models to determine which concepts of classical mechanics apply to each section of the problem set. Topics covered include kinematics, Newton's second law, conservation of energy, and projectile motion. This item is part of a larger collection of alternative homework assignments designed for introductory physics students. Each assignment poses a series of questions about a single context. To successfully complete assignments, students must think critically about how the physical situation could be represented by mathematics.

Hear about how respect for Earth can help us attain a more sustainable lifestyle in the face of climate change in this video segment adapted from United Tribes Technical College.

This site presents information about the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft and its mission, science goals, history, and background. The mission summary includes a brief description of the energetic particles from the sun and from interstellar and galactic sources that are the objectives of the ACE mission. Links to additional information are also supplied.

This astronomy program is designed for middle school children in out-of-school-time settings. The program explores basic astronomy concepts (like invisible light, telescopes) and focuses on the universe outside the solar system (stars, galaxies, black holes). The program is structured for use in a variety of settings, including astronomy days, summer camps, or year-long afterschool programs. Although session activities build concepts sequentially, each session activity is designed to be freestanding as not all participants may attend every session. A manual provides background information and descriptions of how to conduct each activity. A companion website provides additional information and resources for the program leader.

In this video from Nature, geological detectives use ancient diamonds to learn more about Earth's inner layers.

This video segment adapted from Big River: A King Corn Companion shows how agricultural chemicals from the Midwest that travel downstream in water runoff create a vast marine dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Centre de Donnees astrononmiques de Strasbourg (CDS) provides the Aladin Sky Atlas, an interactive sky atlas that allows users to view images of any part of the sky while superimposing astronomical catalogs or personal, user data files. Images may be selected from the Aladin Image Server or the following data servers: Simbad, VizieR Catalog Service, and NED.

This video from First Alaskans Institute spotlights the Alaska Native community of St. Paul and its hands-on commitment to care for the land and animals on which it depends.

In this video adapted from Storyknife Productions, Alaska Native pilots share how they use traditional knowledge to read the landscape and predict the weather.

In this video adapted from KUAC-TV and the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska Native students contribute to research on how their environment is changing as a result of global warming.

In this media-rich lesson, students prepare classroom science fair projects that demonstrate the application of traditional knowledge to a scientific topic.

In this video adapted from Alaska Sea Grant, discover why multiple tsunamis resulted from the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964.

This site features a scientific article associated with the Mars Global Surveyor Project, reporting data collected from a study analyzing Mono Lake as a terrestrial analog to Mars. The study is centered on two classes of biomarker compounds amino acids and fatty acids and on the microbial diversity of Mono Lake. A table illustrates the mole % fatty acids in Mono Lake sediments.

In this informational text, elementary school readers learn about the difference between weather and climate and about components of the climate system. The text can be used to practice visualizing and other comprehension strategies. Available in K-2 and 3-5 grade bands and as an illustrated book as well as a text document, the story appears in the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle.

In this video from QUEST produced by KQED, find out why some of the most passionate astronomers don't ever need to leave their own backyards.

This exhibit from the Space Weather Center explains what plasmas are and what forms they take on Earth and in space. It contains many helpful images and two games on magnetism and the states of matter.

The lithograph contains a Hubble Space Telescope image that shows M82, an edge-on galaxy, undergoing a frenzy of star formation. The text explains the possible causes of the galaxy’s unusual appearance and star-birth activity. The accompanying classroom activity is a curriculum support tool designed for use as an introductory inquiry activity. It can be incorporated into a unit that has a scientific inquiry and/or a galaxy evolution theme. During the classroom activity, In Search of … Starburst Galaxies, students use the lithograph images and text to generate questions about the cause of the starburst, a rapid rate of star formation, in M82. They also conduct research to answer their questions. Students then identify the galaxy they think is responsible for igniting the star formation in M82, and must provide evidence to support their choice.

This lithograph contains a Hubble Space Telescope image that shows the colorful Planetary Nebula NGC 2440 with one of the hottest known white dwarfs at its center. The text briefly explains the process of stellar death of sun-like stars and those with a mass greater than eight times the Sun. The accompanying classroom activity is a curriculum support tool designed for use as an introductory inquiry activity. It can be incorporated into a unit that has a scientific inquiry and/or stellar evolution theme. During the classroom activity, In Search of... Stellar Death, students use the lithograph images and text to generate questions about the planetary nebula NGC 2440 and how stars end their lives. Students conduct research to answer their questions then compare the endpoints of different mass stars, providing supporting evidence from their research.

This lithograph features Hubble Space Telescope images and includes text that describes and explains the images. There is also an accompanying inquiry-based classroom activity entitled “In Search of Star Formation.” This activity is designed to encourage the development of research skills and independent thinking. Available online as well as hardcopy. Educators can access the lithograph PDF files on the Web site and print the materials for use in their classrooms.