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.

In this physics activity, learners build their own rockets out of film canisters and construction paper. Learners discover how a chemical reaction (from a mix of water and Alka-Seltzer) creates gas pressure to propel the craft. The activity explores the three states of matter and Newtonäóťs Laws of Motion.

In this activity, learners build small indoor paper rockets, determine their flight stability, and launch them by blowing air through a drinking straw. This lesson plan includes procedures for the two part activity, background information, diagrams for making Ares 1 paper rockets, discussion questions, extensions, and black-line masters for learners.

A video from the Extreme Ice Survey in which Dr. Tad Pfeffer and photographer Jim Balog discuss the dynamics of the Columbia glacier's retreat in recent years through this time-lapse movie. Key point: glacier size is being reduced not just by glacial melting but due to a shift in glacial dynamics brought on by climate change.

This activity lets you program your 'robot' (a willing friend) to pick up and dispose of some 'toxic waste' using as few commands as possible. Learners create command cards (Turn Left, Right, Forward 1, etc.), mark out a simulation area on the floor, and try to get the "robot" to dispose of something that serves as "toxic waste" into something that serves as a "containment vessel" - in as few steps as possible. Strategy, predication and cooperation are all part of this activity.

This web site hosts the materials for an annual middle school competition that consists of four physical science experiments centered on a mystery. The experiments are designed for small groups in a classroom or after school setting. Each of the experiments gives students a clue to solve the mystery. The current year's competition is available to join and the materials from previous years are available for download.

This web site has links to the materials for the 2006 Physics Quest middle school competition, hosted by the APS. The 2006 lesson covers static electricity, conductors and insulators, heat, and optics. These are connected to the life and science of Benjamin Franklin. The experiments are designed for small groups in a classroom or after school setting. Each of the experiments gives students a clue to solve the mystery.

The abacus has been around for several thousand years, and it is an efficient and interesting counting machine. The standard abacus can be used to perform addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, along with its use in extracting square roots and cubic roots. This site was created by Luis Fernandes, and it explores the wide world of the abacus through illustrations, thoughtful essays, and other items. On the site's homepage visitors can read a detailed introduction to the abacus, look over an interactive abacus tutorial, and learn about the history of the device. In the "Articles, Excerpts and Analysis" area visitors can read about an early encounter between the abacus and an electric calculator in 1946 and a hilarious encounter between famed physicist Richard Feynman and the abacus. The site is rounded out by the "All Things Abacus" area, which includes resources for teachers and photos of Fernandes' impressive abacus collection.

Includes information about the Academy of Natural Sciences educational programs: teacher resources, information for planning field trips to the museum and women in the natural sciences.

This case was developed for use in the first semester of a sophomore organic chemistry laboratory to illustrate how a combination of techniques is usually required in the identification of chemical compounds. It involves a murder mystery with a forensic twist. Students are told that two bodies have recently been recovered from two different lakes. Due to a mix-up at the morgue, the coroner's office is unable to determine which body came from which lake. The students' task is to develop a methodology to solve this mystery as well as determine whether the deaths were the result of murder or mishap. The case could also be used in instrumental analysis courses or adapted for a non-majors course in the general education curriculum.

The Ad*Access Project presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Ad*Access concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II, providing a coherent view of a number of major campaigns and companies through images preserved in one particular advertising collection available at Duke University.

This 440-page report explores how students in pre-K through grade 8 learn mathematics, with a focus on number and operations, and recommends how teaching, curricula, and teacher education should change to improve mathematics learning. (A 39-page summary, Helping Children Learn Mathematics, is catalogued separately.) The authors identify five interdependent components of mathematical proficiency and describe how students develop this proficiency. The report presents a portrait of mathematics learning: research findings on what children know about numbers before they arrive in pre-K and the implications for instruction; details on the processes by which students acquire mathematical proficiency; what is known from research about teaching for mathematics proficiency and developing proficiency in teaching. Visitors to this website may read the full text online, download a copy (pdf), or purchase a hard copy.

This collection is intended to provide scientific resources and information to help students explore paleontology and learn about research in the field of paleontology. It features a module that explores a variety of current topics in paleontology, including morphology, histology (the study of biological tissues), taphonomy (the study of preservation), and ichnology (the study of tracks and traces). It also addresses ethics issues in paleontology and includes links to some news articles on current research and discoveries.

This activity/demo introduces learners to aerogel, a glass nanofoam. Learners discover how aerogel is made and how well it insulates as well as learn about aerogel's other unique properties. Learners see real aerogel and feel how well it insulates.

The Mariners' Museum's curriculum guide with teaching activities that address maritime discoveries from ancient times to Captain Cook's 1768 voyage to the South Pacific. One of four online expeditions. Age of Exploration curriculum includes lesson plans, vocabulary, links to related sites, reference material, video, biographies of famous explorers, and more. Lessons include latitude and longitude, creating a compass, an astrolabe, and a globe, identifying the parts of a ship, plus 7 more.

In this activity (page 1 of PDF), learners will construct an air cannon by cutting a hole in the bottom of a bucket and stretching a garbage bag over the other end. Then, they aim the cannon at a paper target and try to knock it over by giving the plastic bag a good whack. Learners also experiment with hole size to make the cannon more effective. Relates to the linked video, DragonflyTV: Forecasting.

This educational project uses online real time data to guide student discovery of the science behind the causes and effects of ground level ozone. Through this project, students will discover what ground level ozone is, what factors contribute to its formation and how breathing ozone affects health. Students will use data and animated maps from the internet to monitor the presence of ground level ozone. Students are challenged to think critically and creatively. Teacher sections include a primer on ground level ozone and tips for utilizing class time. By the end of the project, they will be able to read the Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Index chart, record weather data, create graphs to help visualize or recognize trends, predict when ground level ozone may occur, and use knowledge gained to create awareness about its associated health effects.

During World War Two, a fierce battle between American and Japanese forces on Kwajalein atoll left a trail of debris on the deep lagoon floor. This lagoon now has one of the largest collections of well-preserved aircraft in the world. In this video, as part of the first ever film crew allowed onto this secret military base, Jonathan explores a B-25, F4-U Corsair and Dauntless dive bomber still sitting on the bottom of the ocean, as if ready to take off. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.

A unit designed to teach the history of aerodynamics, to develop some fundamental mathematical skills relating to the field of aviation, and to study the history of flight, including the first transatlantic flight, the Wright Brothers, and supersonic flight (old and new). Math criteria include the computation, concepts, and problem solving of velocity; acceleration, speed, distance traveled, and time. Includes 20 word problems.

This activity (located on page 3 of the PDF) is a full inquiry investigation into Bernoulliäóťs principle and airplane wings. Learners will design and build their own airplane wing models out of Styrofoam, record their mass, and then use a fan to measure the äóěweightäó change when air flows over the wing. Results from testing other wing shapes and sizes are then measured to chart relationships between lift and wing size and shape. Relates to linked video, DragonflyTV GPS: Balloon Fiesta.