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.

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.

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 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.

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.

In this video from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, explore the subject of altruism, the idea of people doing good things without expecting anything in return.

In this video from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, learn about two different groups of Buddhist practitioners in the West.

A list of mathematics journals with articles on the Web and a list of Web sites for printed journals, with tables of contents of issues, abstracts of papers, actual papers, information about submissions and subscriptions, etc. See also the Annual Listing of New Journals in Mathematics file, which notes newly established journals devoted to papers in mathematics, organized by year.

This experimental activity is designed to develop basic understanding of the relationship between the angle of light rays and the area over which the light rays are distributed, and the potential to affect changes in the temperature of materials. Resources needed to conduct this activity include a flashlight, cardboard, protractor and ruler. The resource includes background information, a pre-activity inquiry exploration for students, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is chapter 4 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations.

In this arts and crafts activity about animals and animal characteristics, learners will design animal hats and role-play as animals. Through this dramatic play, learners will practice and develop problem solving, cooperation, symbolic thinking, language and personal expression skills. Use the suggested open-ended questions to encourage learner reflection about their animal hat and animals in general.

This collection contains animations of a nuclear chain reaction, nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. It also showcases interactive models of the first atomic bombs and simulation of the "Nuclear Winter" effect.

NASA argues that new observations may upset theories about how solar explosions create and destroy antimatter. Users can view the many colorful animations and short movies obtained from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI).

This case study looks at how the scientific process really works, particularly in respect to evolutionary biology. Using the example of the discovery of the platypus, the lesson ties in easily with biology or zoology courses. The case study and teaching notes may be downloaded in PDF format. The site also includes a section for instructor feedback where general comments may be read and contributed.

This paper describes the application of findings from the National Science Foundation's project on Computational Thinking (CT) in America's Workplace to program assessment. It presents the process used to define the primary job functions and work tasks of CT-Enabled STEM professionals in today's scientific enterprise. Authors describe three programs developing CT skills among learners in secondary and post secondary programs and how the resulting occupational analysis was used to review these programs. The article presents ways this analysis can be used as a framework to guide the development of STEM learning outcomes and activities, and sets of directions for future work.

Spreadsheets across the Curriculum Activity. Student build spreadsheets that allow them to estimate pi using the same iterative process as Archimedes.

This video segment adapted from NOVA features a variety of scientific perspectives on the age old question, "Are we alone in the universe?" Animations make vivid the improbability that we could intercept a radio wave signaling extra terrestrial intelligence.