This simulation allows you to observe the behavior of an object reflecting around a circular table.
Citizen science is known as the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world by members of the public. Those participating in citizen science projects and activities are not professional scientists; rather, this collaborative research is done by everyday people in a wide variety of settings around the world to help answer questions that scientists can’t answer by themselves. Whether participating in bird counts, water sampling, frog watches, butterfly monitoring, plant data, or other projects, anyone can find a fun and meaningful way to contribute to the scientific community, often providing valid insights into the natural world. For more information and classroom activities, please visit The Wildlife Center of Virginia and VPM UNTAMED websites
Students will participate in a 5E lesson on classification. To ENGAGE, students will think about common vs scientific names and interpret relatedness between four species. To EXPLORE, students will watch a clip of their choice from Our Planet and document organisms' defining characteristics. Students create a hierarchy to predict the relatedness of the species. To then learn about classification systems, students will participate in the EXPLAIN activities. Three videos and guided notes are available for students to document their learning. An EVALUATIVE formative assignment Candy Cladogram Drag and Drop is available for students to practice their understanding of phylogenetics. Then, students will ELABORATE on their knowledge by researching the scientific names of the organisms they observed in the Our Planet clip (explore section). Students will evaluate the accuracy of their orginial hierarchy and explain how scientific developments have impacted classification. Additional cladograms are included for students to interpret.
This resource provides a summary of common preconceptions and misconceptions in Life Science.
Learn about the importance of public policy action on natural resource and conservation issues. This episode highlights some key pieces of conservation legislation. The American system of land and wildlife management is one built on, and for, public involvement. Learn about how these decisions are made and, most importantly, how to get involved.
This student research and planning sheet will help you keep students on task during their research and creation of a kingdom superhero or super-villain inspired by the teach engineering lesson plan linked in this resource.
This student research and planning sheet will help you keep students on task during their research and creation of a kingdom superhero or super-villain inspired by the teach engineering lesson plan linked in this resource.
Learn about one of the biggest impacts that humans have on their environment—Litter. It isn’t just an aesthetic problem; it has serious impacts on habitats, wildlife health, as well as human health and safety. The consequences of even small acts of littering can be far-reaching and long-lasting. Join the Wildlife Center staff and watershed conservation authorities to learn more about the problems litter can pose, as well as a variety of ways that you can help reduce litter.
In this activity, students extract DNA from Archaea or from their cheek cells. Students learn key concepts about DNA function during the intervals required for the extraction procedure. Student understanding of DNA structure, function and replication is further developed by additional analysis and discussion questions and hands-on modeling of DNA replication. This activity helps students meet the Next Generation Science Standards.
Learn about DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid is the blueprint for all living things, but it is so small we can’t usually see it. The role of DNA is to provide our cells information on building proteins; these proteins lead to our individual traits such as eye color, height, dimples, and so much more. The structure of DNA is a double helix and we can model this structure at home. This model is based on the work of Rosalind Franklin, a British Chemist who created an X-ray photograph that provided evidence of the double-helix structure of DNA molecules. We can also extract DNA from a living thing, such as a strawberry, at home. The components of this DNA are so small that it does not look like our model; however, with technology scientists can both see the structure and manipulate the structure to change proteins in organisms. The key concepts and terms explored in this episode include DNA, nucleotides, genes, and genetically modified organisms (GMO's).
Students are tasked with creating a model of DNA, which they then photograph and include a written explanation of how the model represents DNA.
Students are tasked with creating a model of DNA and include a typed explanation of how it represents DNA.
This analysis and discussion activity can be used to introduce your students to key concepts about DNA structure, function and replication or to review these topics. This activity includes hands-on modeling of DNA replication.
In this activity, participants plan and conduct a plant growth experiment while considering the role of data quality in automated systems in agriculture. The timing of the activity is highly dependent on the seed variety that you are growing and the level of familiarity that participants already have with basic plant science and scientific investigation concepts, but will likely take several weeks. This activity is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity
Design Your Own Experiment : a Health & Biology Interdisciplinary Learning Experience The Heart of Scientific Literacy: understanding scientific investigation & experimental design Purpose:The purpose of this activity is for you to explore the process of scientific investigation through a health lens. You will consider ways in which data is collected to inform your health and well being. You will create and carry out a valid experimental design in the fitness room or small gym. Your experimental design must yield reliable data. You will analyze the data to make a claim and support it with evidence. In short, you will carry out a scientific investigation from start to finish to grow in scientific literacy and make informed decisions about your health.
This minds-on analysis and discussion activity helps students understand that cell size is limited by the very slow rate of diffusion over any substantial distance and the insufficient surface-area-to-volume ratio for larger cells. In addition, students calculate why these problems do not apply to long slender cells or parts of cells (e.g. the axons of neurons that extend from your spinal cord to your foot). To maximize student participation and learning, I recommend that you have your students complete the questions individually or in pairs and then have a whole class discussion.
Students learn the principles of independent assortment and gene linkage in activities which analyze inheritance of multiple genes on the same or different chromosomes in hypothetical dragons. Students learn how these principles derive from the behavior of chromosomes during meiosis and fertilization.
In this simulation activity students mimic the processes of meiosis and fertilization to investigate the inheritance of multiple genes and then use their understanding of concepts such as dominant/recessive alleles, incomplete dominance, sex-linked inheritance, and epistasis to interpret the results of the simulation. This activity can be used as a culminating activity after you have introduced classical genetics, and it can serve as formative assessment to identify any areas of confusion that require additional clarification.
These are simple ways to demonstrate water chemistry concepts such as adhesion, cohesion, and polarity to students in a hands on way using easy to find and inexpensive lab materials. The lesson was originally designed to align with a biology course to teach the impact of water on life, but it could also be modified to fit a chemistry or physical science curriculum.
Learn about where diseases come from. How are they spread? This episode examines a variety of emerging wildlife diseases, with an emphasis on the One Health concept. While some disease outbreaks may be “natural”, human behaviors and influences are adding additional pressure on wildlife and the landscape, and in the end, all of us – humans, wildlife, and the environment – are affected. Learn more about the field of emerging wildlife diseases and the continually evolving research on what those diseases tell us.