The series of lessons allows students to review the concepts of mutations, adaptations and natural selection by studying a population of pocket mice through a video clip and then applying their knowledge through a simulation game.

Students research modern DNA discoveries provided by the teacher as well as student selected discoveries. After summarizing each discovery, students reflect on the nature of science and identify and explain which NOS tenets are demonstrated in the DNA discoveries.

This module specifically focuses on Cellular Respiration, both aerobic and anaerobic. The breakdown of nutrient molecules provides energy to the cell. This energy is stored in specific chemicals that are used to carry out the life functions of the cell (BIO.2 e). This module was developed by Teresa Ballou as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

Learn what happens when an animal is rehabilitated and returned to the wild. In many cases, we may never know, but there are a few ways post-release data can be gathered on former patients. This insight not only can prove that wildlife rehabilitation works, but post-release data can also contribute important information about overall wildlife populations. In this episode, join Center staff and wildlife researchers as they reflect on what some former wildlife patients have taught us.

Big Data is all around us. In our phones, in our smart assistants, and everything else. This factsheet helps to show how big data is used in agriculture. In agriculture, big data is used to help farmers manage their farms, drive their tractors, and sell their goods. Feel free to use the student and facilitator factsheets to teach your students about how technological agriculture has become!This educational resource is part of a project to support formal and non-formal agricultural educators in integrating cyberbiosecurity topics and research-based strategies for engaging middle-school-aged girls in STEM into their educational programs. Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field that focuses on creating security measures for digital aspects of our food and agriculture systems, creating a structure and opportunity for a safe food system that can meet the large needs of a growing population and world. Our long-term aim is to use this novel disciplinary space to spark STEM career interest in middle school-aged youth in rural communities, with an emphasis on girls, to build new pipelines into cyberbiosecurity careers. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

Biomanufacturing is uses nature as an inspiration. Some of the processes we rely on started in nature!This educational resource is part of a project to support formal and non-formal agricultural educators in integrating cyberbiosecurity topics and research-based strategies for engaging middle-school-aged girls in STEM into their educational programs. Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field that focuses on creating security measures for digital aspects of our food and agriculture systems, creating a structure and opportunity for a safe food system that can meet the large needs of a growing population and world. Our long-term aim is to use this novel disciplinary space to spark STEM career interest in middle school-aged youth in rural communities, with an emphasis on girls, to build new pipelines into cyberbiosecurity careers. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

Have you considered that plants and animals can get sick like us? Safeguarding their health is biosecurity.This educational resource is part of a project to support formal and non-formal agricultural educators in integrating cyberbiosecurity topics and research-based strategies for engaging middle-school-aged girls in STEM into their educational programs. Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field that focuses on creating security measures for digital aspects of our food and agriculture systems, creating a structure and opportunity for a safe food system that can meet the large needs of a growing population and world. Our long-term aim is to use this novel disciplinary space to spark STEM career interest in middle school-aged youth in rural communities, with an emphasis on girls, to build new pipelines into cyberbiosecurity careers. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

Scientists get some of their best ideas from biology. Whether that be using bacteria to help make food or gene editing to cure disease, biotechnology uses the tools in biology to make amazing technology. This educational resource is part of a project to support formal and non-formal agricultural educators in integrating cyberbiosecurity topics and research-based strategies for engaging middle-school-aged girls in STEM into their educational programs. Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field that focuses on creating security measures for digital aspects of our food and agriculture systems, creating a structure and opportunity for a safe food system that can meet the large needs of a growing population and world. Our long-term aim is to use this novel disciplinary space to spark STEM career interest in middle school-aged youth in rural communities, with an emphasis on girls, to build new pipelines into cyberbiosecurity careers. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

With digitization, we see biosecurity, cybersecurity, and physical security begin to overlap. This overlap started a new discipline, cyberbiosecurity. This educational resource is part of a project to support formal and non-formal agricultural educators in integrating cyberbiosecurity topics and research-based strategies for engaging middle-school-aged girls in STEM into their educational programs. Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field that focuses on creating security measures for digital aspects of our food and agriculture systems, creating a structure and opportunity for a safe food system that can meet the large needs of a growing population and world. Our long-term aim is to use this novel disciplinary space to spark STEM career interest in middle school-aged youth in rural communities, with an emphasis on girls, to build new pipelines into cyberbiosecurity careers. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

Data makes the world go around! As we use more technology, more data is being created, recorded, and used. The next task is understanding what it all means!This educational resource is part of a project to support formal and non-formal agricultural educators in integrating cyberbiosecurity topics and research-based strategies for engaging middle-school-aged girls in STEM into their educational programs. Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field that focuses on creating security measures for digital aspects of our food and agriculture systems, creating a structure and opportunity for a safe food system that can meet the large needs of a growing population and world. Our long-term aim is to use this novel disciplinary space to spark STEM career interest in middle school-aged youth in rural communities, with an emphasis on girls, to build new pipelines into cyberbiosecurity careers. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

Farming is not just a farmer driving a tractor anymore. Sometimes the tractor drives itself! Agriculture is very technological and part of that effort is precision agriculture. Learn about how farmers are using technology to optimize their farms. This educational resource is part of a project to support formal and non-formal agricultural educators in integrating cyberbiosecurity topics and research-based strategies for engaging middle-school-aged girls in STEM into their educational programs. Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field that focuses on creating security measures for digital aspects of our food and agriculture systems, creating a structure and opportunity for a safe food system that can meet the large needs of a growing population and world. Our long-term aim is to use this novel disciplinary space to spark STEM career interest in middle school-aged youth in rural communities, with an emphasis on girls, to build new pipelines into cyberbiosecurity careers. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

As the world gets more digital, the world will need more sensors. A sensor is something that records the environment around it. Sensors can measure temperature, light, or sound among other things. Where can you find a sensor?  This educational resource is part of a project to support formal and non-formal agricultural educators in integrating cyberbiosecurity topics and research-based strategies for engaging middle-school-aged girls in STEM into their educational programs. Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field that focuses on creating security measures for digital aspects of our food and agriculture systems, creating a structure and opportunity for a safe food system that can meet the large needs of a growing population and world. Our long-term aim is to use this novel disciplinary space to spark STEM career interest in middle school-aged youth in rural communities, with an emphasis on girls, to build new pipelines into cyberbiosecurity careers. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

Learn about visual and performing artists. They often use their creativity to raise their voices and share lessons, stories, and important ideas with the world. In this episode of The Creative Corner, two artists from Richmond, Virginia help us explore how art sparks crucial conversations. Public artist Hamilton Glass shares how (and why) he gathered a group of artists to paint murals with a message all across the city after some challenging current events, and musician Victor Haskins talks about storytelling as human nature — and why sound and performance tell stories so well. Then you’re invited to share your own voice through a poster project!

Join Lauren Paullin as she conducts a scavenger hunt around her house to find all kinds of things that can be used to make pictures, prints, paints, and even musical instruments! Learn how to make a mixed media collage and print it with fruits and vegetables. Learn from New Orleans-based musician, artist, and cultural diplomat Charles Burchell how to turn ordinary objects like glasses, wood, plastic, and even paper into musical instruments. Developed for grades 4 through adults. 

Learn about many ways to combine art and science as we observe the world around us. We often think of scientists as methodical and precise, and artists as free-willed, impulsive creators. But did you know that some art has science packed right into it? And that artists throughout history have helped scientists conduct their work? Learn about the photography of Berenice Abbott who documented the changing New York skyline with photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and science interpretation in the 1940s to 1960s. Learn how to use the sun to air dry your salt dough creations and explore papier-mâché. 

Learn why artists have been featuring food as a subject in their work for centuries.  You’ve been told to eat your vegetables, but have you ever tried to paint them? Special Guest Lisa McLaughlin, the baker behind Jesse’s Girl Cookies, invites us into her kitchen to experiment with modern art techniques on cakes, and then we’ll make our own painting of a scrumptious treat inspired by 20th-Century painter Wayne Thiebaud.

Learn about the artwork that is created and kept close to the artist’s heart, and other artwork is made to be shared! Dig into some DIY book-making, participate in a secret community art project, and learn how artists and musicians build unity through Afro-Caribbean dance styles on a trip to Dogtown Dance Theatre — all on this episode of The Creative Corner.The Creative Corner is a weekly TV show for elementary through high school students and adults. Each episode explores new topics through the lens of the visual and performing arts, with fun at-home activities that align with Virginia's Standards of Learning, and special interviews with guests from around the globe. Developed for 4th grade through adults.

Learn about art and the five senses. A lot of art is made to be seen — but what if you could touch, hear, and even smell works of art? In this episode, host Lauren Paullin shows you how to mix paints that smell like pastries and transform sounds into sketches. You'll also learn about a fascinating condition called synesthesia, which links multiple senses together in the brain so that some people can taste music, hear color, and smell words! Developed for students in grades 4- adults.

Get moving in The Creative Corner with a seriously silly drawing challenge, a visit with the Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School step team, and a great big outdoor adventure art project. Learn to create blind-contour drawings and land art installations.  

Explore how writers use storyboards to visualize books and movies, learn how actors train and use fight choreography to portray stories on stage, and become a work of art yourself on this episode of The Creative Corner.  Everyone loves a good story.