Acting as the ICESat-2 satellite, students investigate the reflection of light photons off Earth's surface by catching and recording a number of photons. Using bouncy balls to represent the photons, students drop, let bounce once and try to catch in... (View More) one hand as many balls (photons) as possible. Drops occur on carpeted and non-carpeted areas, and with and without the presence of cardboard buildings, to represent different Earth surfaces. The lesson includes background information, instructions and concluding questions. Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are listed. (View Less)

Fresh water resources- their quantity, location and distribution- are briefly discussed in this two-page article. The article can be used as a "reading to be informed" activity in a stand-alone fashion or can be incorporated into a lesson plan.

In this video clip, join scientists and teachers as they learn how to measure some of the abiotic conditions of winter. Find out about latent heat, how thermochrons can be used to collect data points and the importance of snow:water equivalents.... (View More) NASA eClips™ are short, relevant educational video segments. These videos inspire and engage students, helping them see real world connections. The Real World series of NASA eClips™ connects classroom mathematics to 21st century careers and innovations and are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem-solving. (View Less)

In this video clip, viewers learn about the cryosphere - all of Earth's frozen structures including sea ice, ice caps, and permafrost. Understanding changes in the cryosphere provides scientists with valuable information about the past, present, and... (View More) future of the planet. ICESat-2 is a satellite designed to help scientists learn more about Earth's ice and the role ice plays in climate. NASA eClips™ are short, relevant educational video segments. These videos inspire and engage students, helping them see real world connections. The Real World series of NASA eClips connects classroom mathematics to 21st century careers and innovations and are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem-solving. (View Less)

This gallery contains a selection of images of the cryosphere - particularly glaciers. Images are provided from a range of Earth-observing satellites as well as on the ground photographs. SciJinks is a joint NASA/NOAA educational website targeting... (View More) middle school-aged children and their educators. It explores weather and Earth science through articles, videos, images, and games. (View Less)

This Wild Weather Jobs article profiles Dr. Pablo Clemente-Colón and his team at the U.S. National Ice Center (NIC). SciJinks is a joint NASA/NOAA educational website targeting middle school-aged children and their educators. It explores weather... (View More) and Earth science through articles, videos, images, and games. (View Less)

This article explains the polar vortex: an area of low pressure (a wide expanse of swirling cold air) that is parked in polar regions. An explanation is also provided for high and low pressure systems. SciJinks is a joint NASA/NOAA educational... (View More) website targeting middle school-aged children and their educators. It explores weather and Earth science through articles, videos, images, and games. (View Less)

Emphasizing the synergies between science and engineering, these video clips highlight the research of professional ocean scientists and engineers in various disciplines. The clips are accompanied by additional relevant content including images,... (View More) data visualizations, graphs, animations, and other information. Content has been organized into more than a dozen thematic areas such as Solving Old Problems with New Technology and Small Scale Observations and Large Scale Ideas. All content has been aligned with science and engineering practices from the Next Generation Science Standards, including "asking questions and solving problems" and "planning and carrying out investigations," providing applicable resources for teachers who want to provide role models of effective practice for their students. (View Less)

This set of three videos illustrates how math is used in satellite data analysis. NASA climate scientist Claire Parkinson explains how the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice covers are measured from satellite data and how math is used to determine trends... (View More) in the data. In the first video, she leads viewers from satellite data collection through obtaining a time series of monthly Arctic and Antarctic average sea ice extents for November 1978-December 2016. In the second video, she begins with the time series from the first video, removes the seasonal cycle by calculating yearly averages, and proceeds to calculate the slopes of the lines to get trends in the data, revealing decreasing sea ice coverage in the Arctic and increasing sea ice coverage in the Antarctic. In the third video, she uses a more advanced technique to remove the seasonal cycle and shows that the trends are close to the same, whichever method is used. She emphasizes the power of math and that the techniques shown for satellite sea ice data can also be applied to a wide range of data sets. Note: See Related & Supplemental Resources for the maps and data files (1978-2016) that will allow you to do the calculations shown in the video. These also include data for different regions of the Arctic and Antarctic, enabling learners to do additional calculations beyond those shown in the videos. (View Less)

This series of 12 captioned images depict some of the issues facing Earth’s fresh water supply, such as pollution, drought, and glacial retreat. The Climate Kids website is a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games... (View More) focused on the science of climate change. (View Less)