This model demonstrates convection currents and uses water, food coloring, a cup of very hot water and a votive candle as heat sources. Movie clips of demonstration setup and convection in action are provided. This activity is supported by a... (View More) textbook chapter, What Heats the Earth's Interior?, part of the unit, Energy Flow, in Global Systems Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact. (View Less)

In this activity, students view a satellite image of Earth at night, and consider the environmental considerations and consequences associated with the pattern of light they see. The resource includes a map for student use. Summary background... (View More) information, data and images supporting the activity are available on the Earth Update data site. To complete the activity, students will need to access the Space Update multimedia collection, which is available for download and purchase for use in the classroom. (View Less)

Using this worksheet, students learn to differentiate between wind speeds by using the Beaufort Scale of Wind Force. They are presented with a table describing the Beaufort scale, and then assign the appropriate scale to different weather events... (View More) they see in pictures. The resource is part of the teacher's guide accompanying the video, NASA Why Files: The Case of the Mysterious Red Light. Lesson objectives supported by the video, additional resources, teaching tips and an answer sheet are included in the teacher's guide. (View Less)

This 34-minute video is the result of a collaboration between the National Park Service and NASA. It tells the story of the Underground Railroad, the South/North escape routes used by freedom-seeking slaves during the 19th century. Slaves traveling... (View More) the Underground Railroad, usually on foot, depended on celestial navigation to find their way northward. They continually looked to the Big Dipper and the North Star for direction. The purpose of this video is to increase student awareness of the Underground Railroad and the role celestial navigation played in the Railroad's success. The video also highlights the importance of modern GIS technology in reconstructing historical topographies and finding the exact route of the Railroad. The video combines historical facts, such as the use of handmade quilts for communication, with topics including mathematics, remote-sensing technology, Earth system science, and astronomy. (View Less)