Standards Guide for Curriculum for K-12

 

When you think of home do you think of a house? A town? A state? How about a planet? If having out-of-town guests can give us a new view of where we live, imagine what having out-of-this-world guests could do! In this fun unit some out-of-this-world explorers are looking for a place to land. They want to know all about this strange rock we call home. Students go on a discovery journey (and keep a discovery journal) as we learn about the power of the 'thin blue line' on our world (where the atmosphere is so thin, we could walk to where the oxygen starts to run out.)

 

They follow the wind and discover that everything is connected from the smallest forms of life to the world’s largest rainforest. Go from root to tip with water as it defies gravity and then watch it walk! Catch your breath (and a plant’s) before you discover that the world’s largest river is up in the sky (and it flies!) Stalk some science and follow the clues to solve the mystery of what transpired in the celery! Catch a cloud in a bottle (it might make a great pet!) and find out how farmers are seeding the sky! Learn that the planet’s mightiest builders are one-celled wonders that help us all breathe (they might even help more than the trees!)

 

Take the challenge and see what you can do (‘bee creative!’) when you try to build like diatoms do! Find out what art has to do with science as we make beautiful observations. Watch the planet breathe with leafy lungs and take a tour through time! Figure out why going ‘green’ might help the planet shine! Learn about Earth’s glaciers and get a clue with goo! Discover that the Sun has a not-so-friendly face and also how our planet uses shields to keep us safe in space! She may be old and crusty, but our planet’s pretty cool!

 

And we’ve barely gotten started, there’s even more to do! Discover how volcanoes can teach us about the sun (plus erupting a volcano is always pretty fun!) Learn how we live on a magnet and that north is really south. And then detect the danger in the sun’s cozy warmth and light (don’t worry you don’t have to only go outside at night.) Learn about the air conditioning our planet does for us and how fixing an outer space telescope can be pretty rough! So come on in! Dive deep and learn more about our Earth--one of the most unique places in the universe!

 

Watch a sneak peek video into how Dust from the Saharan Desert is critical for the rainforest.

Watch an interesting video about photosynthesis.