M & M Decay part of Rates and Time:Teaching Activities
This is a simulation of radioactive decay which illustrates what a half-life is and explains some of the challenges involved with radiometric dating. Pennies or other cheap coins can be substituted for M&Ms if ...

Review for interdisiplinary science course (stream ecology, watersheds) part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
This is a large-scale participatory activity used to prompt students to review what they have learned and to think actively and cooperatively about the connections between the systems we have discussed prior to the ...

Make a Model Fossil part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a combination outdoor/indoor lab where students will collect natural materials from the environment and use them to create both a mold and cast model of a fossil. Students will learn how a fossil is formed and why scientists use models to help them understand how things work and develop.

Investigation of Newtonian Forces on Plate Tectonics part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This model-making activity gives students an opportunity visualize Newtonian forces acting on a single point as well as combined forces acting to produce synclines and anticlines in Earth's crust. Students will analyze models to interpret findings of plate movements.

Tracking the Sun: Observing the Path of the Sun Throughout the Year part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
As an on-going project, students note the position of the sun by mapping a shadow on the classroom floor. They learn about the earth's tilt and the effect of the sun's light on our seasons.

Blue Skies & Sunsets part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Conceptual Models:Conceptual Models Examples
This conceptual model explains why skies are blue and sunsets are red.

What sizes are the planets and how do they move around the sun? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is an activity to help students understand the abstract concept about how planets move around the sun and their relative size compared with other planets in the solar system.

Moon Phases Box part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is an observation opportunity for students to view the phases of the moon and learn that the juxtoposition of the Earth and moon dictates the appearance of the moon in the sky.

Sinking Water: A Connection With Glaciers, Ocean Currents and Weather Patterns part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This lesson has activities where students will learn about buoyancy and explore how hot water rises and cold water sinks. As an extension and real-life application, students will see that glacial run-off is occurring at a rapid pace and the cold glacial water could potentially change ocean currents thus influencing global climates.

Watersheds Urban and Rural part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Students build a model of a watershed, apply water to the model, and explore what happens when elements of the watershed are changed.