Synergy: Exploring Earth Science

EARTH SCIENCE is the branch of science that studies the physical makeup of the Earth and its atmosphere. It includes the areas of geology, astronomy, oceanography, and meteorology. 

To understand a concept, it’s useful to read a cluster of books related to a theme. Explore these recently published books for young people:

FIRE SHAPES THE WORLD written by Joanna Cooke and illustrated by Cornelia Li explores the connection between fire and life on earth. While exploring key concepts related to fire ecology, readers learn about how fire shaped earth and its inhabitants and continues to have an impact on the environment. With so many people impacted each year by wildfires, this beautifully illustrated picture book is timely. An author’s note provides additional depth and detail. ARC courtesy of Yosemite Conservancy, Ingram Publisher Services.

WATER: HOW WE CAN PROTECT OUR FRESHWATER written by Catherine Barr and illustrated by Christiane Engel examines the history of water on earth, the importance of freshwater, and the need to advocate for water security. Each two-page spreads explores a key concept presenting facts and examples along with useful illustrations. The picture book concludes with ideas for using water wisely. ARC courtesy of Candlewick, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

KABOOM! A VOLCANO ERUPTS written by Jessica Kulekjian and illustrated by Zoe Si takes young readers through the experience of a volcanic eruption. Told from the volcano’s viewpoint, young volcanologists learn key concepts, facts, and terminology. The comic approach will appeal to young readers. The picture book concludes with useful back matter including a volcano anatomy diagram and volcano types. ARC courtesy of Kids Can Press, an imprint of Hachette.

EXPLORE UNDER THE EARTH written by Carly Madden and illustrated by Neil Clark takes readers on an adventure inside the Earth. This innovative, layered board book introduces young children to earthquakes, volcanoes, and other aspects of earth science. Check out other books in the Adventures of Evie and Juno series for more science fun. ARC courtesy of Happy Yak, Quarto Group.

Synergy: Exploring Hands-on Science

HANDS-ON SCIENCE is an approach to learning that actively involves children in inquiry-based learning and problem-solving. Using real-world contexts, children apply critical and creative thinking to investigate questions, conduct experiments, and draw conclusions.

To understand a concept, it’s useful to read a cluster of books related to a theme. Explore these recently published books for young people:

HANDS-ON SCIENCE is a new nonfiction series for young readers focusing on a wide range of popular science themes. Written by Lola M. Schaefer and illustrated by Druscilla Santiago, each book uses simple illustrations, engaging text, and creative interactive elements to explain key scientific concepts. Along the way, children are encouraged to have fun conducting their own experiments. Whether tilting the book, blowing on the page, or pressing an image, readers are actively involved in learning. Each title immerses children in a different STEM science laboratory where they use the book along with step-by-step instructions to conduct experiments.

GEOLOGY examines concepts connected with rocks, minerals, and Earth science. From earthquakes to volcanoes, children will enjoy connecting science to exciting, real-world situations.

MATTER introduces young scientists to solids, liquids, and gases. From molding clay and making cherry juice to experimenting with bubbles, readers immerse themselves in an engaging chemistry laboratory.

MOTION explores topics such as gravity and wind to explain force and motion. Young scientists will enjoy actively learning in the physic laboratory.

ARC courtesy of Charlesbridge, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Synergy: Weather

WEATHER describes the atmospheric conditions at a particular time and place such as sunshine, precipitation, wind, and temperature.

Read the recently published nonfiction science book for children, then learn more at the websites:

Part of the Lab for Kids series, PROFESSOR FIGGY’S WEATHER AND CLIMATE SCIENCE LAB FOR KIDS by Jim Noonan contains 52 family friendly activities exploring meteorology, earth systems, and climate change. Each of the six chapters explores a different topic including atmosphere, sun, rain, wind, severe weather, snow, and climate. Labs include easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions with useful photographs and other illustrations.

CLIMATE KIDS from NASA answers big questions about earth science topics including weather and climate, atmosphere, water, energy, plants and animals. This site contains games, activities, people, videos and climate bingo.

Go to https://climatekids.nasa.gov/

ARC courtesy of Quarry Books from Quarto Group.

Website: DLESE

The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) is a free resource for earth science teachers.

This website supports teaching and learning about the Earth system for all grade levels. Resources include lesson plans, scientific data, visualizations, interactive computer models, and virtual field trips. Resources can be accessed by key word, education level, subject, or resource type. Or, users can browse nearly 16,000 resources.

The Earth Science Literacy Maps provide an easy way to explore Earth science concepts by topic such as changes in the earth’s surface, flow of matter in ecosystems, and plate tectonics. Users are presented with clickable maps to explore concepts and connected science benchmarks.

Librarians will find the resources at this website useful in addressing science standards. Work with teachers to mine the site for useful curriculum materials.

To visit the website, go to http://www.dlese.org.

Website: Nature Works Everywhere

NATURE WORKS EVERYWHERE from The Nature Conservancy provides educational resources associated with nature.

The resources section of the website contains lesson plans, videos, virtual field trips, webinars, teacher resources, tip sheets, and other types of resources. Users can search by grade, resource type, standards, themes, or tags.

Use the Nature Works Gardens map to explore over a thousand gardens around the world. The planning tools allows users to design, measure, and track garden activities.

Librarians will find that this website provides useful classroom as well as community connections to nature. Be sure to check out their grant program.

To visit the website, go to https://www.natureworkseverywhere.org/.

Book Review: Eruptions, Earthquakes, and Emissions

ERUPTIONS, EARTHQUAKES, & EMISSIONS is an interactive visualization exploring global volcanism over time.

Published by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the amazing interactive allows users to see the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and sulfur dioxide levels from 1960 to 2017. User can click on the map for more details about particular events.

Librarians will find this website provides an effective way to show students the location of these activities along with changes over time. Ask students to select a particular time period or location to explore in-depth.

To visit the website, go to https://volcano.si.axismaps.io/.

Website Review: Making North America

MAKING NORTH AMERICA is an interactive map from NOVA that explores geological sites across the continent.

Designed for grades 6-12, this interactive tool involves students in geology and history through an interactive experience.

The project begins with an introduction video, then users can choose the explore, expedition, or water options.

The Explore section asks users to click on a map to explore geological sites or experience a video sky tour. Within each area, users follow geologists as they explore geological features.

The Expedition section contain three treks that ask users to search for clues about how North American was formed. The treks begin with a video, then involve students in engaging activities that involve clicking, dragging, and making choices.

The Watch section provides complete videos of three NOVA episodes: origins, life, and humans.

Librarians will find this to be an excellent addition to the earth science program. The visual and interactive features will keep students actively engaged in learning. Divide a class into three teams each exploring a different trek. Then, ask them to come together and share their experience.

To visit the resource, go to http://www.pbs.org/…/nova/assets/swf/1/explore-north-america.

Book Review: Rocks, Minerals & Gems

ROCKS MINERALS & GEMS by Sean Callery and Miranda Smith contains over 1,000 examples of amazing geologic features to explore.

Designed for the middle grades, this photo-rich informational book features major sections on minerals, rocks, and gems. After a gallery to kickoff the section, each two-page spread explores a particular item such as copper or limestone. In some cases, the pages provide in-depth scientific information along with popular examples. Throughout the book, the author has woven in fascinating stories set in locations around the world. The book concludes with a glossary and index.

Librarians will find that young people enjoy browsing this book as well as using it as a reference work.

Published by Scholastic on July 26, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Technology Review: Disaster Detector

DISASTER DETECTOR from the Smithsonian is a learning game focusing on natural disasters.

Available in both web-based and app formats, players become citizens of Smithsonville. Using online tools, users learn to analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future disasters. They also learn to mitigate the effects of catastrophic events.

The interactive game includes tornadoes, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and more. Scientific tools include Doppler radar, anemometers, barometers, and seismometers.

Librarians will find this interactive learning experience to be popular with middle school Earth Science students and teachers. Use this tool to promote data literacy skills across the curriculum.

To play the game or download the apps, go to https://ssec.si.edu/disaster-detector.

App Review: Earthquake

EARTHQUAKE by Nico Tranquilli is a free app providing the latest worldwide data about earthquake activity.

This attractive, well-designed app features a list of today’s seismic events along with an easy-to-use interactive map showing recent activity. The map makes it easy to zoom-in on areas of frequent activity. Students can select the magnitudes they wish to view including 2+, 3.5+, and 5+.

Each event includes it’s location, magnitude, depth, time, and coordinates. While much of the information comes directly from the USGS, other global services also contribute data.

Librarians will find this free app to be a useful addition to their app reference collection. Ask youth to compare recent earthquake activities to well-known faults and activities such as drilling. Incorporate this tool into meaningful, data literacy activities.

To download the app, go tohttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/earthquake/id632040358.

As an alternative to this app, go directly to the USGS Earthquake website athttp://earthquake.usgs.gov/ for current information.

Website Review: NASA WAVELENGTH

NASA WAVELENGTH provides a full spectrum of resources for science education.

Sponsored by NASA, this website provides access to a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for all grade levels. Specifically, they focus on helping students develop an understanding of our planet Earth, our Sun and solar system, and the universe.

The Science Data and Images section is divided into introductory, intermediate, and advanced resources. The page shares key online collections and descriptions of these resources.

The Strandmaps page links to interactive concept maps on specific science and math topics in the areas of the physical setting, the nature of science, the living environment, the designed world, habits of mind, the nature of technology, and common themes. Each map introduces related concepts, how the concepts are aligned to benchmarks and standards, and links to resources.

The blog provides news, updated information, and resources of interest to educators in a wide range of topics such as astronomy, astrophysics, citizen science, data, and others.

A search tool can be used to find resources by key word and audience. Materials can also be explored by grade level. Finally, links are provided to key multimedia resources including apps, videos, and images.

Librarians will find these resources to be popular with science teachers. Work with teachers to align the materials with the curriculum.

To visit the website, go to http://nasawavelength.org/.

App Review: EarthViewer

EARTHVIEWER is a fascinating, interactive app from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that allows users to explore the science of Earth’s history.

Through timelines and visualizations, students can see the continents grow and shift as they scroll through billions of years of Earth’s history. Users can zoom into their favorite landmark and follow how it changes through time. Layers allow users to view data on atmospheric composition, temperature, biodiversity, day length, and solar luminosity.

Part of the HHMI’s BioInteractive initiative, the app opens with the option to take a short tutorial or jump right into the program. Users pinch out or in to switch between timeline views. The three main timeline views include phanerozoic (540 million years), deep history (4.6 billion years), and modern (100 years). Suggested areas to explore contain place markers such as cities, fossils, impact events, mass extinctions, biological events, and geological events. In-depth options include text and illustrations about topics such as the greenhouse effect and plate tectonics. The teacher resources area includes quick guides, references, and other information.

Librarians will find endless applications for this resource. Students can start with a modern city and track it back through time. Or, follow a famous fossil as it moves through time. Collaborate with the science teacher to build connections with the library’s science collection including books on prehistoric creatures, fossils, plate tectonics, and other curriculum-related topics.

The accompanying website also includes data files, classroom activities, worksheets, video clips, and a downloadable version.

To learn more, go to http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/earthviewer.

App Review: Space Station Research Explorer

The SPACE STATION RESEARCH EXPLORER app from NASA involves youth in exploring the array of scientific experiments being conducted on the International Space Station.

Designed for young adults and adults, the app discusses the results and benefits of research in microgravity. Focusing on recently completed and ongoing experiments, this engaging resource includes in-depth descriptions, photos, video, and interactive media to bring the science alive for users.

The app is divided into five sections:

The Experiments area includes the topics of biology and biotechnology, human research, earth and space science, physical science, educational activities and outreach, and technology development and demonstration. Within each major category, users can choose a subcategory. Users can filter their search for experiments by choosing a particular expedition or sponsor. A detailed technical report along with images are provided for each experiment.

The Facilities section shows a 360 view of the interior of the three station modules. Users can tap on racks to see descriptions of the items stored there.

The Benefits resources include the areas of human health, earth benefits, and global education. Each topic explains a specific example of how the experiments are positively impacting the world.

The Media materials provides podcasts, games, and videos to explore.

The Links area includes space station-related websites and links to useful resources.

Librarians will find this to be a useful resource for science classes. The app would be a great jumping off spot for student reports and investigations. The technical reports would also be an useful resource for informational reading in the sciences.

To download this free app, go to https://itunes.apple.com/…/space-station-resear…/id934070569.

Website Review: Frontiers for Young Minds

FRONTIERS FOR YOUNG MINDS is an open-access, non-profit scientific journal aimed at youth ages 8-15.

What makes this journal unique is that young people sit along side experts on the editorial board. As such, youth work directly with leading scientists to shape the cutting edge articles. Each article includes brief bios of both the authors and the reviewer(s).

The high-quality, scientific articles include age-appropriate text, figures and references. These papers would provide great models for librarians partnering with language arts and science teachers on STEM research activities.

Articles are published in four areas including Neuroscience, Earth and its Resources, Astronomy and Space Science, and Health. Both core concept articles focusing on the fundamentals of the field as well as articles exploring new discoveries are published. Website users can select articles from one of the four sections or do a key word search.

The People section of the website provides contact information where you can get your students involved in hosting an article review.

The open access articles are freely available. Articles can be downloaded in the PDF format for easy sharing and printing. They can also be shared through popular social networks.

Frontiers for Young Minds also maintains a blog at Scientific American. This blog is an excellent way to introduce youth to the value of blogs and social media in the sciences. Go to http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/frontiers-for-young-mi…/.

To learn more about this exciting scientific journal for youth, go tohttp://kids.frontiersin.org/