Activities

Best For
Grades 3-12+ (Ages 8+)

Subjects
Social Studies, Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Starting in 1607, Captain John Smith set about exploring and describing the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. This map, published in 1612, would become the primary cartographic resource on the region for nearly seven decades. 

Best For
Grades 1-8 (Ages 6-14)

Subjects
Science, Adult and Family Literacy

Duration
3 hours

Appropriate For
F S K

Have some family fun by observing and identifying living things in your area.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Social Studies, Science, Geography

Duration
45 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students watch the National Geographic video, "Kobu the Lion," and explore the negative consequences of keeping big cats in captivity and the challenges sanctuaries face in trying to care for them.

Best For
Grades 3-8 (Ages 8-14)

Subjects
Science

Duration
50 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students build a model of a comet out of dry ice and common household materials. They use the scientific method to analyze the relationship between comets and solar wind.

Best For
Grades 4-8 (Ages 9-14)

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I 

Students analyze population density by state. Then they use 2010 census data to construct a choropleth map of population density by county for their state.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Geography

Duration
50 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students select an endangered or threatened animal to research, locate it on a map, and create a persuasive essay or poster to convince others to help the animals.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Social Studies, Geography

Duration
50 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students interact with maps to analyze the geography of the New York region and identify how elevation influenced the development of trade, trade routes, and the growth of cities in that region.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Geography

Duration
50 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students use a map that shows land use, land cover, and major crops to create a large, thematic map of the Americas and analyze the patterns they see.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Social Studies, Geography

Duration
30 minutes

Appropriate For
T I F K

Students explore the regions of a grocery store to see which foods are grouped together and why.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science, Geography

Duration
1 hour, 30 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students use media resources to identify big cats and map the species ranges of the world's big cats. Then they determine each big cat's corresponding habitat and create a graphic organizer that summarizes the information.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science

Duration
45 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students examine characteristics of pterosaurs as they evolved over millions of years and consider how these adaptations made pterosaurs effective hunters and survivors.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science

Duration
30 minutes

Appropriate For
T I F K

Students make molds and casts of objects to make their own fossils.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science

Duration
45 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students practice classification skills using a collection of their shoes.

Best For
Grades 4-8 (Ages 9-14)

Subjects
Science, Geography

Appropriate For
T I 

Students find data for an assigned U.S. city in order to plot precipitation bars and temperature points and create a climate graph.

Best For
Grades 3-12+ (Ages 8+)

Subjects
Geography

Duration
30 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students discuss GIS and its impacts on our everyday lives. They use ropes or string to simulate GIS technology, and then discuss how GIS helps users with data visualization and analysis. 

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science, Geography

Duration
35 minutes

Appropriate For
T I F K

Students read and discuss a magazine article about Earth Day. They discuss environmental problems that affect their daily lives and brainstorm ways to make every day Earth Day by making small changes that have a big impact on the environment.

Best For
Grades 1-12+ (Ages 6+)

Subjects
Informal Education, Science, Adult and Family Literacy, Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Defend your coastline from invasive species with Mission:Explore Food—Sustainable Seafood

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science, Geography

Duration
30 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students create a food web with the Alaskan brown bear at the top.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Social Studies, Science, Geography, Educational Technology

Duration
50 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students use a Crittercam video and simulation game to learn about technologies scientists use to study the health and behavior of big cat populations. Then they explore how scientific research and technology can help to conserve big cat populations.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science, Geography

Duration
50 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students learn about bioluminescence and conduct an experiment to learn how ocean animals use bioluminescence for camouflage.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, Geography

Duration
2 hours, 30 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students prepare a news report that highlights problems facing coastal communities and how climate change might affect coastal populations.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Geography

Duration
45 minutes

Appropriate For
T I F K

Students look at lines of latitude and longitude on United States and world maps, discuss why these lines are helpful, and identify landmarks with similar latitude and longitude.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Social Studies, Geography

Duration
50 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students identify major languages spoken in the Americas, map them, and discuss the relationship between the distribution of languages and the colonial history of the countries.

Best For
Grades 4-8 (Ages 9-14)

Subjects
Science, Geography

Appropriate For
T I 

Students gather information from the film and related activities to draw conclusions about whether Mallory and Irvine in 1924 achieved their wildest dream.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Social Studies, Geography

Duration
45 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students watch a video and create maps to understand Henry Hudson's goals and routes, and the results of his exploration voyages.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science, Geography

Duration
45 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students select and map an area. Then they practice finding direction, determining scale, and identifying natural and human features.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Social Studies, Geography

Duration
2 hours, 30 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students make observations and gather information over several days or sessions. Then they summarize reasons why public services are located where they are.

Best For
Grades 4-8 (Ages 9-14)

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I 

Students read several major daily newspapers looking for current events occurring in an assigned world region. They map and analyze the events.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Science, Geography, Language Arts, Educational Technology

Duration
2 hours, 25 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students research how the Gulf Stream affected the 1620 Mayflower voyage and produce a Museum Box to showcase their findings.

Best For
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-11)

Subjects
Geography

Duration
45 minutes

Appropriate For
T I 

Students use a map scale to measure distance between cities and other places on a map of your state. They create and exchange quizzes and use an interactive map to check their answers.