Meteorite Men TV Special Coming Sunday May 10th

Meteorite Men special airs Sunday, May 10 at 9pm et/pt on Discovery's Science Channel. In the Pacific Time Zone, you may be able to view it at 6pm depending on your cable service. Two incredible treasure hunters search the globe for Meteorites.

INFINITE PHOTOGRAPH—AS SEEN ON EARTH

This is an amazing photo mosaic presentation from National Geographic. Visitors can zoom in on a photo to find that it is comprised of hundreds more photos, which are all mosaics themselves, and so on. Most individual photographs also include camera settings and a brief description.

Click here to visit. And let me know if you come up with a way to use this in your Earth Science classroom! I've also included the YouTube version.

NASA's Videos for Teachers

I could spend days telling you about all the amazing video clips available on the NASA site. They have several places you can visit for videos. Just about any topic you can imagine.

Examples:


NASA eClips™: Get it? ;-)
"Short relevant educational video segments. These videos inspire and engage students, helping them see real world connections. New video segments are produced weekly exploring current applications of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, topics. The programs are produced for targeted audiences: K-5, 6-8, 9-12 and the general public."


NASA's Video Gallery:
Lots of videos on Hubble and what Hubble has seen in the Universe. Hover your mouse over the photo introducing a certain video and Add to your Playlist! A feature for the teacher who needs to find what they want to use quickly.



NASA TV: online or at YouTube:
Several channels with a multitude of topics.






NASA Interactive Features:
Then there is the incredible interactive site! Great fun for you and your students! Be sure to check this area out! Topics such as:

1. Spacewalk Simulations
2. 10 Things About the Earth
3. Eyes on the Earth 3D

Believe it or not, I've only scratched the surface! Be sure to visit NASA's website and explore all the wonderful things they have for the educator. Click here!

VORTEX2 - Tornado Scientists in the Plain States

Very exciting happenings in Meteorology this week. I hope you're all watching VORTEX2.

"This blog will report on the Verification Of Rotation in Tornadoes EXperiment 2, or VORTEX2 project, the most ambitious tornado field project in history. Researchers will be sampling the super-cell thunderstorms that often form over more than 900 miles of the central Great Plains in the United States."

A team out of Boulder, CO is heading out to the plains of the midwest to study tornadoes. They have a collection of some of the best equipment ever assembled for the study of tornadoes.

I'm hoping they post videos of some of their "close encounters" that you can show your students. If they post them, I'll let you know!

What fun! I can't think of a much better way to inspire young people to consider the field of Meteorology than showing a group of scientists at work out in the field.

Now, the only other question I have today is this: Did they all pack their leather belts in case they have to hitch themselves to a water pipe during a tornado? [And what movie is that alluding to?]

Click here for a great Tornado Activity. This just might be the moment to use this mapping activity!

Migrating Sand Dunes

http://gallery.usgs.gov/audio/corecast/ep94/20090504_94_DunesClimateChange.mp3

Listen to a PODCAST from the USGS by clicking the above link.

"Sand Dunes on the Loose Due to Climate Change

Host: Jessica Robertson

Climate change is increasing the mobility of sand dunes in the southwest, posing threats to roadways, infrastructure, human health, cultural practices of the Navajo Nation, and much more. Vegetation on dunes serves as stabilizers, but as the climate warms and precipitation decreases, there is less vegetation growth.

USGS scientist Margaret Hiza and intern Leanna Begay discuss their research to understand the dunes' plant diversity and what changes are occurring."