In this biodiversity activity, students learn how to construct their own dichotomous keys. They use either specimens they've collected or ones you bring into class, such as shells, fruit, or leaves. The one-page printable PDF includes guidelines about what students should look for and include when creating their dichotomous keys.

This treasure-hunt activity is designed to be completed during a trip to the museum's Hall of Biodiversity. The printable one-page PDF challenges students to find 31 animals and plants in the Hall's diorama. Photographs of 21 of these specimens are included.

Students have learned the history behind the Louisiana Purchase, explored biographies of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, learned mapping/navigational skills with compasses, and completed a lesson on packing for the trip.         During this lesson, students will be travelling outdoors to find leaves and plants from your schoolyard.  Autumn is a great time to do this. 

In this STEM unit, students participate in an activity to grow plants in an environment very similar to the moon, which is designed in a unique partnership between NASA scientists and engineers and education professionals. The lesson incorporates leading-edge insight and practical experiences for students on how NASA works with plants. Students will describe the need for life science research on the International Space Station and the moon. They will also identify various plant species that are suitable for lunar plant growth and their requirements. In the culminating activities, students design and construct a working prototype of a plant growth chamber.

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This original story about plants' dependence on the climate illustrates the theme of the issue of the online, free magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle -- We Depend on Earth's Climate. The story is available at two reading levels, K-2 and 3-5. Four biomes are featured in a walk through a conservatory.