The Take Action column provides resources that help teachers engage students in activities that connect their science learning to their lives. In this article, students are introduced to household appliances and devices, called energy vampires, that continue to draw electrical current even when turned off. The article offers a few simple activities that students can take to reduce the impact of energy vampires. The Take Action column regularly appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which focuses on the essential principles of climate literacy.

This article describes energy efficiency as it relates to home and school energy use and provides ways that children can help.

This article provides an overview of energy education curriculum materials available from the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project. Teachers may become a member, or use free online resources.

Watch the ZOOM cast discover which insulator -- newspaper or aluminum foil -- is better at keeping an ice cube frozen longer.

Students will build and map the energy flow through a circuit and observe how energy transforms from heat into electrical energy with a thermoelectric device (Peltier Plate).

This interactive activity from the NOVA Web site challenges you to think like Einstein and understand how time travel might be possible.

This video from NASA explains the process by which gamma-ray flashes associated with storms produce matter/antimatter particle pairs.

Students will conduct an investigation to determine which insulators work best and compare materials. Students will design insulation that allows Utah’s waxy crude oil to remain as a liquid during transport.

Students will investigate to determine the optimum conditions for phase change, using water as a model for natural gas.

This video segment presents a variety of sounds -- from animals to machines to musical instruments -- while introducing the basic concepts of vibration, volume, and pitch.

For this unit plan, see the old unit calendar (link on left sidebar, click ALT7 tab at the bottom).  Once we update this unit to the new Doc template, we will post it here. This is now unit 7, but it used to be unit 4 (we will update file and folder numbering as we continue to revise the units). Thanks for your patience as we work hard this year to update all of the materials to the new unit template and unit/standards arrangements.

Students will look at maps of energy sources in Utah and compare it to the geography and population centers in Utah to explain where new sites should be proposed.

Students will analyze data sets to interpret factors changing Utah temperatures and its regional climate. They will also report on the comparison that they research and apply it to Utah.

Ever wonder how a battery works? This segment highlights voltaic cells, their various components and how they operate.

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Utah's ASPIRE Lab, learn how to measure wavelengths and see how wavelength affects the color of the light that we see.

This formative assessment item is used to uncover student ideas about solar radiation. Students will decide what they believe the sun provides to Earth. It is aligned to National Science Education Standards. Resources are provided to give additional information, as well as instructional suggestions.

Students will build an energy pyramid model to visualize populations of producers, consumers, and decomposers in this mountain ecosystem and how biotic and abiotic changes may impact those populations.
NHMU Research Quests are phenomena-based, online investigations asynchronously led by museum educators and scientists that are rooted in museum research and collections. Resources include teacher instructional guides, formative and summative assessments, and student notebooks. A free educator acount is required to access the materials.

Students will develop a model of combustion showing that mass does not change in the process.

Students will witness their classroom with all lights and electronic devices/equipment turned off. They will investigate the impact and then build a simple circuit with a battery and light.

Using this lesson plan as a guide, students will use simple materials to build their own windmills and learn how wind can be used to help get work done.