What an exciting time we live in! Just as one President inspired a generation to dream about going to the moon, so has President Bush called for a new generation to take the next step. Imagine what your students will see in their lifetimes - mans return to the moon, more exciting rovers to Mars and beyond, and the first human to set foot on another planet! Inspire the next generation of explorers by taking an out-of-this-world look at planetary exploration. Enliven you students with information about exploration vehicles from experts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Find out what it will take for humans to survive on the Moon or another planet from engineers and scientists from NASA's Johnson Space Center, the home of human space exploration. Get caught red-handed with educational activities designed to excite the mind and ignite the spirit. Learn what the discovery of ancient bodies of water means for the history of the Red Planet and out own. We may be closer than we think to finding the little green men! Possibly one of your students will be the one to take the next giant leap for mankind!

Join Smithsonian scientists and explore coastal ecosystems in Central America, along the coast of Belize. Here thousands of small islands, called cays (pronounced keys) lie in the lagoon between the mainland and barrier reef. Mangrove forests dominate this coastal zone, along with sea grass beds and coral reefs. Discover how these three ecosystems are inextricably linked, and how the distribution of mangroves parallels the distribution of coral reefs worldwide.

Join Smithsonian scientists and explore coastal ecosystems in Central America, along the coast of Belize. Here thousands of small islands, called cays (pronounced keys) lie in the lagoon between the mainland and barrier reef. Mangrove forests dominate this coastal zone, along with sea grass beds and coral reefs. Discover how these three ecosystems are inextricably linked, and how the distribution of mangroves parallels the distribution of coral reefs worldwide.

Explore where the salt water from the ocean and the fresh water from the rivers meet and mix. This unique occurrence produces a semi-enclosed body of brackish water known as an estuary, and the Chesapeake Bay is the nation's largest and most productive. Join Smithsonian scientists and educators as the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) as they investigate the physical and biological environment of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystems, focusing specifically on the Rhode River, a subestuary of the Bay south of Annapolis, MD.

Experiment with a helium balloon, a hot air balloon, or a rigid sphere filled with different gases. Discover what makes some balloons float and others sink.

Experiment with a helium balloon, a hot air balloon, or a rigid sphere filled with different gases. Discover what makes some balloons float and others sink.

Students explore static electricity by rubbing a simulated balloon on a sweater. As they view the charges in the sweater, balloon, and adjacent wall, they gain an understanding of charge transfer. This item is part of a larger collection of simulations developed by the Physics Education Technology project (PhET). The simulations are animated, interactive, and game-like environments.

Grab a balloon to explore concepts of static electricity such as charge transfer, attraction, repulsion, and induced charge. (Phys 3.1, 3.2, 3.3)

Why does a balloon stick to your sweater? Rub a balloon on a sweater, then let go of the balloon and it flies over and sticks to the sweater. View the charges in the sweater, balloons, and the wall.

The purpose of this task is to provide students with a multi-step problem involving volume and to give them a chance to discuss the difference between exact calculations and their meaning in a context.

The purpose of this task is to provide students with a concrete situation they can model by dividing a whole number by a unit fraction.

The Big6 is a six-stage model to help anyone solve problems or make decisions by using information. Students can use this model to guide them through the research process. This resource describes a Big6 lesson focused on research that follows the Big6 model.

Explore the origin of energy bands in crystals of atoms. The structure of these bands determines how materials conduct electricity.

Explore the origin of energy bands in crystals of atoms. The structure of these bands determines how materials conduct electricity.

This real world task requires students to answer questions about equations for calculating compound interest.

The purpose of this task is to study an example of a function which varies discretely over time.

The First National Bank has just been robbed (the position of the bank on the map is marked). The clerk pressed the silent alarm to the police station. The police immediately sent out police cars to establish road blocks at the major street junctions leading out of town. Additionally, 2 police cars were dispatched to the bank.

|The bank manager is trying to improve customer satisfaction by offering better service. Management wants the average customer to wait less than 2 minutes for service and the average length of the queue (length of the waiting line) to be 2 persons or fewer. The bank estimates it serves about 150 customers per day. The existing arrival and service times are given in the tables below

This task asks students to use similarity to solve a problem in a context that will be familiar to many, though most students are accustomed to using intuition rather than geometric reasoning to set up the shot.

This task asks students to use similarity to solve a problem in a context that will be familiar to many, though most students are accustomed to using intuition rather than geometric reasoning to set up the shot.