In this set of activities, students learn about the causes and potential impacts of sea-level rise while developing core scientific skills.

This podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth Online collection looks at the cunning tricks the cuckoo uses to get another bird to do the parenting, why researchers are studying snow in Sweden, and discovers an improved radiocarbon dating technique.

The cuckoo is a well-...

This book and accompanying teacher guide focus on the story of a young girl and her passion for saving water. The story follows the journey of an ordinary schoolgirl in the UK, who transforms into a water superhero when a DRY summer is followed by a DRY winter. The teacher guide provides eight linked activities...

This Mathematics Matters case study, from the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, looks at how mathematical models try to understand the causes of rogue waves. These huge waves appear without warning, towering high over ships and oil rigs. Traditional mathematical models could not predict the occurrence...

In this activity developed by the Institute of Physics, students model the motion of a planet around a star and investigate how day and night and seasons may be different on other planets. Working in pairs or small groups, students demonstrate night and day and seasons to each other. They can then go on to model...

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, uses daytime viewing of the Moon to reinforce ideas learned in the classroom about light, shadow and the Moon itself. Advice is given on the best times to view the Moon, and the compulsory and optional equipment needed. By viewing the Moon during the day,...

A Catalyst article about designing, building and testing a spacecraft. There are thousands of man-made satellites orbiting the Earth. Some are only a few hundred kilometres above the Earth and complete one orbit roughly every 90 minutes. Geostationary satellites are located around 40 000 kilometres from the surface...

This activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, allows students to visualise the orbits of planets as ellipses, rather than circles, and allows for the further study of the geometry of these orbits through basic algebra, using terms derived from the drawing...

A Catalyst article about Chikyu, a Japanese drilling ship capable of boring through the Earth's crust. It will investigate regions where the crust is thinnest. Core samples are examined using a number of scientific techniques and they have produced useful information about areas where there is seismic activity...

The Geography Research Department of the University of Durham (Durham Geography) have developed three worksheets for teachers that provide guidance notes along with example demonstrations and classroom practicals of:

This Catalyst article looks at soil composition and the reasons behind protecting soil from turning into dust. The UN Year of Soils highlighted the many ways in which humans rely on soil for much more than growing crops.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary...

Astronauts have been taking photographs of the Earth from space for over 50 years and Earth Observation scientists have used satellite images for a similar amount of time.

The EO Detective activities aim to demonstrate how a vantage point in space, such as the International Space Station, provides a unique...

The films in this collection look at how scientists study volcanos. The films contain footage of volcanoes erupting and cover areas such as the formation of islands, types of eruption, the structure of volcanos and whether we can predict eruptions.