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Activity packets for ages preschool through high school, along with select activities in Spanish, for use in your classroom. Packets include information about cranes and a variety of activities.
*Supports Annual Midwest Crane Count
With a roll of the die, students simulate the movement of nutrients in a forest ecosystem both before and after earthworms invade to see how & why change can occur in ecosystems as a result of exotic species invasion. Lessons are aligned to standards.
*Supports Great Lakes Worm Watch
Journey North engages citizen scientists in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. K-12 students share their own field observations with classmates across North America. They track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, bald eagles— and other birds and mammals; the budding of plants; changing sunlight; and other natural events.
Ladybug biology, biodiversity, conservation, and sampling are addressed. Younger students contruct replicas of ladybug life stages out of recycled materials and learn about ladybug diversity playing “ladybug bingo”. Older children play food web and ladybug sampling games. The core of the Lost Ladybug Project, where we actually go outside to search, is the same for both age groups. The toolkits allow for two collecting trips to two habitats for comparison, and then submission of data on the Lost Ladybug website.
Making a earthworm observatory is a great way to see for yourself what earthworms do and how they might change ecosystems when they invade. You can set up a demonstration observatory in your classroom or nature center, or students can use small observatories to conduct their own experiments! Lessons are aligned to standards.
*Supports Great Lakes Worm Watch
Using milkweed plants to detect ozone air pollution, classrooms provide plant injury data to DNR’s air management biomonitoring unit. Students learn about air pollution and its effects on plants and animals, how to set up study plots and collect plant samples, and how to press and preserve plant samples.
“Challenges to Students” are questions that we pose to students to get them started with their very own research. In the “Research Projects” section you’ll find ongoing collaborative projects that rely on student – scientist partnerships. Our ever-growing vocabulary page is your one-stop-shop to help you sort through all of those (sometimes tricky!) terms and concepts relating to Monarchs and science in general.
Mozak is a scientific discovery game about neuroscience. Help us build models of brain cells, and help scientists learn more about the brain through your efforts!
Engaging students and encouraging inquiry while collecting data on the phenology of plants. Project BudBurst brings science to life.
The project aims to increase our understanding of camouflage in the wild and its relationship with survival. To do this we study the camouflage of ground nesting birds, and their eggs and chicks. Play games to help with the research.