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A Tiny Dino and Iron Rain

In this guide, students will learn about the smallest-known Mesozoic dinosaur and use phase diagrams to explore meteorology on an exoplanet. In an activity, students will collect and analyze data in their own homes. Editor’s Note: A study included in this guide has been retracted. Please see the comprehension questions for more detail.

The home as laboratory

Science isn’t done just in a laboratory. Observing phenomena and collecting data in the real world are key parts of the scientific effort. This activity, designed for at-home learning, encourages students to collect and analyze data in their own homes to develop a research question for future exploration.

Why Bat Viruses Are So Dangerous

This guide will help students understand how viruses in other animals can infect people, sometimes leading to epidemics or pandemics. In a group activity, students will imagine they are health officials developing action plans to prevent or stop an epidemic.

Collaborating to stop an epidemic

Students will imagine that they are officers at the World Health Organization and will work in groups to develop action plans to prevent the spread of a new virus, such as coronavirus.

The path from outbreak to pandemic

Students will explore the definitions of outbreak, epidemic and pandemic and research how an outbreak becomes an epidemic or pandemic.

Saving Notre Dame’s Sound

This guide, based on the Science News article “Saving Notre Dame’s sound,” asks students to explore how scientists resurrect the acoustics of historic places, consider factors that affect how sound behaves to design a room with specific sound requirements, and measure and compare how sound changes in different environments.

Sound science at Notre Dame

Students will answer questions about the Science News article “Saving Notre Dame’s sound,” which explores how scientists resurrect acoustics of historic places.

2019 Year in Review

This guide, based on the biggest science stories of 2019 as reported by Science News, asks students to read and dissect a story of their choice and practice their summarizing skills. An activity from the Digital Library asks students to analyze and graph data about the moon’s orbit.

How to write a summary

Students will discuss what makes a good summary and practice their summarizing skills. After summarizing an article of their choice, students will share their summaries and get feedback from classmates. This exercise is based on Science News’ Top 10 stories of the year but can be used with any article.

Ten top science stories from 2019

Students will answer questions about one of Science News’ Top 10 stories of 2019.

Nobel Prize Winners Announced

This guide, based on Science News’ article “Nobel prize winners announced,” asks students to summarize the discoveries that won the prizes, create a timeline that puts one prize in context and explore activities related to batteries from our Digital Library.

A Nobel timeline in tweets

Students will track the scientific progress associated with a discovery or advance that was awarded a Nobel Prize by creating a timeline of key events and players.