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Fluorescing frogs
Light up your class with examples of fluorescence, including recently found biofluorescence in many frog species. Learn about the discovery of fluorescing frogs, discuss the potential evolutionary advantages of fluorescence, answer questions about the chemistry behind fluorescence and perform a demonstration of fluorescence from common objects.
Syncing the power grid to renewable energy
How is the U.S. doing in its transition away from coal-fired power plants to renewable energy sources? Analyze state and national data to learn about the transition and one of the major challenges: keeping the grid stable as large power plants shut down.

Health Effects of Climate Extremes and Thermal Technology
Climate extremes are impacting human health and inspiring new technology. This guide provides lesson plans paired to recent news articles covering a new thermal fabric prototype and its ability to regulate temperature and how wildfire smoke impacts the air quality index and human health.
Not too hot. Not too cold
Staying cool in the summer and keeping warm in the winter may
become easier. Learn about a new thermal fabric prototype and its ability to regulate temperature,
answer questions about its design and function and discuss potential applications.

Climate Change Spikes Baseball Homers
Baseball fans love numbers and explaining every nuance of baseball statistics. In this Guide, students will learn how climate change is boosting home runs and study the physics behind the increase in homers.
Applying the ideal gas law
Summary: Students will review the ideal gas law and use a simulation to explain the assumptions made in a recent study about how climate change is impacting baseball.
Learning Outcomes: Exploration of the cause and effect of manipulating conditions of a gas using a simulation, identifying relationships of variables using a mathematical equation and application of theoretical concepts to real-world examples.
Confounding Life and Science Research
In this quick activity, students will discuss confounding factors in their own lives and in scientific research to determine why it is important to identify and control for those factors.
Learning Outcomes: Reviewing confounding factors and learning why it is important to identify them in science.
How heat and home runs are connected
Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Baseball’s home run boom is due, in part, to climate change,” which explores how increases in temperatures boost home run numbers. A version of the article, “Climate change spikes baseball homers,” appears in the May 6, 2023 & May 20, 2023 print issue of Science News.

This Dwarf Planet Hosts an Odd Ring
In science, the exceptions offer researchers a chance to think differently about a concept they thought they understood. In this Guide, students will learn how astronomers use a concept called the Roche limit and how a ring around a dwarf planet does not follow the Roche limit rules.
Defining and defying Roche limits
Students will review force diagrams and gravitational force and discuss planetary ring and moon formation using the concept of the Roche limit.
Learning Outcomes: Applying gravitational forces and interactions in space to understand ring and moon formation.
Vibration check
Most of us drive across bridges every day and never question their structural integrity. We trust that the bridge will stand. In this activity, students will study a famous bridge collapse and consider how it could have been prevented. They also will learn how engineers are testing whether crowdsourced cell phone data could be used to determine when bridges need repairs. Using simulated data of bridge vibration frequencies, students will identify whether an imaginary bridge might be unstable. Students have the option of creating model bridges and testing their structural integrity.

The Metric System Has Gained New Prefixes
In this guide, students will learn about new measurement prefixes, work with those prefixes in metric conversions and create their own units of measure.