To help students understand this month’s earthquake in Haiti, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology has compiled a set of resources called Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments. These include links to animations and visualizations, presentations, news releases, and other materials for students and teachers to explore seismology within the context of current activity. These resources are updated frequently. There is a list of resources in Spanish, too. If you’re interested in more information, activities, and visuals on earthquakes in general, be sure to use SciLinks for a list of dozens of resources, organized by grade level. Use the keyword “earthquake.”
Looking ahead to next month, the Winter Games begin in Vancouver on February 12. The National Science Foundation and NBC Learn have collaborated to create The Science of the Olympic Games. This 16-part video series explores the scientific principles affecting how Olympic athletes perform, including gravity, friction, velocity, acceleration, drag, and resistance. The videos include Figuring Out Figure Skating, Slapshot Physics: Hockey, The Science of Snowboarding, Air Lift: Ski Jump, and Banking on Speed: Bobsled. Each video is about five minutes long, and there’s even one on friction and curling! For additional websites on science and sports, check out SciLinks. Use the keyword “sports” for grades 5-8 and 9-12. The the topic “Energy and Sports” includes Sport Science from the Exploratorium Museum (with sections on baseball, skateboarding, surfboarding, hockey, and cycling). And if you’re ready for some warmer activity, use the SciLinks keyword “surfing” for sites on the Science of Surfing.