Students answer questions about the fall migration of the monarch butterfly. The data of observations is graphed and displayed using computer technology. This is a good lesson for crossing the curriculum with mathematics.

Students discuss the concept of global warming and view a multimedia clip on the global warming phenomenon. They statistically analyze mean temperature data and compare a given set of data. Data on atmospheric CO2 is done then they...

Students study the use of X-ray data to make size and energy estimates of the source and the processes occurring there. They use XTE observations of the object GRO 1744-28 to determine whether bursts occur periodically and the duration...

Informational fact sheet on electricity with emphasis on electric and magnetic fields.

A well illustrated activity where students investigate and draw the magnetic field lines created with a bar magnet and a compass.

This site is a description of the earth's magnetic field, including a section on the "Dynamo effect," a proposed explanation for the origin of the earth's magnetic field.

The purpose, life, and hazards of the Earth's magnetic field are discussed as they relate to magnetic storms. This includes their impact on animals, auroras, and even compasses. Interactive features are also included in this...

An interesting activity where students make a ferrofluid (a liquid with magnetic particles floating in it) and explore how it responds to a magnetic field. Well illustrated.

Anders Celsius is most familiar as the inventor of the temperature scale that bears his name. The Swedish astronomer, however, also is notable as the first person to make a connection between the radiant atmospheric phenomenon known as...

This is a hands-on, inquiry-based lesson that includes three magnetic stations in which students or small groups rotate in order to test and discover different magnetic properties and then use their knowledge to build a Maglev Train...

Most of us have seen the rainbow-hued breakdown of the composition of light. Light is of course a form of energy. A magnetic field changes the behavior of light- a phenomenon known as the Zeeman effect.

This site from the encyclopedia Wikipedia provides a concise definition of magnetic permeability given in terms of magnetic flux density and magnetic field strength.

Generate electricity with a bar magnet! Discover the physics behind the phenomena by exploring magnets and how you can use them to make a bulb light. Java required.

Walther Meissner discovered while working with Robert Ochsenfeld that superconductors expel relatively weak magnetic fields from their interior and are strongly diamagnetic. This phenomenon, commonly known as the Meissner effect or the...

Chemist Paul Lauterbur pioneered the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for medical imaging. He developed a technique, now known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in the early 1970s that involves the introduction of gradients in...

A great introduction to magnetic domains, including pictures which illustrate the effect on domains caused by external applied magnetic fields.

John Ambrose Fleming was an electronics pioneer who invented the oscillation valve, or vacuum tube, a device that would help make radios, televisions, telephones and even early electronic computers possible. A brilliant innovator,...

This site from the Georgia State University provides a good introduction to and illustration of the Meissner Effect, the property of a superconducting material whereby it actively excludes a magnetic field from within its interior.

Earth's magnetic poles have reversed themselves throughout its long history. Find out what scientists know about these reversals. A geologic time line shows when the reversals occurred.

An activity where students investigate how much iron is in a sample of breakfast cereal.

A well illustrated activity where students make a simple compass. Includes facts about compasses.

This site from the Georgia State University contains a good overview of some of the magnetic properties that are common to all materials, such as susceptibility and permeability, and then specific discussion of both diamagnetic and...

This site from the Georgia State University provides a brief introduction to paramagnetism, explaining how paramagnetic materials exhibit magnetization proportional to an applied magnetic field according to Curie's law.

The aurora borealis (also known as the northern lights) is a spectacular light display that can be seen at night in regions near the North Pole (auroras can also be seen near the South Pole). Auroras occur because of charged particles...