What did you learn this week? Let us know in the comments or at firstname.lastname@example.org.
This week, we learned …
… an Alaskan village voted to relocate due to global warming, and Harley-Davidson is paying $12 million in fines over carbon emissions.
- Where do you think dislocated villagers should resettle? Who should pay for their relocation fees?
- Should vehicle manufacturers be fined over emissions, and/or should vehicle owners be fined?
- Key Resource: Activity: Use this activity to understand the role the ocean plays in global warming.
- What is a nova?
- Will our star (the sun) ever go nova like this?
- Key Resource: Map: Zoom in on this amazing high-resolution map to see novas, the galaxies they’re a part of, and even the superclusters of galaxies that make up our universe.
… David’s imperfections could bring him crashing to Earth, but the richest families in Michelangelo’s Florence … are still the richest families in Florence.
- Do you think the sculpture should be moved or physically supported to prevent further damage?
- How do you think Renaissance families were able to maintain their family fortunes for hundreds of years?
- Key Resource: Study Guide: Why are Michelangelo works so valuable? In what other media did he create art?
- What methods would you support to improve water quality in the Great Barrier Reef?
- Who do you think should pay for water-quality improvements to the Great Barrier Reef?
- Key Resource: Activity: Find out why sugar’s not so sweet for the Great Barrier Reef.
- What are some other individual sports that might result in unbreakable ties?
- What clothes or other non-physical components do swimmers use to put themselves at an advantage?
- Key Resource: Photo: Why do you think there are so few ties in open-water races such as triathlons?
- Who were Lewis and Clark, and their Corps of Discovery?
- How do you think the story of Lewis and Clark might be told differently by Native American historians? (It might be called the “Sacagawea Trail”, for one …)
- Key Resource: Lesson: Learn how the Corps of Discovery allowed the homelands of thousands of Native Americans to become part of the United States.
- Why is ocean crust so much younger than continental crust?
- Why do you think the Mediterranean crust is younger than the oceanic crust of the Pacific or Atlantic basins?
- Key Resource: Encyclopedic Entry: Learn all about our crusty old planet with a gallery, fast facts, and rock-solid information.
- Why do you think so many people believe in Bigfoot? Do you?
- Can you name some other mythical modern monsters—Loch Ness? the Yeti?
- Key Resource: Map: Navigate your way around the world of mysterious beasts with our Cryptid Cartogram!
… in the Olympics of the future, genetic engineering will make performance-enhancing drugs seem like child’s play.
- What is genetic engineering?
- Do you think future sports officials should allow genetic engineering among athletes?
- Key Resource: Study Guide: How do genetics already influence how an athlete performs?
- What is echolocation?
- How might you react if you saw—and heard—this man walking down the street or riding his bike through the city?
- Key Resource: Article: This month’s terrific National Geographic magazine cover article addresses “the end of blindness.”
- List some common English words you use in class: learn, attention, work, curious. When do you think they entered the English language? Where do you think they came from?
- Key Resource: the Oxford English Dictionary: Use the OED to guide your answers. (Look for the word’s etymology and earliest uses.)