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Nature Lab is home to educational resources, including lessons, articles, videos, activities, and more.
Featured educator resources
Conversation Starters
Suitable for grades 3+
Conversation Starters feature short videos and accompanying discussion questions on ecological concepts or important environmental issues. Get talking with your kids or students today!
Take your students on a virtual adventure!
In this series, Adventure in the Annamites, join us to experience what it is like doing fieldwork in the remote Annamite Mountains of Laos.
You may not have heard of the Annamite Mountains before … but this is a place worth discovering! Come on, join us as we journey into the Annamites and learn about the hidden animals of the forest! Our hosts on this epic adventure are scientist…
We’re in the Annamite Mountains of Laos with Camille Coudrat and the team at Association Anoulak. If you missed the first part of our adventure, click to read about our exciting journey into the Nakai-Nam Theun National Park. Today, we’re at camp learning about…
Explore more resources in the Nature Lab:
Lions, tigers, sharks, bears, and giraffes are pretty cool animals, right? But did you know that there are all kinds of other amazing creatures living in your backyard, local park, or city … We encourage kids, big and small, to learn something new about an…
Time to learn about ethograms! This activity is courtesy of the Lemur Conservation Network and the Louisiana Lemur Foundation. Educators: Description of the activity (For ages 10+) This activity helps you observe lemurs at your local zoo (or via a zoo webcam). You will list…
Scientists have found that dugongs and green sea turtles help plants called seagrasses grow in the Great Barrier reef. Why is this important? Keep reading to learn more. This is the world-famous Great Barrier Reef: The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system…
Keeping a nature journal is a fantastic way to connect with nature! What to journal about? You can draw any plants, animals, fungi, or nature scenes that you like. Ideas include the birds in your backyard, blades of grass, rural landscapes, pebbles at the beach,…
Get outside and complete this Nature Mission!
Learn tricks for identifying individual animals.
Endemic species: An endemic species is a species that occurs in only one geographic location, such as a forest, state, country, or island. Watch this video about several endemic animals to learn more! Examples of endemic species featured in the video: Blue-billed curassow, found only…
Our friends at Mongabay India have created this fantastic video, all about a little bird called the grey wagtail. In winter this migratory bird flies from the upper Himalayas to warmer areas, like Valparai in south India. That’s a big journey! Click below to learn more…
Note: this activity is associated with the lesson on exploring ecosystems. Flamingo Haiku – Student sample Haiku poems Purpose: To understand haikus and how to construct them. Materials: Recycled paper, pencil, colored pencils, crayons, marker, watercolor paper, watercolors, and water cups. Common Core Standards: English Language Arts…
Mongabay Kids lesson series: parts 1–4
Grades 3–5
By Lisa Algee 3rd–5th grade (upper elementary/primary) Note: This is lesson 1 in a 4-part series on the water cycle, photosynthesis, exploring ecosystems, and scientific inquiry in local ecosystems. Find lessons 2, 3 and 4 here (click relevant link). Overview Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is…
By Lisa Algee 3rd–5th Grade (upper elementary/primary) Note: This is lesson 2 in a 4-part series on the water cycle, photosynthesis, exploring ecosystems, and scientific inquiry in local ecosystems. Find lessons 1, 3 and 4 here (click relevant link). Overview (a) What is photosynthesis and why…
By Lisa Algee 3rd-5th Grade (upper elementary/primary) Note: This is lesson 3 in a 4-part series on the water cycle, photosynthesis, exploring ecosystems, and scientific inquiry in local ecosystems. Find lessons 1, 2 and 4 here (click relevant link). Lesson 3: Exploring ecosystems (a) Root…
Created by Lisa Algee 3rd-5th Grade (upper elementary/primary) Note: This is lesson 4 in a 4-part series on the water cycle, photosynthesis, exploring ecosystems, and scientific inquiry in local ecosystems. Find lessons 1, 2 and 3 here (click relevant link). This scientific inquiry is geared…
Biodiversity articles: parts 1–4
Grade 2 reading level
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a four-part series on biodiversity consisting of the following articles: Biodiversity (this article) Deforestation Palm Oil Conservation Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet 3rd grade science standards and 2nd grade…
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a four-part series on biodiversity consisting of the following articles: Biodiversity Deforestation (this article) Palm Oil Conservation Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet 3rd grade science standards and 2nd grade…
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a four-part series on biodiversity consisting of the following articles: Biodiversity Deforestation Palm Oil (this article) Conservation Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet 3rd grade science standards and 2nd grade…
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a four-part series on biodiversity consisting of the following articles: Biodiversity Deforestation Palm Oil Conservation (this article) Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet 3rd grade science standards and 2nd grade…
Grade 3 reading level
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a four-part series on biodiversity consisting of the following articles: Biodiversity (this article) Deforestation Palm Oil Conservation Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet 3rd grade educational standards. Ideally, they are…
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a four-part series on Biodiversity consisting of the following articles: Biodiversity Deforestation (this article) Palm Oil Conservation Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet 3rd grade educational standards. Ideally, they are…
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a four-part series on biodiversity consisting of the following articles: Biodiversity Deforestation Palm Oil (this article) Conservation Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet 3rd grade educational standards. Ideally, they are…
Conservation aims to protect nature for the benefit of all people. How can we save nature and use it at the same time?
Oceans and coral reef articles: parts 1–3
Grade 5 reading level
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a three-part series on oceans and coral reefs consisting of the following articles: Rainforests and coral reefs Ocean prognosis Coral reef solutions (this article) Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet…
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a three-part series on oceans and coral reefs consisting of the following articles: Rainforests and coral reefs (this article) Ocean prognosis Coral reef solutions Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet…
By Lisa Algee This article is part of a three-part series on oceans and coral reefs consisting of the following articles: Rainforests and coral reefs Ocean prognosis (this article) Coral reef solutions Each has been taken from the Mongabay main site and adapted to meet…