We are big fans of citizen science! Of course, science is always cool, and STEM/STEAM projects are an increasing part of everyone’s work and school experiences. So understanding how science works is not just fun, but a good way to understand what is going on in the world around us all.

So we are sharing some neat science you can do, contributing toward large projects, and learning new things. Maybe you can use this today; maybe you will save it for later. As long as you enjoy some exploration and learning new things – citizen science is for you! And it is definitely something you can use to bring some good programming to your library.

Check out Nova’s Evolution Lab Lesson Plan! Here is some information to get you started; all the info and ideas you need are on their website here.

“Explore the evidence for evolution through phylogeny with this lesson plan from NOVA’s Evolution Lab. First, students consider and discuss how we understand and organize the biodiversity that exists on Earth. Students are then introduced to phylogenetic trees and practice building them with the Build a Tree interactive. In Build a Tree, students use both morphology and DNA analysis to identify relationships between species. Next, students explore speciation and shared ancestry with the Deep Tree interactive. As an interactive tree of life, Deep Tree helps students understand evolutionary history on Earth. Discussion questions and video quizzes allow educators to assess student understanding.

Lesson summary

Everywhere you go on this planet – on land, underground, in the air, and in the water – you’ll find life that has been shaped by evolution. In NOVA’s Evolution Lab, students explore the evidence of evolution through the lens of phylogeny, the study of genetic relationships among species. The Evolution Lab contains two main parts:

• Build A Tree: Students build phylogenetic trees themed around the evidence of evolution including fossils, biogeography, and similarities in DNA. Students use both morphology and analysis of DNA sequences to identify relationships between species and organize species and traits into phylogenetic trees. Along the way, students watch seven videos that introduce the missions and give context for how the theme of each mission helps us understand how evolution has shaped life on Earth. 
• Deep Tree: Students explore an interactive tree of life and trace the shared ancestry of numerous species. The Deep Tree helps students understand the scope of deep time and the points at which speciation occurred throughout evolutionary history on Earth.

Students will complete the Evolution Lab with an understanding of how to build phylogenetic trees and the evidence for evolution. The Evolution Lab is best used as an introduction to an evolution unit, and students should possess prerequisite knowledge of the structure of DNA in order to complete several of the missions.

Time allotment

1.5 hours for Build A Tree game; 4 hours for entire Evolution Lab lesson plan with worksheets

The Evolution Lab is designed to be implemented in a teaching unit over the course of several class sessions. Teachers should allot about 3 hours to complete both the game and the worksheets. The missions must be completed in chronological order.

NOTE: The Deep Tree is an open-ended activity with no time commitment.

Learning objectives

Content Objectives

• Students will be able to describe the key mechanisms by which evolution occurs. 
• Students will be able to explain the evidence for evolution via the fossil record, DNA, and biogeography.
• Students will be able to describe specific examples of evolution case studies, such as the evolution of birds, whales, and humans.
• Students will be able to cite applications of phylogeny in health and medicine.

Process Objectives

• Students will be able to build and analyze phylogenetic trees.
• Students will be able to identify patterns of shared ancestry via the Deep Tree.

Supplies

• The Evolution Lab is accessible on web and mobile browsers that support HTML5.

Students are encouraged to login via a PBS, Gmail, or Facebook account in order to save their progress. Students can quickly create a PBS account using their email address and a password.

• Optional: medium sized poster boards, art supplies, and printer for lesson plan activities.

Alternatively, students can also use PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, or other digital presentation software for the lesson plan activity.

Worksheets

These worksheets contain questions for each level and video of the Evolution Lab and provide assessment on topics like cladograms, fossil evidence of evolution, DNA and genetics, biogeography, applications of phylogeny to health, and human evolution. The worksheets are divided into missions and are designed to be completed while playing through the game. The worksheets feature multiple choice questions, short response questions, and cladogram drawings.”

Bring some of the coolness of this project into your library! We can get you started with some ideas for programs:

• Set up a book display of your science books, especially any about plants and animals
• Look up material on fossils, read some books about fossils, and if you have any to bring in to show they can be a great display. Talk about how fossils of plants and animals are made, and how old different fossils are.
• Talk about biodiversity. Have students write up as many different animals as they can name, then go find more types of animals.
• Make some charts of classifications of kingdoms: Plants, Animals, Protists, Fungi, Archaebacteria, Eubacteria. Find some images of each type. If possible, get a microscope to see the smallest ones.
• Chart humans from our species up through our domain. Put in some pictures of representative lives at each level of classification.
• How many different life forms are in each kingdom? Make some charts showing the relative numbers/weights/amounts of each.
• Make a family tree, using any family – including your own.