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In Your Area!
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Biodiversity and Conservation
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| RAFT Activities | ||
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Let it Rot 
Students can observe how natural and man-made materials break down and decompose by experimenting with different materials and environmental variables. |
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| Tips for Talking Science | ||
Some plants and animals reproduce and grow very quickly, while others need more time. Talk about what would happen to your food supply if you ate only slow-growing plants and animals, or if you ate only fast-growing plants and animals. How could the speed of reproduction and growth matter if we're trying to keep a plant or animal from becoming extinct? |
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| Resources | ||
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Recommended resources on Biodiversity and Conservation
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Calling all Citizen Scientists!
How Can You Help Build the Encyclopedia of Life?
Let us count the ways...
Add Text
Look for the add new text button on EOL taxon pages, or use the Add New link at the bottom of the TABLE OF CONTENTS. New text will initially appear with a yellow background indicating that it is not yet part of the authoritative EOL collection. Curators will review your submission and will promote suitable content to trusted status. Visit eol.org to create your free EOL member account and start adding information.
Contribute Images and Videos
The easiest way to contribute images and videos to EOL is through our Flickr group. Basic Flickr accounts are free, and it's easy to tag your images for EOL use. We harvest the group pool almost daily, so your images and videos will show up quickly on EOL pages. To see recent submissions, be sure to pull the INFORMATION slider to "All" on EOL taxon pages; this allows you to see images and videos that have not yet been reviewed by curators.
Comment and Tag
Look for the comment and tag buttons on EOL pages to annotate EOL content. Information providers and EOL visitors will be able to see and respond to your comments, so this is a good way of pointing out problems or requesting additional information. Adding tags to text, images, and other media will help you and other people to find things more easily on the EOL website.
Student Scientists
Students can use their class work to start contributing to the EOL. Adding text and images for your favorite organisms can be a good first step. Talk to your teacher about class projects that might involve EOL. You can also add tags to our images and comment on the contents of the website.
Undergraduate Contributions
If you are a teacher or college faculty member and would like your students to contribute to the Encyclopedia of Life, we have resources for you. Please contact our Education Project Coordinator who will direct you to a partner project, such as Animal Diversity Web. For more info, check out the Education section on the EOL website.
Please contact us at education@eol.org or post a comment on our forum under the education section.
Talking about Science
Talking about the process and nature of science -- be it evolution, physics, or biodiversity -- is not always second nature, so we have enlisted scientist and mom Janet Stemwedel to share her fun and engaging blog with us at Year of Science. In this blog, she masterfully navigates through science conversations with her children, explaining cool science concepts in plain, light and fun ways that readers of all ages will enjoy!
Friday Sprog Blogging: Microcosmos!
Elder offspring: The dung beetle rocks!
Dr. Free-Ride: The dung beetle rolls!
Elder offspring's eyes roll.
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The sprogs finally watched Microcosmos -- which, of course, prompted a second, and third, and fourth viewing in close succession. (They may be young, but that doesn't mean they're not obsessive about details.) Some of their reactions to the film:
Elder offspring: I liked the dung beetle best.
Dr. Free-Ride: Yeah, it seems like the dung beetle is set up to be the hero of the movie.
Elder offspring: It has to be pretty smart to figure out how to get the ball [of dung] around that twig. Also, pretty strong.
Dr. Free-Ride: I suppose so.
Elder offspring: It's like it has HM4.
Dr. Free-Ride: What?
Elder offspring: HM4. (Pauses, then explains slowly, as if to a little kid or a doddering parent:) Hidden Machine 4, which is strength. It's a Pokemon thing.
Dr. Free-Ride: Oh.
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Younger offspring: I like the part with the ants gathering seeds. They get lots and lots of food stored for the colony. I don't really like the part with the bird.
Dr. Free-Ride:: Oh, you mean the pheasant?
Younger offspring: Yeah. Actually, I like the part with the pheasant a little.
Dr. Free-Ride: Remind me, does the pheasant eat the ants' seeds?
Younger offspring: No, the pheasant eats the ants.
Dr. Free-Ride: Do you think it would be nicer if the pheasant ate their seeds instead of eating the ants?
Younger offspring: No, 'cause then the ants would starve to death. The ants die either way.
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Dr. Free-Ride: What do you guys think of the part with the snails? [The snails are mating. In slow motion, as snails do.]
Elder offspring: It's cool, but the music [a "moving" operatic piece] is annoying.
Younger offspring: I think the part with the snails is silly. But I really like the ladybugs, especially the part where the one ladybug climbs on the other ladybug.
Elder offspring: Well, they didn't add any annoying music to that part!
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 To learn more about how your organization can contribute content to the Year of Science Web site, please contact us at admin@copusproject.org. |
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