NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

⚠️ This page recently underwent an update. If you had bookmarked direct links to search results from this page prior to March 18, 2024, those links may no longer work and you may need to make a new bookmark. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at education@noaa.gov.

Welcome to our searchable database of education resources created by NOAA and our partners. If you have issues or feedback, please let us know by filling out our feedback form offsite link or sending us an email at education@noaa.gov.

Tips for using the database

Searching for terms that contain more than one word.

Use quotation marks around multiple-word phrases you want to search. For example, searching “climate change” will return resources about “climate change.” If you don’t include quotation marks, it will return resources that include either the word “climate” or “change.” 

Opening resources in a new tab.

 Follow the instructions below for the device you are using.

  • PC: Hold down the control (ctrl) key while clicking the link. Or, right-click the link and select “open in new tab.”
  • Mac: Hold down the command key while clicking the link.
  • iPhone or iPad: Press and hold the link. Select “open in new tab” from the pop-up menu.
  • Android device: Press and hold the link. Select “open in new tab” from the pop-up menu

Expanding categories.

Each category has a plus sign (+) to expand the available filters within the category. Some categories have subcategories. Look for the plus sign (+) to see more filterable items.

Making the most of the filterable categories.

There are several categories you can use to filter through the resources. 

  • “Audience” filters by grade level, including postsecondary education, and also has a filter option for adult learners.
  • “Subject” filters by the general subject area, such as Arts, Earth science, Math, and more.
  • “Resource Type” filters allow you to look for resources ranging from activities, lessons, and units to videos or background information.
  • “Topic” filters are more specific than subject. They include filters such as climate, freshwater, and weather and atmosphere.
  • “NGSS DCI” filters by Next Generation Science Standards Disciplinary Core Ideas. Only activities, lessons, and units (and no other resource types) have NGSS DCI associated with them. Not all activities, lessons, and units have this alignment.
  • “Special categories” offers additional filters for specific types of resources and topics, such as printables, resources available in other languages, and safety/preparedness.

Exploring activities, lessons, and units.

Activities, lessons, and units are bundled together under resource type. You can expand to filter for only one type. Activity/demonstration refers to straightforward activities with little or no classroom strategy or pedagogy. Lesson refers to structured activities that are intended for a classroom audience. Module/unit refers to a collection of lessons that can build upon each other over multiple class periods or times of instruction; some people might call this a curriculum. 

Understanding instructional strategies.

Within special categories, there is an expandable filter called “instructional strategies.” This includes special filters that are applicable for some lessons, activities, and units, including things like “outdoor education” and “uses data.”

 

No results match your search.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Social studies

Resource type

Background information
Collection
Data product
Easy-to-use data product
Intermediate data product

Topic

Climate
Changing seasons
Climate change
Climate change impacts
Climate data monitoring
Resiliency and mitigation
Weather and atmosphere
Drought
Fires
Hazards and safety
Weather observations
Weather systems and patterns

Special categories

Safety/preparedness

Heat related illnesses and death are largely preventable with proper planning, education, and action. Heat.gov serves as the premier source of heat and health information for the nation to reduce the health, economic, and infrastructural impacts of extreme heat. Heat.gov is the web portal for the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS). This website includes data, forecasts, safety information, and much more.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology

Resource type

Data product
Easy-to-use data product
Multimedia
Mobile app

Topic

Climate
Climate data monitoring
Technology and engineering
Buoys
Satellites
Weather and atmosphere
Clouds
Weather observations
Weather systems and patterns

Special categories

Instructional strategies
Education at home
Hands-on
Models
Outdoor education
Safety/preparedness

Collection name

Science On a Sphere catalog

SOS Explorer® (SOSx) is a flat screen version of the widely popular Science On a Sphere® (SOS). The revolutionary software takes SOS datasets, usually only seen on a 6-foot sphere in large museum spaces, and makes them more accessible. The visualizations show information provided by satellites, ground observations and computer models.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology

Resource type

Collection
Data product
Easy-to-use data product

Topic

Climate
Climate data monitoring
Ocean and coasts
Ocean pollution and marine debris
Oil spills
Space
Auroras
Technology and engineering
GPS and geodesy
Weather and atmosphere
Fires
Hazards and safety
Hurricanes
Weather observations

Special categories

Citizen science

These "tiny tutorials" are designed to break the ice and get you started. These simple animations walk you through our data visualizations step by step. From there, each data portal offers many variables and dimensions to explore. So roll up your sleeves, fire up your browser or phone, and start exploring the ocean and atmosphere. Explore tiny tutorials on auroras, historical climate, magnetic fields, environmental response, fire weather, and hurricane data products from NOAA.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Climate
Cryosphere
Climate data monitoring

View Arctic sea ice extent maps and trends.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Animation
Data product
Multimedia

Topic

Climate
Climate data monitoring
Carbon cycle

This data animation shows atmospheric carbon dioxide from 1979 through 2021. Following that time series, the animation compares the levels to preindustrial levels and the ice ages. The animation is downloadable.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Math
Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Data product

Topic

Climate
Climate change
Climate data monitoring
Carbon cycle

Special categories

Models
Instructional strategies

CarbonTracker is a CO2 measurement and modeling system developed by NOAA to keep track of sources (emissions to the atmosphere) and sinks (removal from the atmosphere) of carbon dioxide around the world. CarbonTracker uses atmospheric CO2 observations from a host of collaborators and simulated atmospheric transport to estimate these surface fluxes of CO2. The current release of CarbonTracker, CT2019B, provides global estimates of surface-atmosphere fluxes of CO2 from January 2000 through December 2018. This data resource includes an FAQ and tutorial to help with use.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Climate
Climate data monitoring

Climate at a Glance, from the National Centers for Environmental Information, shows temperature and precipitation at local, regional, national, and international scales. You can change your parameters to show monthly, seasonal, or multi-year averages. Get started with a tiny tutorial at https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/data/tiny-tutorials/climate-at-glance.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8
Grade 3-5
Grade K-2

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Easy-to-use data product
Data product
Background information
Collection

Topic

Climate
Climate data monitoring
Climate change impacts
Carbon cycle

Collection name

Climate.gov

NOAA Climate.gov is a source of timely and authoritative scientific data and information about climate. The main parts of Climate.gov are: News & Features, a popular-style magazine for the science-interested public covering topics in climate science, adaptation, and mitigation; Maps & Data, a gateway to reusable climate maps and datasets that document various climate conditions; and Teaching Climate, which offers learning activities and curriculum materials, multimedia resources, and professional development opportunities for formal and informal educators who want to incorporate climate science into their work.

Audience

College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8
Grade 3-5

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Climate
Climate data monitoring
Climate change impacts
Carbon cycle

Explore numerous education materials, maps and data related to climate topics. Click across the Data Snapshots, Dataset Gallery, Climate Data Primer, and Climate Dashboard sections to see different data visualizations, including interactive maps, numerical data, graphs and figures, and modeled and predicted data.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Climate
Climate data monitoring
Changing seasons

Explore climate data for the US on a weekly, monthly, 3-month, or 12-month view.