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Life Science Resources
These Life Science teaching resources include short articles written by Smithsonian museum educators; curated collections of links to lessons, activities, posters, worksheets, and more; an exciting project; and videos featuring Smithsonian scientists and experts.
Articles
- Butterflies and Beyond
- Collecting Natural History
- Digitizing Nature – Field Books to Fossils
- Early Life on Earth – Animal Origins
- Extinction Over Time
- From DNA to Genomics
- Invasive Species
- Life on Planet Ocean
- Precious Pollinators
- Science Process
- What Is Biodiversity?
Hands-On Activities
Subject Guides
- Adaptations of Insects and Other Arthropods
- Ants: Social Insects and Farmers
- Bird Extinctions in Recent Geologic Time
- Biodiversity of Deep Coral Reefs
- Biodiversity of Ocean Invertebrates
- Butterfly Colors and Mimicry
- Deep Sea Urchins and Other Echinoderms
- Ferns, Spores, and Plant Reproduction
- Flies - Robbers and Relatives
- Forensic Science of Bird Strikes
- Freshwater Snails and Ecosystems
- Mammal Biodiversity
- Minerals and Microbes
- Ocean Biodiversity and Biocoding
- Octopods, Squids, and Other Cephalopods
- Parasites and Parasitism
- Plant Collections and Citizen Science
- Sexual Selection
- Spiders as Predators
Videos
- A Century of Discovery of Sea Urchins and Relatives with Zoologist Dave Pawson
- Arthropod Adaptations – Inside the Insect Zoo with former Insect Zoo Manager Dan Babbitt
- Assassin Flies – Predators of the Insect World with Entomologist Torsten Dikow
- Bird Extinctions – Time Travel through Lava Tubes with Ornithologist Helen James
- Butterfly Adaptations – How They Come by Their Colors with Smithsonian Experts
- Deep Ocean Discovery – Octopods and Squids with Zoologist Mike Vecchione
- Deep Reef Biodiversity – Exploring the Unexplored with Zoologist Carole Baldwin
- Ecosystem Change – Plotting with Plant Collections with former Botany Collections Manager Rusty Russell
- Evolution of Agriculture in Ants with Entomologist Ted Schultz
- Evolution of Whales Animation
- Exploring the Amazing World of Lichens with Manuela Dal Forno
- Ferns – Curious Life Cycles and Remarkable Biodiversity with Botanist Eric Schuettpelz
- Forensic Ornithology – Bird Detective with Ornithologist Carla Dove
- How to Discover a New Mammal Species with Zoologist Kris Helgen
- Human Impacts and Extinction of Freshwater Snails with Zoologist Ellen Strong
- Living Together – Parasites and Hosts with Zoologist Anna Phillips
- Measuring Biodiversity – Life in One Cubic Foot with Marine Biologist Chris Meyer
- Mineral Transformations - Demystifying Microbes with Geologist Cara Santelli
- Ocean Biodiversity – Discovering Marine Invertebrates with Zoologist Karen Osborn
- Powerful Predators – Adaptations of Trap-jaw Spiders with Entomologist Hannah Wood