Exploring Our Planet: Celebrating Earth Science Week with Merge EDU

Earth Science Week (October 13-19, 2024) is just around the corner, and at Merge, we're excited to help educators and students dive deep into the wonders of our planet! This year's theme, "Earth Science is for Everyone," emphasizes the importance of learning about the Earth, including its rocks, weather, oceans, and natural phenomena for all people regardless of their career path.

Why Earth Science Matters

Earth science helps us understand the world around us, from the rocks beneath our feet to the atmosphere above our heads. Knowing more about the Earth helps us make informed decisions about our environment and the impacts we have on it. Everyone can benefit from knowing how the Earth works! Earth science encompasses geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy, providing crucial insights into:

• Natural disasters and how to mitigate their impacts
• Environmental conservation
• Natural resource management
• The Earth's place in our solar system and beyond

By studying Earth science, students develop critical thinking skills and gain a deeper appreciation for our planet's complexity.

Earth: Realtime Earth Data

This is the latest image of the Earth available in true color. The imagery is from the Soumi NPP satellite. NPP is the National Polar-orbiting Partnership between NASA and NOAA.

Merge HoloGlobe

Island Diversity

An ecosystem is a community of different organisms together with the environment they live in. Each living and non-living component of an ecosystem plays a part in keeping the entire system functional and healthy. In these activities, you will look at an island ecosystem and try to understand how all the components fit together. You will go from observing life on the island, to trying to change some of the environmental conditions, to building your own island ecosystem from scratch!

Merge Explorer

Structure Of The Earth

The structure of the Earth is divided into layers. These layers are both physically and chemically different. The Earth has an outer solid layer called the crust, a highly viscous layer called the mantle, a liquid layer that is the outer part of the core, called the outer core, and a solid center called the inner core. https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_of_the_Earth

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

Bringing Earth Science to Life with Merge EDU

Merge EDU offers unique ways to engage students with Earth science concepts. Here's how you can use it to create immersive learning experiences in your classroom:

1. Explore the Earth's Layers with Merge Explorer

Use the Merge Cube and our Journey to the Core simulation in Merge Explorer to let students hold a 3D model of the Earth's interior. They can:

• Examine the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core
• Understand the relative depths of each layer
• Explore how temperature and pressure change as we move deeper into the Earth

Journey to the Core!

The part of the Earth we live on is only a small percentage of the entire planet. In this module we’ll visualize what the rest of the planet looks like from the inside!

Merge Explorer

2. Visualize Geological Structures with Merge Object Viewer

Merge Object Viewer allows students to hold and inspect over 1,000 digital teaching aids! Using the Geology Collection, students will be able to: 

• Visualize a variety of geological structures like mountains, volcanoes and canyons
• Inspect various types of rocks and understand the way they were formed
• Get a close up look at faults and geological processes like subduction

Geology

Explore geological structures like tectonic plates, layers of the earth, volcanoes, fossils, and rock formations to learn about earth’s physical structure and processes.

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

3. Study Weather Patterns with Merge HoloGlobe

Merge HoloGlobe brings real-time NOAA and NASA data to life. Students can:

• Observe global weather patterns in real-time
• Track hurricanes and storm systems
• Examine long-term climate trends

Precipitation: Global Tour

Precipitation is our fresh water reservoir in the sky, and is essential for life. This video, A Global Tour of Precipitation, shows how rain and snowfall moves around the world using measurements from the Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory, or GPM. This is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and offers the most detailed and worldwide view of rain and snowfall ever created.

Merge HoloGlobe

Earth Science Week Instagram Contest

To celebrate Earth Science Week, we're excited to announce our Earth Science Week Instagram Contest!

How to Use Merge Cubes This School Year - Maniacs in the Middle

If you haven’t heard of Merge Cubes, then I think you may have been living under a rock for the past few years! If you want a class set of Merge Cubes and a free subscription, stay tuned until the end of this post! Three years ago my technology coach came to me with a Merge Cube in her hand. She was so excited to show me this new augmented reality cube to use in my science classroom. All you need is a cube and the app! The app reads the code on the cube and creates augmented reality through…

Maniacs in the MiddleJosie

How to Enter:

1. Follow @Merge on Instagram.
2. Post a photo or short video showing how you're using (or plan to use) Merge EDU to teach Earth science concepts.
3. Use the hashtags #MergeEarthScience and #EarthScienceWeek in your post.
4. Tag @Merge in your post.

Prize:

Each day from October 13-19, 1 lucky winner will receive: 

• A one-year Individual Subscription to Merge EDU
• 3 Merge Cubes 

Contest Details:

• The contest runs throughout Earth Science Week (October 15-19, 2024).
• We will pick one winner everyday via our Instagram page
• Entries will be judged based on creativity, educational value, and effective use of Merge EDU tools.

Happy Earth Science Week from Merge EDU!