Scientists study animals and their environments to learn about the world’s biodiversity. This special collection provides articles and activities related to biodiversity, endangered animals, and the interrelatedness of species to supplement the Science Exploration online investigation Animals, Adpatation, and the Galapagos.

		Darwin: Voyage of Discovery (SuperScience) Article for grades 3 through 6 Introduce younger students to Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle with this interview Niles Eldredge. Then challenge their ability to spot environmental adaptations with the Iguana Puzzler.
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		Darwin: Voyage of Discovery (Science World) Article for grades 6 through 10 Did you know that Darwin was prone to sea sickness? Or that he found a bird specimen he was seeking ... on his dinner plate? Examine the big insights and amusing details of Darwin's historic voyage on the HMS Beagle.
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Biodiversity

		Hall of Biodiversity Exhibition Materials for all ages Enter the Museum's Hall of Biodiversity for an eye-opening look at the variety of life on Earth—and the ecological crisis we now face because of vast threats to the planet’s biodiversity.
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		Hall of Biodiversity Educator's Guide Curriculum Materials for grades Kindergarten through 12 The museum's Hall of Biodiversity is bustling with life. Make the most of your visit by preparing beforehand with this practical and printable guide.
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		Hall of Biodiversity Educator's Guide Insert Activity for grades Kindergarten through 12 The cladogram, or family tree, for all living things branches across the museum's Spectrum of Life Wall. Can you use it to find the mustached monkeys, the wing-footed centipede, and the great blue turaco?
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		How to Help Biodiversity Activity for grades 3 through 8 Why should you harness your house pets, be a smart shopper, and protect habitats? They're your jobs as a keeper of the Earth. Find out how else biodiversity depends on you.
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		Discovering Vietnam's Biodiversity Article for grades 3 through 12 Now that peace has firmly taken hold in Vietnam, scientific research is flourishing once again. Meet some of the country's diverse animal and plant life, including many rare and endangered species.
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		What's the Big Idea? Biodiversity Article for grades 3 through 8 It's the differences in this world that make all the difference! Find out why biodiversity is so important to our planet—and what you can do to help protect it.
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		Around the World with DNA Article for grades 3 through 8 Travel around the world with museum scientists. First stop Madagascar, where you'll meet a species of whales with fingerprint-like tails and primates that use their teeth to groom each other.
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		Web of Life Game Activity for grades 3 through 8 When you're done, it may look like you have a tangled mess of twine. But don't be fooled. You'll have created something much more than that—the web of life for an ecosystem!
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Endangered Species

		Endangered! Exhibition Materials for all ages African wild dog, Asian elephant, Indian python, American crocodile—threats to endangered animals are a global problem. Explore a world at risk, and learn what you can do to help.
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		Transformation of the Biosphere: Introduced Species Exhibition Materials for grades 6 through 12 It's not just humans who have jetted to remote regions of the world. For better or worse, international commerce and air travel have helped the global exchange of species and the spread of disease.
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		You Again? Reintroducing and Introducing Species Article for grades 9 through 12 Translocation—relocating members of a species for release into the wild—is an increasingly common way to manage rare or threatened populations. But what does it take to make translocation a success?
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		The Last Wild Horse Article for grades 6 through 12 Wild takhi horses, which once roamed freely across Asia and Europe, were extinct by the late 1960s. Learn how two international programs have brought these free-roaming herds back to Mongolia.
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		Will the Fish Return? How Gear and Greed Emptied Georges Bank Article for grades 9 through 12 Georges Bank was once the richest fishing ground in the North Atlantic, but giant trawlers strip mined vast tracts of the ocean floor, and fish populations plummeted. Can the area recover?
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		The Legend of the Flying Frog Activity for grades 3 through 8 If you can save this species from extinction, happy frogs will fly all over Meeps Island. So pack your imagination and drawing supplies into a kayak, and embark on one remarkable adventure.
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		Endangered Species Game Activity for grades 3 through 8 Roll snake eyes, and you're on your way to survival. Land on the extinct box, though, and you're gone. Kaput. Finis. In this board game, your very survival is at stake!
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		Going, Going, Gone? Article for grades 3 through 8 Today, species are becoming extinct—disappearing from our planet—at a faster rate than ever before. What's behind this increase, and what can be done to slow or stop it?
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		Saving Species Article for grades 3 through 12 Take a world-wide tour of biodiversity. You'll meet mollusks in the reefs off the Bahamas, the aye-aye in the tropical forests of Madagascar, and the clever mimic-ant spider that lives in Australia.
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Evolution

		Hall of Human Biology and Evolution Educator's Guide Curriculum Materials for grades 6 through 12 Evolution is one of the most interesting theories in modern biology, able to explain two seemingly contradictory ideas. See for yourself how all life is the same and different with this museum guide.
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		Hall of Human Biology and Evolution Educator's Guide Insert Activity for grades 6 through 12 From Orrorin tugenensis to Homo sapiens, there have been many changes in skull shapes and features. Track down the evolution of humans by locating where key human remains have been found.
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		Fossil Halls: Timelines Exhibition Materials for all ages Step back in time to a point of your choosing—from 370 million to 19,000 years ago. You can see a lone Smilodon stalk prey or a group of prehistoric fish cruise the bottom of a muddy estuary.
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		Evolution Activity for grades 3 through 12 Get a hands-on look at the evolution of a species and the growth of a dominant coloration pattern with this activity designed to complement the museum's Hall of Ocean Life.
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Scientific Careers

		Profile: Niles Eldredge Article for grades 6 through 12 When he was in the ninth grade, Niles Eldredge was in the slow science class. But that didn't stop him. He later followed his heart and became a well-known evolutionary biologist.
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Species Classification

		Tree of Life Article for grades 3 through 8 Think of a cladogram as the ultimate family tree. On it, you can see how all living things are related, including the single ancestor they all share. Learn more about Earth's Tree of Life.
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		Hall of Biodiversity Educator's Guide Activity: Cladograms Activity for grades 6 through 12 In the same way people trace their history with a family tree, scientists use an evolutionary tree to show a species' close and distant relatives. Learn how they work by making a tree of coins.
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