Grades 9-12
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Depositional Environments and Fossils of the Late Devonian Catskill Delta
About 390 million years ago, the warm, shallow Catskill Sea covered New York State. As the water retreated, it left layers of sedimentary rock and fossils, as this 12th-grader discovered.
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A Study of the Geology of the Rocks of the Huntington Formation in the Izee and Olds Ferry Terrains of the Blue Mountains Region
The area surrounding the Huntington Formation is very rich in geologic history, yet it is undocumented and hasn't been mapped in detail. But that didn't stop this 11th-grader from Idaho from surveying its terrain.
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Reading the Rocks at Cornwall, Pennsylvania
After 200 years and the mining of 106 million tons of iron, the Cornwall iron mine was closed. Yet, as this 10th-grader from Pennsylvania argues, the site's geologic importance is far from over.
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From Uplift to Glaciation: The Geological History of the Pikes Peak Region
Traverse the geologic history of Pikes Peak and the southern Rocky Mountains—from Precambrian foundation to roughly contoured summits—with this 12th-grader from Colorado.
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Nature's Slimy Friends
Did you know that all slugs eat the equivalent of their own body weight each night? Or that some slugs are cannibalistic? Let this 17-year-old from Washington State introduce you (literally) to a banana slug.
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The Feared, the Pest, the Cockroach
Did you that that only about 1 percent of cockroach species are household pests? Or that cockroach blood is usually green? This 17-year-old from Oregon examines these fascinating creatures.
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No One Sings the Praises of the Dreaded Jelly Fish
Jellyfish have existed for more than 650 million years—longer than the earliest dinosaurs. Dive in with this Maryland teen for a look at an animal that ranges in size from 1.5 inches to 200 feet wide.
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Bees in the Ecosystem
This 13-year-old from Ohio didn't have a great opinion of bees after one caused her to lose a ball game. That changed, though, when she realized how important bees are to the planet.
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The Slimy, Yet Special Slug
What is it about a slug's body that allows it to live in a variety of environments but makes salt a deadly substance? Take a closer look at these nocturnal critters with a 15-year-old from Maryland.
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Microorganisms in Antarctic Seas
During the winter, the sea ice off Antarctica covers an area so big that it's actually the largest continuous habitat on Earth. The algae that live there produce 25 percent of all oxygen on the planet.
