Science Discovery Dome Lessons: Earth

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The Earth is focused on the Earth Sciences, including geology and biology. Most programs are suitable for classes from Foundation to Year Ten and last from 45 to 60 minutes. Teachers are free to select and combine different aspects of these topics to make up any particular presentation.

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THE WEATHER PROGRAM

• Presentation of the movie "The Water Cycle"
• Seasons, Climate, temperature, atmospheric pressure
• wet or dry winds, convectional winds, sea breezes, trade winds
• Prevailing patterns of ocean currents and effect on climate
• Changes due to the seasons, the monsoons, the Australian "Wet"
• Weather instruments, reading weather maps and making forecasts

See our Movies page for more on "The Water Cycle". This program can be extended to include the Natural Disasters presentation.

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THE EARTH AND ITS MOVEMENT

• It's about Time: spaceship Earth
• The Earth's shape, Poles – Axis – Equator
• Axial tilt, the seasons, effects in polar regions
• Measuring time – spin rate, making a sun dial
• Time zones around the Earth, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
• The Earth's orbit, summer and winter, star calendar

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CAUSES OF WEATHER

• Temperature change, changes in pressure causing winds
• Seasonal and prevailing wind distribution, monsoons
• Continental and maritime winds, afternoon sea breezes
• The Earth's structure, volcanoes, fault lines, earthquakes
• Natural disasters, cyclones, tornados, tsunamis

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NATURAL DISASTERS

This presentation can be standalone or included with the Weather Program.

• The causes and effects of extreme weather
• Drought and bushfires
• Floods, cyclones, tsunamis
• Earthquakes, volcanoes, fault lines

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