Shape of Life offers classroom videos depicting the evolution of the animal kingdom on planet earth. Students and educators from all over the world explore animal adaptation, animations, and behaviors along with the amazing scientists who bring their stories to life. We also offer a rich selection of NGSS materials including lesson plans, readings, illustrations and activities that inspire a deeper dive into the phyla that explain so much of our existence. Shape of Life content is FREE to educators and students of all ages.
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Your Sneak Peek of Shape of life Videos
Cristina Diaz describes her work as a taxonomist. She dives in Indonesia to study her favorite animal—the sponge. Conducting an experiment to see how fast a sponge filters, she injects a colored dye into the water. The results are amazing.
New Resources
Teach Our Children Well
Posted on June 6th, 2019
AND!... 4 out of 5 parents wish they did!
In a show of support to teachers we added a whole new section to our online offering:
Climate Change and the Ocean
We think it’s essential students understand what’s going on in the beautiful blue that covers 70% of our planet.
Featured Teacher
Anand Patel, PhD, Science Department Co-Chair, Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences
Posted on March 19th, 2019
Boundaries?! What Boundaries?
Anand Patel is the type of science teacher who easily crosses cultural, social and generational boundaries in his approach to teaching. Anand teaches to the part in each of us that meets in the natural world- rather than the places that may divide us.
Featured Scientist
Chuck Baxter, Naturalist
Posted on May 10th, 2019
The Resounding Impact of Chuck Baxter
Chuck Baxter has a long history of inspiring thousands of outdoor nature enthusiasts including his students, scientists, even US! It was Chuck’s vision that motivated our production of the original PBS series, The Shape of Life. Before that, Chuck was one of the founders of the Monterey Bay Aquarium where his vision led to many of the exhibits. When you consider these outlets alone, it’s difficult to quantify how many lives Chuck has enriched through his appreciation of the natural world.
Featured Creature
A Little Lemon on Your Microplastic?
Posted on April 30th, 2019
Bivalves, (clams, oysters and mussels), are often on our dinner plates. But when we take a tasty bite, we’re also eating microplastics. These shellfish are filter-feeders, straining plankton from seawater for food. Along with plankton, they’re ingesting microplastic bits.
Scientists have looked in the tissues of several kinds of bivalves to discover the amount and kind of plastic found in these animals. In some places, they’ve found the majority of plastic is overwhelmingly microfibers as these are easily eaten by zooplankton.
Blog
Welcome to the Plasti-Scene
Posted on April 30th, 2019
“Plastic is one of the worst enemies of marine species,” the World Wildlife Fund.
We’ve all read too many headlines about plastic floating in the ocean, not breaking down, washing up on every beach, being eaten by marine creatures, and entangling lots of others. Scientists are now trying to figure out what exactly that means for all the life in the ocean – and us.
Finding the Hole Truth About Piddock Clams in the Monterey Bay
Posted on February 9th, 2019
By Tierney Thys
This week, a series of large winter storms delivered hundreds of strange rocks riddled with perfectly smooth drill holes. A treasure trove to curious beachcombers, begs the question, “Who or what made all those holes?!”
The holes are the work of industrious molluscs called piddock clams or, more commonly, boring clams. Some 16 different species of not-so-boring clams call Monterey Bay home
News
Tree of Life Poster Winners!
Posted on June 6th, 2019
WOW! We we're overwhelmed by your words of support for Shape of Life. We had teachers from all over the world let us know how they use Shape of Life resources in their classrooms.
While everyone is a winner in our book, we had to limit the ‘Winners’ of our popular Ray Troll Tree of Life poster to twenty five. Fear not, we’ll definitely hold another contest soon.
In the meantime…
We Wish A Hearty Congratulations to our 2019 Shape of Life Poster Contest Winners!
We'll See you In New Orleans and Salt Lake City in Fall 2019!
Posted on June 6th, 2019
September 7 - 11, 2019
AZA Annual Conference in New Orleans
October 24 - 26, 2019
NSTA Regional Conference in Salt Lake City