Welcome to the Iowa Science Phenomena website! The goal of this website and service is to create, curate, collect and share a growing collection of user-generated, media-based, standards aligned, science phenomena resources for use in Iowa classrooms, as well as support Iowa teachers as they continue to implement phenomena-based and place-based teaching practices.

There are several ways you can be involved in this project:

Questions? Please contact us at phenomena@iowapbs.org.
Image of person drilling into maple tree.

Iowa Maple Syrup

Maple tree convert sunlight to sugary syrup through the process of photosynthesis.

Image of water treatment pipe.

Community Responses to Water Quality Concerns

Iowa communities and farmers are adopting conservation practices that lead to cleaner water by keeping agricultural run-off from entering water supplies.

Image of man with radio antenna walking on frozen lake.

Radio-Tagged Northern Pike

Iowa DNR use technology to tag and track northern pike.

Image of cornfield alongside a road.

Why Don't We Have to Fertilize Forests?

Agricultural fields require specific amounts of fertilizer to maintain...

Image of person examining lichen with magnifying glass.

Lichen Reproduction Process

Lichens are a partnership between a fungus and an alga. There are two primary ways lichens reproduce: sexually and asexually

Image of flooded field.

Midwest Governors Want Changes to Flood Management Priorities

Midwest Governors, including Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds would like to...

Image of snowy yard.

Snow and Sound

This video highlights the differences in sounds in an environment when...

Image of an oxbow lake.

U-Shaped Oxbows at Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt

Oxbows are U-shaped river bends and can be seen at Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt.

Image of a controlled fire in the Loess Hills.

Prescribed Burning in the Loess Hills

These teams conduct a controlled burn of the Loess Hills. Among other...

Image of a large flock of geese.

Snow Geese Migration

This video shows thousands of geese on a body of water in theMissouri...

Image of wild parsnip.

Wild Parsnip

Wild parsnip is an invasive species that can be dangerous to both humans and native plants.

Image of a woman on a bridge.

Pony Truss Bridge Design

A pony truss bridge is different from other truss bridges because it allows traffic to go through it, but is not connected by braces over the top.

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