Home | Iowa Science Phenomena

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:

Browse or search the site to find an Iowa-based phenomenon to align to your learning standard.
Grow your phenomena skills and knowledge with our Iowa Science Phenomena Teacher Guide.
Equip your students to engage their own curiosity and be phenomenon-finders for themselves with the Iowa Science Phenomena Student Guide.
Capture and share your phenomena to the project.

Questions? Please contact us at phenomena@iowapbs.org.

Iowa Core Standard

Disciplinary Core Idea

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.

Image of a bighead carp.

Bighead Carp Changing the Missouri River Ecosystem

Bighead Carp is a new species to the Missouri River and is causing a...

Image of a may fly.

Mayfly Life Cycle

Mayflies are insects that have a unique lifecycle. The adult mayfly...

Image of people canoeing and causing water ripples.

Water Ripples

This video shows ripples, from a variety of sources and hitting a...

Image of people in Coldwater Cave.

Fossils in Coldwater Cave

Coldwater Cave is a large cave system found underneath corn fields and...

Image two fish tanks with murky water.

Time Lapse of Freshwater Mussels in a 2.5 Gallon Tank of River Water for a One-hour Period

This video features a time lapse of four freshwater mussels in a 2.5...

Image of man gesturing towards a rock face.

Iowa Geology Across Space and Time

This video highlights “Boneyard Hollow” in Dolliver Memorial State...