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

An apple that has been bruised and scarred.

Environmental Effects on Iowa’s Apples

The phenomena is blemishes on a Granny Smith apple, grown in Algona...

A cow outside in a snowstorm.

How Cows Adapt to Changing Seasons

When the seasons change, we have ways to adapt to those differences in...

A water tower in a town on a fall day.

Water Towers Purpose

Water towers can be found in almost every town and city in Iowa. Their...

Clouds at dusk over a silhouette of trees.

Air Masses, Clouds and Weather Change

Clouds are made up of trillions of water droplets and are an essential...

Ladybugs in a window sill.

Bugs in Winter

When the weather turns cold, fewer bugs are seen. Many bugs can...

A beaver dam over a small creek in the woods.

Beaver Dams Versus Human Dams

Beavers build dams to stop the flow of water which creates a pond that...

Red, yellow, and orange leaves that have fallen off of trees.

Dormancy of Trees

In the fall every year in Iowa there is a pattern of the leaves...

A curved, yellow bike rack casting a shadow on the concrete ground.

Shadow Tracking from the Sun

As the earth rotates the sun changes places in the sky. This affects...

Along the edge of a pond, greenish white algae and mud is visible.

Runoff Nutrient Pollution

Algae is a green substance that lives on the surface of Iowa lakes and...

The surface of a lake which is just beginning to freeze.

Freezing Lakes

Lakes tend to freeze from the top down. This is because water’s...

A fully bloomed sunflower in front of a blurred, outdoor background.

Annuals and Perennials in Iowa

Certain plants grow during specific times of the year and others do...

Black Eyed Susan flowers.

Black Eyed Susans Mysteriously Appear in Garden

A privately owned flower garden contains black-eyed Susan flowers...