The ScienceGiant

🌎 June 8 is World Ocean Day!
🌊 Help Ss contrast the “separate” oceans and examine how they are one global, interconnected body of salt water. This Frame includes worksheets with map, word search, reading and op-ed writing.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all of Earth’s water is contained in its global ocean, covering 70.8% of Earth’s crust.

Just like the oceans here’s a preview covering 70% of this TheScienceGiant.com classroom resource. This concept comparison frame contrasts the several “separate” oceans (the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean). And, it helps Ss examine how these oceans are in fact one global, interconnected body of salt water. Included are worksheets with:
🪸world map to identify the oceans and several seas
🐠 World Oceans Day: Word Search
🪸 World Oceans Day reading to introduce ocean facts. Use these facts to have Ss practice writing an op-ed essay, a common writing style in American university classes.

Stand on the shoulders, and get your feet wet!

LINK HERE https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Concept-Comparison-Frame-Oceans-and-World-Ocean-Day-worksheets-4039368
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NAVIGATE THE NIGHT SKY of MAY 2026:
PLANET PLACEMENT, MOON MOTION, METEOR SHOWERS and SUN SIGNS.

Navigate the night sky of the northern hemisphere and learn about astronomy! TheScienceGiant has easy-to-follow simplified monthly star maps to help .

Available for FREE download at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Navigate-the-Northern-Night-Sky-May-2026-16188499

🌕 (♎︎) May 1: Full Moon in Libra the Scales. Tonight is Walpurgis Night, which is linked with older May Day festivals in northern Europe, which also involved lighting bonfires at night. For example, the Gaelic festival Beltane marks the beginning of the three summer celebrations. It is traditionally held on midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice at midsummer. Rituals are performed to protect cattle, people and crops, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke and ashes were believed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle walk around or between bonfires and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires could be doused and then relit from the Beltane bonfire. And in Germany tonight, Hexennacht ('Witches' Night') is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration on the highest of the Harz Mountains with the spectre of the Brocken and await the arrival of Halloween in six months.

🌖 (♏︎) May 3: waning gibbous Moon and the bright reddish star Antares, the “heart” of Scorpius the Scorpion, very near at just 0.5° apart.
🌖 (♏︎) May 4: waning gibbous Moon in Scorpius is at apogee (farthest from the Earth) at 405,841 km.

🌠 (♒︎) May 5: Eta Aquarid meteor shower peak. Earth passes through a cloud of dust from the tail of Halley's Comet every year; this year the resulting meteor shower is predicted to produce very fast, bright meteors, around 10-30 per hour before dawn, but a late rising moon interferes. Meteors from this stream radiate from Aquarius the Water Bearer.

🌖 (♐︎) May 6: waning gibbous Moon is Sagittarius the Archer. This should help identify the star parts of the “Teapot” asterism around it: the spout stars to the Moon’s west, the handle to the east, and the lid above. Under dark skies, The Milky Way appears to be pouring from the Teapot's spout, creating a visual effect of a cloud of steam (steamed milk?) rising from the celestial teapot.

🌗 (♑︎) May 9: Last Quarter Moon in Capricornus the Sea-Goat

🌘 (♒︎) May 11: waning crescent Moon in Aquarius the Water-Bearer

🌘 ♂♄ (♓︎) May 14: waning crescent Moon appears midway between Mars and Saturn in Pisces the Fish low in the east at dawn

☀️☿ (♉︎) May 14: Mercury at superior conjunction with the Sun in Ta**us. The innermost planet passes into the evening sky by end of May.

🌘 (♈︎) May 15: waning crescent Moon in Aries the Ram

🌑 (♉︎) May 16: New Moon in Ta**us the Bull.
🌒 (♉︎) May 16: waxing crescent Moon in Ta**us is at perigee (closest to Earth) at distance of 358,075 km.

🌒 ♀♃ (♊︎) May 18, 19 & 20: bright Jupiter, brilliant Venus and the waxing crescent Moon are together in a very tight 5° circle close by the bright stars Pollux and Castor in Gemini.

☀️ (♉︎) May 21 – June 21: Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits the sign of Gemini the Twins (In the sidereal zodiac, the Sun will move through Gemini from June 21 to July 20). In classical antiquity, Cancer was the location of the Sun on the northern summer solstice (June 21st). During the first century CE, axial precession shifted it into Gemini. In 1990, the location of the Sun at the solstice moved from Gemini into Ta**us, where it will remain until the 27th century CE and then move into Aries.

🌒 (♋︎) May 21: waxing crescent Moon in Cancer the Crab

🌒 (♌︎) May 22: waxing crescent Moon within 0.5° of bright star Regulus, the “heart” of the Lion.

🌓 (♌︎) May 23: First Quarter Moon in Leo the Lion.

🌔 (♍︎) May 25: waxing gibbous Moon is near the star Porrima in Virgo the Virgin.
🌔 (♍︎) May 26 & 27: waxing gibbous Moon is near the bright star Spica in Virgo the Virgin, just 1.9° away.

🌕 (♏︎) May 31: Full Moon very near the bright reddish star Antares, the “heart” of Scorpius the Scorpion very near at just 0.4° apart. A "Blue Moon" is the second Full Moon in a month. You may have heard the expression, “once in a blue moon,” meaning “almost never,” because having 13 full moons in a calendar year — instead of the usual 12 — is rare. The next blue moon will be on New Years Eve, December 31, 2028. Why always on the 31st of the month? Usually, Full moons are separated by 29 days, so most months have only one full moon. But once every 29 months, a second one sneaks in if the first one was on the 1st of a month 31 days long. So it is possible to fit two full moons in a single month, but that “once in a blue moon” happens, on average, once every two and a half years.

🚨Deadline for registration is Friday. April 10, 2026! 📆
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SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026
From : We are pleased to announce that the 39th Annual Engineer It! Competition, presented by Kristen and Russ Bissett, will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at the Cox Science Center and Aquarium!

Engineer It! is an annual engineering design competition jointly presented to students in grades 1 - 12 by the Florida Engineering Society & the Cox Science Center and Aquarium. $5,000 in cash and prizes awarded to winners in elementary, middle and high school categories! The award ceremony will be emceed by Nikki Sheaks, meteorologist at WPBF 25 News.

Rules and regulations for this year’s competition can be found here - Engineer It! 2026 Rules. Please pay special attention to the changes in the Thrill It event and to our new competition category Quake It! Stay tuned for updates and full schedule.

​2026 Engineer It! Events

Drop It - Design and build a container that will prevent an uncooked egg from breaking when dropped from a height of 50ft.
Launch It - Design and construct a rocket propelled by “fuel” (12 ounces of water) and compressed air to achieve the maximum flight time possible.
Thrill It - Design and build a marble roller coaster powered by gravity.
Clean It - Design and build a water filter to clean non-toxic soil-contaminated water.
Power It - Design and build a watercraft that is powered by a solar panel. (NOTE: This event has limited participation and slots will be given on a first-come-first-served basis. All those registering who do not receive a spot will be placed on a waiting list. Participants will be required to pick up a materials kit from the Cox Science Center and Aquarium upon registrations. Participants who have not retrieved their materials kit within two weeks of their registration will be removed from the Power It event and their spot given to the next name on the waiting list.)
Quake It - Design and construct the tallest spaghetti and marshmallow tower capable of withstanding a simulated earthquake.
Entry Deadline: Friday, April 10, 2026

🚨DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION IS FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2026 📆
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SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026
From Cox Science Center and Aquarium: We are pleased to announce that the 39th Annual Engineer It! Competition, presented by Kristen and Russ Bissett, will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at the Cox Science Center and Aquarium!

Engineer It! is an annual engineering design competition jointly presented to students in grades 1 - 12 by the Florida Engineering Society & the Cox Science Center and Aquarium. $5,000 in cash and prizes awarded to winners in elementary, middle and high school categories! The award ceremony will be emceed by Nikki Sheaks, meteorologist at WPBF 25 News.

Rules and regulations for this year's competition can be found here - Engineer It! 2026 Rules. Please pay special attention to the changes in the Thrill It event and to our new competition category Quake It! Stay tuned for updates and full schedule.

​2026 Engineer It! Events

Drop It - Design and build a container that will prevent an uncooked egg from breaking when dropped from a height of 50ft.
Launch It - Design and construct a rocket propelled by "fuel" (12 ounces of water) and compressed air to achieve the maximum flight time possible.
Thrill It - Design and build a marble roller coaster powered by gravity.
Clean It - Design and build a water filter to clean non-toxic soil-contaminated water.
Power It - Design and build a watercraft that is powered by a solar panel. (NOTE: This event has limited participation and slots will be given on a first-come-first-served basis. All those registering who do not receive a spot will be placed on a waiting list. Participants will be required to pick up a materials kit from the Cox Science Center and Aquarium upon registrations. Participants who have not retrieved their materials kit within two weeks of their registration will be removed from the Power It event and their spot given to the next name on the waiting list.)
Quake It - Design and construct the tallest spaghetti and marshmallow tower capable of withstanding a simulated earthquake.
Entry Deadline: Friday, April 10, 2026

NAVIGATE THE NIGHT SKY of APRIL 2026:
PLANET PLACEMENTS, MOON MOTIONS METEOR SHOWERS and SUN SIGNS.

Navigate the night sky of the northern hemisphere and learn about astronomy! TheScienceGiant has easy-to-follow simplified monthly star maps to help Ss .

Available for FREE download at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Navigate-the-Northern-Night-Sky-April-2026-15927926

🚀 🧑‍🚀 Artemis II launch--the first time in more than 50 years astronauts will venture around the Moon--is scheduled to launch the first week of April. The 10-day flight of Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA's path toward long‑term return to the Moon and future missions to Mars.

🌕 (♍︎ Apr 1: Full Moon in Virgo the Virgin

🌖 (♍︎) Apr 2: waning gibbous moon is within 2° of the bright star Spica in Virgo.

☿ (♒︎) Apr 3: Mercury at its greatest elongation, or its furthest distance from the Sun, as we see it from Earth. This is its most visible all year. To find Mercury, look east in Aquarius, the Water Bearer before sunrise (around 6:30 AM ET). The planet will be very low on the horizon, just above red Mars.

🌖 (♎︎) Apr 5: waning gibbous Moon in Libra the Scales.

🌖 (♏︎) Apr 7: waning gibbous Moon very near the red star Antares, the “heart” of Scorpius the Scorpion, and is at apogee (farthest from the Earth) at 404,973 km.

🌖 (♐︎) Apr 9: waning gibbous Moon is in the “teapot” asterism of Sagittarius the Archer.

🌗 (♐︎) Apr 10: Last Quarter Moon in Sagittarius

🌘 (♑︎) Apr 11: waning crescent Moon in Capricornus the Sea-Goat

🌘 (♒︎) Apr 13: waning crescent Moon in Aquarius the Water-Bearer

🌘 ☿♂♄ (♓︎) Apr 15: waning crescent Moon, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn are gathered in Pisces the Fish low in the east right before dawn.

🌑 (♓︎) Apr 17: New Moon in Pisces.

🌒 ♀ (♉︎) Apr 18: waxing crescent Moon is within 5° of brilliant Venus in Ta**us the Bull

🌒 (♉︎) Apr 19: waxing crescent Moon reaches perigee (closest to Earth) at 361,630 km, and it appears just 1.0° north above the Pleiades star cluster in Ta**us.

🌒 (♉︎) Apr 20: waxing crescent Moon is near the tip of the northern horn of Ta**us the Bull, the bright star Elnath.

☀️ (♉︎) Apr 20 – May 20: Under the tropical zodiac, Ta**us the Bull is occupied by the Sun from April 20 to May 20 (under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently from May 14 to June 19). The Bull was identified with the constellation Ta**us since the Early Bronze Age, from about 4000 BC to 1700 BCE. The myth of the bull’s slaying may have held astronomical significance to the ancient Mesopotamians, since the Sun rose in Ta**us on the vernal equinox at that time, around 2000 BCE. In the "Epic of Gilgamesh," the "Bull of Heaven" is a fierce beast sent by the goddess Ishtar to punish Gilgamesh for rejecting her advances, but Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu ultimately defeat it. Enkidu throws one of the hindquarters of the bull at Ishtar – and ancient Egyptians had two words for the asterism we call the Big Dipper, both related to this: Khepesh meant "the thigh" or "the ox-leg"; Meskheti meant "the striker" or "the bull."

🌠 Apr 21-22: Lyrid meteor shower. Radiant is between the “keystone” asterism in Hercules, and the star Vega in Lyra the Harp, the 5th brightest star in the night sky. Expect a modest 10 to 20 bright, fast meteors per hour at peak under dark skies, as debris left behind by Comet Thatcher hits the atmosphere and burns up while ionizing the air.

The Lyrids are best observed after about 10:30 PM local time until dawn, with the best viewing around 5 AM. The waxing crescent moon shouldn't interfere too much with meteor watching. For the best experience, face roughly toward the east, lie down in a safe, dark place away from bright lights, and look straight overhead. Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, and some Lyrids can leave bright trails that last for a few seconds after they've passed.

This week might be your best chance to see Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS), which could be the brightest comet of the year. The comet will be visible in the eastern sky in the constellations Pegasus and above Pisces predawn from mid-April through the end of April in the Northern Hemisphere.

🌒 ♃ (♊︎) Apr 22 – Jupiter & Moon: waxing crescent Moon is in center of a triangle formed by bright Jupiter 4° away, and bright stars Pollux and Castor in Gemini, all within 10° of each other.

🌓 (♋︎) Apr 23: First Quarter Moon is in Cancer the Crab

♀ (♉︎) Apr 24: brilliant Venus within 4° of the Pleiades in Ta**us.

🌠 (♈︎) Apr 27: Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) makes its closest approach to Earth, coming within 44 million miles.

🌔 (♌︎) Apr 25: waxing gibbous Moon appears 0.2° from the bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion.

🌖 (♍︎) Apr 30: waning gibbous moon is within 2° of the bright star Spica in Virgo.