OUR PLANET'S SCIENCE
This protective layer in the Earth's stratosphere absorbs most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Ozone Layer
Found across the globe, these unique flying mammals are the only ones capable of true, sustained flight.
Flowing right through the middle of the state, this body of water is the longest river in the New England region.
What is the Connecticut River?
Spanning across eight countries, this spectacular European mountain range features the famous peak Mont Blanc.
What are the Alps?
Spanning eleven different time zones across the Earth, this nation is the largest country in the world by total land area.
What is Russia?
This is the scientific term for the molten rock that sits beneath the Earth's surface, before it erupts as lava.
What is Magma
This flightless bird, native to the southern hemisphere, can dive deeper into the Earth's freezing oceans than any other bird—reaching depths of over 1,800 feet.
What is the Emperor Penguin?
This specific, massive geological feature forms the sheer cliffs of East Rock and West Rock, created by ancient volcanic activity in CT.
What is Trap Rock? (Accepting "Basalt")
This massive South American river basin holds more than one-third of all the world's remaining tropical rainforests.
What is the Amazon Basin? (Accepting Amazon Rainforest)
This European city is home to the world's oldest continuous parliament, known as the Althing, which was established by citizens back in the year 930.
What is Reykjavík? (Accepting Iceland)
The Earth's crust is broken into massive, slowly moving puzzle pieces known by this two-word geological term.
What are Tectonic Plates?
This tiny, nearly indestructible Earth creature can survive the vacuum of space, extreme radiation, and boiling water by entering a state of deep suspended animation.
What is a Tardigrade? (Accepting "Water Bear")
Found preserved in the bedrock of Rocky Hill, Connecticut boasts one of the largest displays of these ancient Earth prints in North America.
What are Dinosaur Tracks? (Accepting "Fossils")
Despite being covered almost entirely by thick ice sheet, this southern landmass is technically classified as the world's largest desert because it receives so little rainfall.
What is Antarctica?
Located in New York City, this international organization was founded in 1945 to maintain global peace and cooperation among the governments of Earth.
What is the United Nations? (Accepting the UN)
Ranking as the most abundant chemically active element by mass in the Earth's crust, it makes up nearly 47% of it.
What is Oxygen
These incredible insects undertake a massive, multigenerational migration across North America every year, using the Earth's magnetic field and the sun to guide them.
What are Monarch Butterflies?
This official state insect of Connecticut is crucial for the health of our local ecosystem and plants.
What is the European Mantis? (Accepting "Praying Mantis")
Formed by the shifting of the Earth's crust, this African geological feature is a massive trench system that is slowly pulling a continent apart.
What is the Great Rift Valley?
This tiny, independent city-state enclave located entirely within the city of Rome is officially the smallest sovereign country on Earth.
What is Vatican City?
This is the name of the boundary layer between the Earth's brittle crust and the molten mantle beneath it, named after a Croatian seismologist.
What is the Mohorovičić discontinuity? (Accepting "The Moho")
Found only on a few isolated Indonesian islands, this massive creature is the largest living species of lizard on Earth.
What is a Komodo Dragon?
Formed by the weight of ancient glaciers moving across the Earth, this is the highest natural peak in the state of Connecticut.
What is Bear Mountain?
This stunning geological wonder in Arizona was carved over millions of years by the flow of the Colorado River, exposing nearly two billion years of Earth's history.
What is the Grand Canyon?
This unique South American nation is the only country on Earth to name itself directly after the invisible grid line that splits the planet into Northern and Southern hemispheres.
What is Ecuador?