Classroom

For Tennessee science teachers.

Aquifer Explorer is free to use in any Tennessee classroom — grades 6–12. Every lesson pairs with a printable student worksheet and lists the TN science standards it touches.

Lessons

Meet the Aquifer

3 min·9–12 (adaptable 6–8)

9–12.ESS2.3 · 9–12.ESS3.1

Scrolly 3D cross-section of the Memphis Sand Aquifer. Students identify layers, explain confining units, and describe water travel.

Open lesson →↓ Worksheet

See the Scale

Open-ended·9–12

9–12.ESS2.3

Real CAESER GMS 3D viewer. Great for small-group exploration. Students experiment with vertical exaggeration to see real-scale vs visualized.

Open lesson →

Breaches & Vulnerability

4 min·9–12

9–12.ESS2.5 · 9–12.ESS3.1 · 9–12.ESS3.4

Scroll-driven map that reveals layers. Students learn spatial analysis + Collierville case study.

Open lesson →↓ Worksheet

The Contamination Story

5 min·9–12

9–12.ESS3.1 · 9–12.ESS3.3 · 9–12.ESS3.4

Decade-by-decade history of Shelby County contamination. Pairs with a 20-minute class discussion on environmental justice.

Open lesson →↓ Worksheet

Watching the Water

3 min·9–12 / honors

9–12.ESS2.5 · HS-ESS2-5

Read monitoring well time-series. Identify seasonal swing, long-term trends, and the meaning of "depth-to-water."

Open lesson →↓ Worksheet

What You Can Do

3 min·9–12

9–12.ESS3.4 · 9–12.ETS1.1

Advocacy action plan. Students design a real-world aquifer protection proposal targeting a specific audience.

Open lesson →↓ Worksheet

Tools

Travel Time Calculator

Teaching Darcy's Law. Pair with a paper calculation exercise.

Pump Test Simulator

Teaching Theis (1935). Good for honors / AP Environmental Science.

Contamination Plume

Intuition-builder for advection-dispersion. Works as a 10-minute free-play.

Water Budget Game

Discussion starter: what is sustainable withdrawal?

Breach Vulnerability Check

Students pick their neighborhood. Pairs with the Breaches worksheet.

Wellfield Stress Test

Superposition of drawdown cones. Students build a wellfield and see interference effects.

How to use this in class

Flipped classroom: assign a lesson + worksheet for homework, discuss next day.
Warm-up: 3 minutes on Meet the Aquifer to start a hydrogeology unit.
Small groups: give each group a different tool; they present to class.
Community project: pair /tools/breach-check with a local contamination site research assignment.

Worksheets open in the browser — press Cmd/Ctrl+P or use the "Print / Save as PDF" button to save.

TN Science Standards Reference

All standards codes reference the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (2018).

9–12.ESS2.3 — Develop a model to illustrate how Earth's internal and surface processes operate at different temporal and spatial scales.

9–12.ESS2.5 — Plan and carry out an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.

9–12.ESS3.1 — Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources has influenced human activity.

9–12.ESS3.3 — Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.

9–12.ESS3.4 — Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

9–12.ETS1.1 — Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions.

HS-ESS2-5 — Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.

Data:TN Academic Standards for Science (2018)·CAESER·USGS·POA