Library Resources

Science Web sites

Please note: If you find a broken link, please let us know.

General Science

Beakman's Electric Motor
Provides simple illustrated directions for showing kids in grades 4-8 how to make an electric motor from ordinary household items.
http://fly.hiwaay.net:80/~palmer/motor.html

Beyond Discovery: The Path from Research to Human Benefit
The National Academy of Sciences has created a directory of articles that trace the path between discovery and the scientific process to the actual application developed to benefit the people. Learners can find out about Hepatitis B, Global Positioning Systems, Sounding Out the Oceans' Secrets and more.
www.beyonddiscovery.org

Bill Nye the Science Guy
Includes a Demo a Day, highlights from the day's television episode and a chance to e-mail your own query.
www.nyelabs.com

U.S. City & Town Reference
A collection of information on U.S. cities and towns. The site includes almanac-like reference data, housing statistics, local weather reports, links to the official city government sites and maps for about 3500 cities. The site also includes an original summary article on about 50 major cities.
www.citytowninfo.com

The Exploratorium, San Francisco
www.exploratorium.edu

Farmer's Almanac
Learn about the winter sky the old-fashioned way from the Farmer's Almanac.
www.almanac.com

FEMA for Kids
Young students can explore this colorful Web site from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to learn a lot about all sorts of disasters and what is done by the government to assist when they happen.
www.fema.gov/kids/

Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia
http://sln.fi.edu

Galileo Project
Learn here about Galileo. Rice University offers treatments of his life, work, and important aspects of the worked in which he lived.
http://es.rice.edu:80/ES/humsoc/Galileo

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Conn.
www.mysticseaport.org

National Science Teachers Association
www.nsta.org

National Wildlife Foundation
The Kids Page features articles in English and Spanish from Ranger Rick; a homework help section; briefings on issues such as wetlands, endangered animals, water quality and more.
www.nwf.org/kids/

Science Learning Network
www.sln.org

Women in Science
www.fi.edu/qa98/me3/

The Why Files
http://whyfiles.org

Archaeology

Catalhoyuk
www.catalhoyuk.com

Biology

Access Excellence Activities Exchange
An archive containing over 120 favorite classroom activities by high school biology and life sciences teachers participating in the program.
www.accessexcellence.org/AE/

Cell Biology Problems Sets & Tutorials
Learn the basics of the fundamental unit of life, from the University of Arizona.
www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/cell_bio.html

Cross Sections of the Heart
www.vesalius.com/graphics/archive/archtn.asp?VID=361&nrVID=198

Heart Preview Gallery
Created by the Franklin Institute Science Museum with an online interactive tour showing how the heart works. Activities suitable for grades 4-8.
www.fi.edu/learn/heart/

NetFrog
http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/

Science, Tobacco, and You
Designed for fourth and fifth grade students and teachers, this site contains a multi-disciplinary unit combining media literacy (adsmarts) with science and psychology. Available in English and Spanish.
http://scienceu.fsu.edu/

Virtual Frog Dissection Kit
A site where no amphibians are sacrificed for science with instructions in many languages.
www-itg.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/dissect/info.html

Chemistry

Poly-Links
www.polymers.com

Understanding Our Planet Through Chemistry
Dig through this rich environment of information to appreciate the methods, discoveries, and importance of studying the Earth through chemistry.
http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/gips/

Environment

Drinking Water
From the Environmental Protection Agency. Definitive information on what contaminates waters, how water is treated to improve is quality, and adverse health effects from lead, living organisms, and other threats.
www.epa.gov/safewater/

Energy Quest
Provides a sizeable collection of activities, organized by difficulty levels, for teaching about energy in grades K-12. From the California Energy Commission.
www.energyquest.ca.gov

Garbage: Global Efforts
Contains an interesting interactive challenge called Shrinking a Landfill.
www.learner.org/exhibits/garbage/global.html

John Muir Day Study Guide
Contains K-12 lessons and activities about conservation and John Muir.
www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/john_muir_day_study_guide/

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
A Federal agency in the Department of Commerce whose mission is (1) to describe and predict changes in the Earth's environment and (2) to conserve and manage wisely the Nation's coastal and marine resources.
www.noaa.gov
NOAA's Year of the Ocean Homepage: www.yoto98.noaa.gov

Rainforest Action Network (RAN)
Grade level: K-12
www.ran.org

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
www.nrcs.usda.gov

Geology

Grand Canyon Geology
Explore the Grand Canyon without ever leaving home.
http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/geology/gc_geol.htm

Volcano World
http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/

Natural History

Interview with Donald Johanson
Site includes not only an interview with the anthropologist who discovered Lucy, the oldest, most complete skeleton of a species from which humans may be descended, but also video clips and pictures.
www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/joh1int-1

Museum of Paleontology, University of California at Berkeley
www.ucmp.berkeley.edu

Oceanography

Birch Aquarium-Museum, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/

Marine Species Protection
Study the measures to protect and preserve whales, seals, turtles, fish, and other marine life. Provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Protected Resources, this is a good source for pertinent laws and an overview of background and processes for preservation.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/

Physics

Aerodynamics of Bicycles
Princeton University teaches students how the bicycle moves through the air.
www.efluids.com/efluids/pages/bicycle.htm

Antimatter: Mirror of the Universe
CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) crated this Web site to explain matter, antimatter, and their place in our lives to students of all ages. Learn how antimatter is manufactured, and how it may be used. Web casts will be provided throughout the year with mini lectures on the physics of matter.
http://livefromcern.web.cern.ch/livefromcern/antimatter/

Center of Excellence for Science and Mathematics Education
Located at the University of Tennessee in Martin, this center has developed a physical science guide that contains 34 experiments and activities for teachers in grades 4-8.
www.utm.edu/departments/ed/cece/cesme/cesme.shtml

The Science of Particle Physics
Tour the science of the fundamental nature of matter, with the Fermilab as your guide. Glossaries are included to clarify the text and illustrations.
www.fnal.gov/pub/inquiring/physics/

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office
http://ed.fnal.gov/home/educators.shtml

Space Sciences

Forces of Flight
Drag, lift, weight, thrust, and other fundamentals are explained on these pages, which explain flight on an elementary level.
www.fi.edu/flights/own2/forces.html

NASA K-12 Internet Initiative
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov - a look at Columbia space shuttle mission, design, and the investigation into what went wrong.

Impact of Shoemaker-Levi 9 Lesson Plan
Contains an online unit of space and astronomy activities for middle school students.
www.smplanet.com/science/science.html

Lunar and Planetary Institute
A NASA-funded institute in Houston, Texas devoted to studying the solar system and sharing the excitement of space exploration with the public.
www.lpi.usra.edu

Lunar Prospector Mission
Keep up with preparations for NASA's first moon mission in 25 years.
http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/

Weather

NOAA's National Ocean Service
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement
Looking at the weather here involves a multi-laboratory, interagency effort to resolve scientific uncertainties about global climate change, with a specific focus on climate research, publications, and news.
www.arm.gov

Bad Meteorology
The title doesn't refer to erroneous weather forecasts or unpleasant weather. Rather it refers to all the myths that keep being perpetuated in the science world about weather.
http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/BadMeteorology.html

El Nino
Access forecasts, impacts, benefits, drawbacks and data from satellites, oceanographers, scientists, and more. In English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/nino-home.html

El Nino Homepage
www.elnino.noaa.gov

Endangered & Threatened Marine Mammals
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/esa/

Hurricane: Storm Science
From the Miami Museum of Science, this online bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibit is suitable for grades K-6.
www.miamisci.org/hurricane/

NOAA Ship on El Nino Watch
www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/measurements.html

National Climatic Data Center
www.ncdc.noaa.gov

National Geophysical Data Center
www.ngdc.noaa.gov

National Hurricane Center
www.nhc.noaa.gov

National Oceanographic Data Center
www.nodc.noaa.gov

Weather Education
www.nws.noaa.gov/om/edures.shtml

Weather Underground
www.wunderground.com

UM Weather
http://cirrus.sprl.umich.edu/wxnet