Natural Sciences & Mathematics
(500s - Includes Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, Dinosaurs, Biology, Plants & Animals)
General Topics
American Museum of Natural History - What is genetics, astronomy, marine biology, paleotology and archeology.
This site is a large collection of science links to the subjects of: biology, chemistry, earth science, paleontology, physics, science fair projects, space and astronomy, weather, and other science topics. Use this site as a gateway to many other sites.
Math (510s)
Great site for creating all kinds of graphs for homework or projects.
Do you need practice in math? If so, then visit this interactive Web site for more than 86 levels of problems in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, algebra, geometry, and more. Geared for children ages 5 to 12, Math Drill allows kids to practice math at home, and their parents can use the site to track their children's progress. Plus, teachers can grade students' answers and generate homework from the site. Visitors may use the site without registering, however, registration is required in order to track a student's work.
From MathWorld, tons of categories on puzzles, cryptograms, illusions and explanations.
Puzzles, optical illusions and more at this interactive math site. Archimedes' Laboratory promotes the puzzle as an educational aid useful for training, integration and communication.
A FUN site with lots to see and do related to Math (and other subjects!)
Lots of math & science games at this site.
Calendars and Time
Check out these cool calendar sites!
Everyday is a holiday at this site. See what holidays are celebrated around the world for any day in the year. You can view holidays by religion, date, or country.
Did you know that February once had 23 days or that the Islamic Calendar is based on the moon? This site looks at calendars through history and looks at the origins of the seven day week.
Get the time exactly right at this site from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Be sure to check out the Time Exhibits for online exhibits exploring daylight savings time, a look at how clocks works, the history of timekeeping and calendars and lots more!
Astronomy & Space (520s)
A great kids site for sky maps, constellations and planet information. Much more - check it out!
This is an amazing site rather like Google earth but further up! Check it out.
A great site to look at the equinoxes, myths about the planets and more space information.
A daily update on what is showing in the night sky. Very cool!
This web site has articles, student features and multimedia links for space related topics.
Awesome pictures of earth from space - a great site!
See what is out at the outer edges of the Universe as seen though the lens of the Hubble Telescope. This site from NASA is full of images and includes news about Hubble, multimedia examinations of the science behind Hubble and what it sees out in the Universe, and games and activities.
Travel out into the solar system and go sight seeing at this NASA site. You can view the planets and moons in the solar system from above or below any celestial body in the solar system for any date in this or any past or future year!
Constellations
For classroom or personal use on these fall clear nights - here are some great links from Surfnetkids on Constellations:
A group of stars that forms a picture is commonly called a constellation. Astronomers, however, call these star pictures asterisms, and have a slightly different definition of a constellation. Scientists divide the sky into eighty-eight official constellations, so that every point in the sky is contained within only one. As you peruse today's crop of sites, keep both these definitions in mind, because some sites use the astronomer's definition, and others do not.
Astro Viewer: Interactive Night Sky Map This interactive night sky map is so easy to use, it barely needs any explanation. To begin, click Start and enter your location. By default, the constellation outlines and names will display for today's date. Some details display by hovering your mouse over the labels, others require a mouse click. Additional options, such as displaying Latin constellation names, or dwarf planets, are available on the More button.
The Constellations Richard Dibon-Smith, an astronomy fan since childhood, built The Constellations based on his popular self-published constellation guides. It is an outstanding resource for students writing reports, as well as budding stargazers. Each of the eighty-eight constellations is listed along with their Greek myth (if they have one), unique stats and unusual features such as any deep sky objects that may be part of the constellation. Each constellation also has a star chart. To view it from the constellation detail page, click one more time on the name of the constellation.
Fairfax County Public Schools: Planetarium: Constellations The students and teachers of Fairfax, Virginia public schools worked together to create a really nice planetarium site for elementary students. This section displays eighteen constellations, showing where the stars are in each illustration. Best click is the interactive quiz. "Can you identify this constellation? Moving the cursor over the image will add a stick figure of this constellation."
Google Sky Google Sky is an interactive, searchable map of the night time sky. Click on the Constellations button (look for it along the bottom of your browser window) to superimpose any of the zodiac constellations on the sky map. As you mouse along the map, notice the numbers changing in the lower left corner? This is your current location in the sky, measured in right ascension and declination, a celestial coordinate system used by astronomers.
Hawaiian Astronomical Society: Constellations This section of the Deepsky Atlas from the Hawaiian Astronomical Society lists the eighty-eight constellations alphabetically. The detail pages include related myths, a variety of maps, and star photos. I was fascinated by the interactive maps. Click on the thumbnail to display a full-size clickable, interactive star map. "The first map is a wide area view of the constellation, suitable for naked eye browsing. The next views are binocular width, showing stars to magnitude 10, and labeling deepsky objects to magnitude 12."
Electricity
Chemistry (540s)
This interactive web site presents the Periodic Table. As you mouse over an element in the table pertinent information on that element such as the name, atomic weight and melting/boiling points are displayed. Each element has a link to a haiku which could be a fun way to remember facts about the elements.
Earth Science/Weather (550s)
Geology
Dan Reidy, a teacher at Moultonborough Central School and a Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical Fellow, spent his 2003-2004 sabbatical creating this site about the granite (and other geologic formations) in the Granite State.
Have a geology question? Check out this site at this site for students and teachers from the USGS. You can ask a geologist your question; learn about careers in science; or learn more about rocks, natural hazards, water, ecosystems, and natural resources. You'll also find games, maps, images, and science glossaries and teachers will find lesson plans activities and other learning tools and resources. NH Real-time geological date - click here.
This multimedia site from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History looks at the solar system, gems and minerals, plate tectonics and volcanoes, and rocks and mining.
This site provides information on all the foundations of earth science. Topics include astronomy, ecology, geology, and meteorology and each of these has many subtopics to research on the site.
Hurricanes, ozone, sunlight and many other topics related to the atmosphere.
Weather
Build your own local weather forecast with this interactive game for kids.
Learn about hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, and earthquakes at this site from National Geographic and read case studies of events around the world. You can even create your own hurricane or tornado.
Learn more about weather at this site from Scholastic. You can learn the secrets of weather reporting, control the weather with the interactive Weather Maker activity, explore the power of hurricanes, learn about winter storms, or investigate tornados.
Learn about hurricanes, tornadoes, clouds, rain, wind, and more at this site from meteorologist Crystal Wicker. You'll also find weather jokes, games, and quizzes as well as weather folklore, photos, and careers in weather.
Lightning
(This section from Surfnet for Kids.) Although it has been studied since the eighteenth century, the mystery of what causes lightning has not been completely unlocked. Beautiful to behold, but occasionally deadly, lightning is a force of nature that must always be taken seriously. Learn more about the science of lightning and lightning safety at the following sites.
"When you first see lightning or hear thunder, activate your emergency plan. Now is the time to go to a building or a vehicle. IF OUTDOORS ... Avoid water, high ground & open spaces & all metal objects including electric wires." Lightning is just one of the geo-hazards addressed in this safety site for kids. Be sure to practice the lightning crouch, it is the safest way to "hide" if you are stuck outside and can not find shelter. In addition to the multimedia site, you can download the hazard preparedness book in PDF.
National Geographic shares "electrifying stories" and "shocking facts" about lightning in this site for elementary and middle-school students. The site is divided into science (Flash Landing), survivor stories (I was Struck By Lightning), and a small photo gallery. Additionally, there is an interactive quiz (linked from the table of contents page), a printable word game, and a static electricity experiment. The latter two can be found on the More to Explore link.
This kids page from the National Weather Service is a collection of lightning games, most of them printable. Highlights are a printable crossword puzzle, two printable word search puzzles, and two printable coloring books. But my favorite click is Owlie Skywant's Lightning Ahead, a seven-page activity book which includes quizzes, fill-in-the-blank worksheets, coloring pages, and advice on what to do during a lightning storm.
For high-school students, this physics lesson from Glenbrook High School explains the causes of lightning strikes and how lightning rods work to protect buildings. "The precursor of any lightning strike is the polarization of positive and negative charges within a storm cloud. The tops of the storm clouds are known to acquire an excess of positive charge and the bottom of the storm clouds acquire an excess of negative charge."
KIDSTORM illustrates step-by-step how lightning is formed in a storm cloud, what thunder is, and introduces the rarely seen lightning called red sprites and blue jets. The article concludes with lightning safety advice, and a link list of related sites. "So how do you stay safe? Experts recommend the 30/30 Rule. As soon as you see lightning, count the seconds until you hear thunder. If the number is 30 seconds or less, seek shelter. Stay under cover until 30 minutes after the last audible thunder or visible lightning flash."
Tsunamis: On December 25, 2004, a powerful 9-magnitude earthquake struck beneath the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra. It was followed by a series of smaller quakes. The resulting tsunami caused massive damage across eleven countries in southern and Southeast Asia. Check the following sites for current news, and to learn more about the science of tsunamis.
This special report from CNN.com has the latest news about the disaster and the rescue effort. It also has an excellent selection of educational features. There is a sidebar feature explaining earthquake magnitudes, an animation showing how a tsunami forms, and a chronology of previous tsunamis, going back to 1755. For a more personal take on the tragedy, read the eyewitness accounts.
FEMA presents a colorful introduction to tsunami science and safety for elementary-age kids. "A tsunami (pronounced soo-nahm-ee) is a series of huge waves that happen after an undersea disturbance, such as an earthquake or volcano eruption. Tsunami is from the Japanese word for harbor wave. The waves travel in all directions from the area of disturbance, much like the ripples that happen after throwing a rock. The waves may travel in the open sea as fast as 450 miles per hour."
From the National Geographic news desk, this one page article about the recent disaster explores tsunami causes and important warning signs. "Many people were killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami because they went down to the beach to view a retreating ocean exposing the sea floor. Apparently they were unaware that this phenomenon precedes a killer wave. Experts believe that a receding ocean may give people as much as five minutes' warning to evacuate the area."
Hurricanes
Here are some sites that explore hurricanes and severe weather.
This multimedia learning package from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research is aimed primarily at middle school students. It integrates disaster safety and preparedness with science instruction. Students work through a seven day simulation and prepare as a hurricane approaches. You might also want to try the Aim a Hurricane game and see how many different places you can make a hurricane hit by changing a few conditions.
Learn about hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, and earthquakes at this site from National Geographic and read case studies of events around the world. You can even create your own hurricane or tornado.
You can find out about current storm watches and warnings at this site from the National Weather Service.
Learn more about hurricanes at this site for kids from FEMA. You can take a hurricane quiz, learn about hurricane classification, and even play a hurricane game.
Learn about hurricanes at this site from National Geographic. Learn how planes are used to get hurricane data, view a video of hurricane damage, and get some hurricane survival tips.
See what is is like inside a hurricane at this site from the Miami Museum of Science.
Volcanos
Learn more about volcanoes around the world with detailed maps and data tracking as far back 10,000 years ago. You can also get the latest eruption news at this site from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Everything you need to know about volcanoes can be found here! You can track current eruptions, find out what happened today in Volcano History, locate volcanoes around the world and lots more. The site has special sections for teachers and students.
Learn about volcanic gas, lahars, landslides, lava flows, pyroclastic flows, and tephra at this site from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Snow
"Is it ever too cold to snow? How big can snowflakes get? Why is snow white?" Everything you ever wanted to know about snow (but didn't know who to ask) is answered here by the National Snow and Ice Data Center, affiliated with the University of Colorado. This educational site also includes a Snow Glossary (from "ablation" to "vapor pressure"), a Snow Fact Sheet and a feature on the history of snow removal. The first known snow plow was pulled by horses through the "snow-clogged streets" of Milwaukee in 1862.
"This site is all about snow crystals and snowflakes -- what they are, where they come from, and just how these remarkably complex and beautiful structures are created, quite literally, out of thin air." Best place to start on this Caltech site is the Snowflake Primer, where you'll learn the answer to questions such as "Is it really true that no two snow crystals are alike?" and "Why do snow crystals form in such complex symmetrical shapes?"
"A falling snowflake may take up to two hours to reach the ground, and even the heaviest snowflake falls at only one mile per hour." Educator Jill Britton divides her elementary and middle-school snow site into seven sections including Snow Science, Snow Activities, Snow Art (cutting six-sided snowflakes), Snow Literature (such as the traditional fairy tale The Snow Queen), and Snow Food. And to make all easy to use offline, the entire site is also available as a PDF download.
Wow! Don't miss this virtual snowflake designer. Start by perusing the gallery of saved snowflakes, and then try your hand at making your own. The trick is to click (not drag) your scissors from point to point. You'll know your scissors are snipping when the indicator changes from red to green. When your masterpiece is complete, you can download it, print it, email it to a friend, or go back to the gallery and look for it there.
Paper Snowflakes offers paper fold-and-cut snowflake templates for dozens of craft, science, and math activities. The simplest ones are perfect for preschoolers, the more advanced ones are good for all ages. In addition to the snowflake patterns, highlights include Historical Snowflake Studies (a history of snowflake exploration), a Brief Science Guide to Snow Crystals and Snowflakes, and links to a dozen external interactive snowflake makers.
Everything you ever wanted to know about snow crystals and Snowflake Bentley of Jericho, VT. Check out the Resources page, as well. Beautiful photos of snowflakes!
OceansDive into these ocean sites!
Learn more about the ocean and the role NOAA plays in ocean conservation and exploration. Be sure to visit the education section for lesson plans and tutorials on ocean life.
This site has ocean news, education, conservation, and entertainment resources including: photos and streaming video and important biological information for over 100 marine species from each of the Marine Sanctuaries in the United States.
Learn about ocean life, ocean and climate, icebergs, coral reefs, and lots more at this site from Jason Education Project at Texas A&M University! You'll also find an online textbook, Introduction to Physical Oceanography ; an oceanography glossary; an ocean atlas; and links to other sites.
Learn more about all types of animals at this site from Sea World. You'll find animal facts, animal info books, animal sounds, and even an aquatic safari to a coral reef.
This site looks at the wide-variety of life found in coral reefs and virtual dives, a fish encyclopedia, and a collection of over 1500 photos.
A site with tons of ocean information, like pollution, tides, salmon, seaweed and ocean-related careers.
From the US Geological Survey a great picture and information on the water cycle.
Search this amazing site for information on over 28, 900 species of fish! You can search by name, ecosystem, family, country or island, or topic.
Visit a kelp forest, get close to a sea otter, explore the deep sea and more at this site. You can view live web cams of a number of exhibits; find great activities, games, and music; or view video of lots of marine life!
Love lobster? Learn more about them and other marine life at this site. You'll find sections on turtles, Atlantic herring, and marine mammals. You'll also find information in global climate change, using satellites to monitor ocean health, and more.
This site from the Office of Naval Research features information about ocean life, habitats, and regions.
This site profiles marine life and conservation. You'll find profiles of hundreds of marine species, articles exploring the ocean environment, and articles about conservation.
Biology/Life Sciences (570s)
Biology is the science of living organisms. It is taught at many grade levels, and this week's selections include sites for AP Biology high-school students, elementary grades, college kids and adults. (from Surfnetkids site)
"It's not just biology for kids, it's for everyone." Thanks to the excellent design, this outstanding site from the Andrew Rader Studios is informative, easy to read and simple to navigate. Topics include cells, microorganisms, plants, invertebrates, animal systems and more. Each section concludes with a self-scoring multiple-choice quiz. Overall the site has thirty quizzes, a dozen videos, and a handful of annotated slide shows, all of which can be found on the Activities page. The Site Map is the best place to start to get an overview of the site.
Biology teacher and online game developer Dr. Leif Saul makes learning high school biology fun with his interactive mini-lectures, activities, animations and cartoons. He originally developed these for use in his own classroom, and found them effective in both capturing studentsâ€(TM) attention and illustrating difficult concepts. When browsing through the site, be sure to note the icons that indicate whether the activity is a mouse rollover, a drag-and-drop, an animation or a simulation.
Learn more about microbiology and what microbiologists do at this site from the American Society for Microbiology. You can even listen to a MicroWorld radio broadcast!
Enter a futuristic world and help solve medical mysteries in infectious diseases at this site for students from Rice University.
Explore the hidden world of microbes at this site from the Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University
You'll find lots of cell animations and movies at this site. The best clicks for high-school students (and adults) are found on the left-hand menu starting with Plant Cells, Animal Cells and Mitosis. Each chapter includes a dozen sub-topics (such as nucleus and cell membrane) that are covered with their own illustrated page. Additional highlights of the site are the amazing photographs found in Cell Cams, Cell Gallery and on free e-postcards to send to friends from your biology class. Think you know your stuff? Try the three tough quizzes on Cell Structure, Microbes and The Immune System.
This is exactly what it says it is and is an excellent online textbook covering all major topics of high school biology.
This site is sponsored by the Office of Science in the US Department of Energy. It is a vast site on a complicated subject, and includes links to ethical and legal issues and thirteen pages of links to educational sties for teachers.
Dinosaurs
You can locate dinosaurs by name, species, or date they were discovered at this site from the University of Bristol.
This site from Don Lessem features dinosaur information, videos, activities, a dinosaur dictionary, and loads more.
Learn how dinosaurs lived and died at this site from the BBC. You can play games, get the latest dinosaur news, and lots more.
Life Sciences/Biology (570s)
Lots here on the rainforest biome - the plants, animals and ecology of this important area of the world and what you can do to help save it!
Great information on the biomes (forests, deserts, grasslands, etc.)
Plants (580s)
Tons of links here for learning about all kinds of plant life.
Another great plant site.
Animals (590s)
The Smithsonian's searchable database of all living mammals of North America.
A great site with animal information, games, teacher info and more.
Profiles of over 200 North American animals. From NH Public TV. Great site!
From SeaWorld/Busch Gardens - Each byte is a one-page fact sheet specifically designed to help you quickly find information about some of the interesting creatures found in the animal kingdom. Most species files include coverage regarding scientific classification, basic physical traits, fun facts, and conservation/ecological value.
Wildlife Journal, Junior is designed for the 4-8 classroom. Using segments from the award-winning series Wildlife Journal, produced by New Hampshire Public Television and New Hampshire Fish and Game, Wildlife Journal, Junior explores the natural world and New Hampshire wildlife.
From Univ. of Michigan Museum of Zoology - has information on hundreds of animals.
Love whales? Check out this site for lots of whale information!
Bears, "Oh, My!"
Adult grizzly bears (also known as brown bears) measure from six to eight feet long, and weigh 350 to 500 pounds. There are approximately 1,200 grizzlies in the continental states (where they are endangered), about 25,000 in Canada, and roughly 31,700 in Alaska.
Even though the original air date for this Animal Planet television special has passed, there is lots to explore at the companion website. My favorite clicks are the Tour a Grizzly ("get a close-up look at how this titan is put together") and Grizzly Chronology ("Around 1.3 million years ago, the brown bear, Ursus arctos, appeared in China.") Wrap up your visit by taking the twelve-question Grizzly Safety Quiz.
This single-page Grizzly Bear fact sheet from Defenders of Wildlife is a great place for homework help. It answers all the questions (size, habitat, range, population, food, and so on) usually required for an animal report. For more Kids' Planet endangered animal fact sheets , follow the "Especies" (which I suppose is a concatenation of "endangered species") link. The main Defenders of Wildlife site is also worth a visit. Click "Read More About Grizzly Bears" to reach it.
Fun facts, well-written articles, and a loud grizzly roar that will send your pets scurrying are just three of the reasons why you don't want to miss this Creature Feature site. I learned that a female grizzly goes into winter hibernation pregnant, and doesn't even wake-up when her cub is born! "By the time the adult grizzly wakes up in the spring, her baby is strong enough to follow her out of the den." Isn't that amazing? Other featured creatures include hedgehogs, African lions and emperor penguins.
MORE ANIMAL SITES and WEB CAMS
Go on a virtual safari and learn more about animals found around the globe.
Wildlife Journal Junior
This site for students from NHPTV features profiles of over 300 North American species with a focus on animals found in NEw Hamsphire.
This site from the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology includes profiles of hundreds of animals.
This new project has plans to create an online reference source and database for every one of the 1.8 million species that are named and known on this planet. They currently have 25 full pages completed with another 10,000 started. Way cool!
Try out a few of these sites with animals cams:
Reptiles and Amphibians
Bugs, Butterflies and Moths
Track the migration of a number of different animals, including the monarch butterfly, with schools across the country at this site from Annenberg/CPB.
This web site from the University of Kansas looks at the migration of the monarch butterfly and has lots of resources for students and teachers.
This site for kids has butterfly handouts, a butterfly dictionary and lots more.
This site has hundreds of profiles of butterflies and moths.
Check out this site from the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center . It has detailed reports and images of butterflies found in North America. You can also find state lists of butterflies! When you are done with butterflies fly on over to the Moths of North America site!
From PBS & NOVA a great site all about bees!
"Shameless promotion of insect appreciation." Lots of insect information!
Fact sheets on the care and handling of insect pets - click on "Bug Pets."
Wonderful photography of insects!
Dinosaurs