Archives: Resources

FactMonster provides a good, “easy read” overview of Computers and the Internet.

Information on the topic of polymers (like “Why does shrink wrap plastic shrink?”) can be found at the Polymer Science Learning Center site.

ChemTeam, a site created for high school students, includes tutorials and worksheets (e.g., atomic structure) and, almost best of all, humor and history.

The article in EDUTOPIA describes choreographical designs for understanding concepts in chemistry like valence.

The Science History Institute has created role-playing games designed to enhance the classroom experience for high school chemistry students and teachers. The games can also be implemented in … learn more

The Science History Institute has a great resource site with everything from artifacts, photographs, advertisements, letters, rare books, oral histories, and more. Check out the section on Alchemy.

What Stuff offers the chemical composition of lipstick, tanning potions,cheese whiz, baseballs, chocolate–all intended to motivate students.

The Molecularium Project has created a number of ground breaking projects to encourage exploration and understanding of the molecular nature of the world around them. NanoSpace is a … learn more

The American Chemical Society provides a wide range of resources for educators and students, including Adventures in Chemistry for younger students, and a club, magazine & Olympiad for … learn more

The challenge is to design a distinctive, carefully considered smell or fragrance.

Like most high school chemistry teachers, you have probably inherited someone else’s laboratory and prep room – and be promptly overwhelmed. What does that label say? Should I … learn more

An index of lesson plans, including many for younger students. Topics include: The Atoms Family (see the video on this page), the Christmas Cookie Mystery, Element Trading Cards, … learn more

The Atoms Family is a song about atoms based on the Adams Family theme song. It’s a fun way to focus younger student’s interest. You can find different … learn more

An interactive guide to all 118 elements – and designed to work on all sizes of screens from desktops to phones. Swipe and tap your way across the … learn more

Throughout the history of science, many major discoveries came accidentally. Sometimes they came from recognizing potential in an unexpected product or waste. Other times, discovery came out of … learn more

Cooking is a true experience in chemistry. One of the many resources from the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Shodor showcases forensic science, certainly a popular draw on television today.

The Catalyst is an online journal for high school chemistry teachers.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri shares the joy of science through home science activities, public presentations, scholarship, and other programs of the Wisconsin Initiative for … learn more

This resource looks at what are crystals and how do they form? A crystal is a solid material with atoms and molecules that are arranged in a consistent … learn more

In this lab activity from NASA, students will become materials scientists for a day. Designing a satellite or a rover means understanding the properties of metals under conditions … learn more

Using a family’s genetic test for Huntington’s disease as a springboard, this post from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, looks at the choices … learn more

Evolution is essential to our curriculum and to scientific literacy. To understand the big picture of biology, students need to understand life in terms of both its history … learn more

For a deeper understanding and manipulation of mutations Look at the Molecular Workbench, developed at the Concord Consortium.

The National Institutes of Health has created a primer on stem cells. Topics include the biological properties of stem cells, the important questions about stem cells that are … learn more

This site tracks and consolidates the latest news and advances. Includes special sections for students and educators. With the human genome sequence completed, scientists around the world have … learn more

Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health. The Publications … learn more

The DNA Learning Center provides educator workshops, student research partnerships, and an index of educational, media-rich web sites.

The Genetic Science Learning Center is a wonderful site for anything genetic and includes topics like “How to extract DNA from anything living” (using detergent, meat tenderizer, and … learn more

Years before they conquered the Internet, cats colonized our sofas. This video summarizes the same study featured in How Cats Conquered the World. The researchers analyzed DNA from … learn more

This website, produced by scientists at the Wellcome Genome Campus near Cambridge in the UK, contains videos and activities describing genetics and genomics. Suitable for older students, this … learn more

Smithsonian Magazine looks at how scientists used 9,000 years of feline genetics to chart their global rise to power. Researchers have used genetics to create the most extensive … learn more

This animation, part of the YourGenome site, shows the many steps and enzymes needed to make a copy of DNA in a cell. It shows how both strands … learn more

Scientific American has this well written recipe for extracting DNA from a strawberry using things you’d find in just about any kitchen. The post includes step-by-step instructions and … learn more

Celebrate Darwin’s birthday by adapting resources at Darwin Day. The site emphasizes verifiable scientific knowledge.

“Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project” is a cross-disciplinary international initiative in which people collaborate to study behavior and distribution of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). Although K-12 teachers … learn more

The Puffin Colony illustrates the revitalization of endangered environments.

When it comes to making noise, both parrots and humans rely on extremely specialized vibrating organs in their throats. Now scientists at Indiana University and Leiden University in … learn more

Gav and Dan, the Slow Mo Guys, go to a bird sanctuary to film birds big and small in slow motion. See how an eagle blinks or a … learn more

Dinosaurs have been getting slowly more birdlike for decades—perhaps not in mainstream depictions, but at least in the minds of paleontologists. This resource looks at the evidence. Since … learn more

At least one entire class of dinosaurs seems to have had feathers — including velociraptors, and maybe even T. rex. Find out how we know, and how we … learn more

Humans have invented a variety of instruments to monitor the health of ecosystems. However, in some cases we can examine change in the habitat without instruments by studying … learn more

Centre of the Cell is a science education center hosted by Queen Mary University of London. It is the first science education center in the world to be … learn more

The University of Arizona has also developed a site that illustrates evolution thoroughly and engagingly, Becoming Human. Becoming Human–the title of this site pretty much tells the story! … learn more

Biology in Motion,developed by an inspiring teacher, uses the Web’s animation capacities to illustrate such phenomenon as evolution, the cardiovascular system, and cell division. There are also free … learn more

The Virtual Cell is not so dazzling as Cells Alive; the content, though, is extensive and interactive.

Students can compare the form and functions of various marine, mammalian brains at Manatee. Quite interesting.

BrainPOP is a commercial site but an especially engaging one–movies, experiments, etc. about blood, cells, hair. It is suitable for ages 6-14 but it does include sensitive topics … learn more

A huge collection of cross-sectional slides of the brain (more than 100 species) has been cataloged at the Brain Museum, co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin, Michigan State, … learn more

The snooze button – one of life’s luxuries. But is it really helping you out, or making you more tired? A entertaining look at the biology of sleep. … learn more

In this TED Ed video, Alexandra Horowitz illustrates how the dog’s nose can smell the past, the future and even things that can’t be seen at all. You … learn more

The neuroscience project at Washington University has developed a special study of the olfactory system. The site is graphically appealing and utilizes some new technology tools such as … learn more

What makes yawning so contagious? To get more oxygen? To cool the brain down?!?! Why are yawns contagious? Why do some groups yawn less? The Yawn-O-Meter video — … learn more

Neuroscience For Kids is so successful that several other sites link to it as the primary source on this topic. Explanations for the aroma of flowers and the … learn more

The post looks at the impact of invasive plant species and illustrates the adaptation of non-native vegetation in different ecological environments.

Fast Plants was developed as research tool at the University of Wisconsin and has been used by K-12 teachers around the world for nearly 30 years as an … learn more

The images and drawings make Botany interesting to a wide range of students. This site provides in-depth resources and compendium of botanical art past and present for anyone … learn more

Plants communicate among themselves. This video shows the how and why. You’ll never look at a lawnmower the same way again.

The Great Plant Escape, appropriate for very young children, is similar to LifeLab’s content. Presented as mysteries, a half-dozen experiments, like “Is it dust, dirt, dandruff or a … learn more

Life Lab cultivates children’s love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based education. LifeLab describes how a school can turn a patch of its open space into … learn more

The premiere software for learning anatomy — any age — is A.D.A.M. Definitely, worth this special recommendation.

At the PBS-WGBH site a viewer may actually place his finger on the pulse and observe the consequences of the heart’s actions.

This video looks at topics like the importance of eyesight in different species, nearsightedness and farsightedness, how your eyes change as you get older, and reasons for the … learn more

In a different vein, so to speak, Human Anatomy Online displays human anatomy thru drawings, animations and descriptions of the major systems of the human body. Using the … learn more

Have you ever wondered how you can eat the things that you eat or how you can breathe or move your arms? If you think about it, it’s … learn more

The Visible Human Project was an outgrowth of the NLM’s 1986 Long-Range Plan. The project created complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of the normal male and female human … learn more

A simple explanation of how your eyes “see”, what the brain does with that information, and how your eyes/brain can play tricks.

BioInteractive, from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, provides high quality multimedia resources, including apps, animations, videos, interactives, and virtual labs, to bring the excitement of scientific discovery into … learn more

Not for the faint of heart. This National Geographic video explores everything from how rats can hold their breath for up to 3 minutes to how they squeeze … learn more

Have you or your students ever wondered what it might be like to work in a zoo or aquarium? The Association of Zoos & Aquariums has an answer… … learn more

This curated list from the American Farm Bureau features free resources for different age groups (K-12) and broken out by topic areas like animals, economy, environment and technology. … learn more

Witness the eerily beautiful growth of larvae into bees in this mesmerizing time-lapse video from photographer Anand Varma. Varma said the six-month project, for which he built a … learn more

Mandy Shaw likes bees and is an avid swarm catcher. Join her journey as a beekeeper, rescuing and relocating honey bees and bumble bees. The video looks at … learn more

Here’s what your life would be like if you were a dog. For starters, you would eat twice as much, sleep twice as much, and have 5x better … learn more

The International Science Teaching Foundation is a non-profit organization headquartered in London, United Kingdom. We are a global entity committed to the improvement of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, … learn more

Free Astronomy Network for Kids. A lot of astronomy people like to think of the Solar System been made up in two parts. We have the Inner Solar … learn more

A resource to help scientists and educators conduct learning experiences and communicate about astrobiology.   Resources   A collection of fun and interesting astrobiology-related resources.

In this SciShow video, Hank answers a viewer’s most pressing question about what happens if the human body gets exposed to space. Would your head really explode? (Sorry, … learn more

The Exploratorium in San Francisco is offering astrobiology, the understanding of extreme forms of life on our planet and, more importantly, other planets and space bodies. Visit laboratories … learn more

Train Like an Astronaut Space Camp has been helping inspire the next generation of explorers for more than 32 years. This internationally known program with more than 700,000 … learn more

“All About That Space” is a fun music video created by interns at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. It was created as a parody of Meghan Trainor’s “All About … learn more

This project has students creating their own version of Juno, the Jupiter orbiter, and using it to detect magnetic field variations in “Jupiter”. A good hands-on project for … learn more

Space News is an up-to-the-minute resource with classroom lessons, videos and images. To understand scale in our solar system look at vimeo.com/139407849.

Gaze at the sun during the day or at night on Sungazer. Astro Photography

Whyville is a virtual world where children ages 8 to 15 play, explore, create and learn together. From solving math puzzles to protecting coral reefs, from programming robots … learn more

Along comes a virtual telescope at Skyview. The interface can be amateur or professional to view the long radiowaves and high energy traces. This virtual capability is especially … learn more

The Lake Afton Public Observatory’s star charts (Kansas) could be compared and contrasted with those at JPL (California) — different views from different states. While much of the … learn more

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory is most appropriate for very sophisticated students. Daily updates from this observatory will allow them to investigate phenomena alongside scientists.

Now, if you would prefer a view from the north pole of our Sun for which you can set the controls for time and date and orbit of … learn more

The resources at the Mt. Wilson Observatory facilitate student learning of the constellations. As students (grades 4-12) progress thru a quizgame at the Mt. Wilson site, additional explanations … learn more

Stellarium is a free, open source planetarium program for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars … learn more

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is responsible for many hundreds of different programs and functions, from the International Space Station to building better airplanes – and … learn more

StarChild is another resource aimed at young children with activities emphasizing space and astronomy. The site includes lesson plans which show you some of the ways you can … learn more

NASA offers a wide variety of topics to explore and excite older students. An example is microgravity, the appearance of floating in space. Gravity is a force that … learn more

NASA has indexed hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword. These lesson plans and teaching materials can be used to support your STEM curriculum. Spark … learn more

These downloadable, high-resolution images of Earth’s city lights were created with data from satellites originally designed to view clouds by moonlight. It turned out they could also map … learn more

NASA Kids Club is targeted towards kids in lower elementary school, while almost all other sites aim at older children. The cartoon-like format evokes question-asking, such as when … learn more

here are jobs and there are careers. But at NASA, our work is more than just a profession—it’s a lifelong pursuit, a passion—and a chance to change the … learn more

Classifying Galaxies demonstrates how scientists classify galaxies for identification and function. It comes complete with a lesson plan!