Archives: Resources

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!

In today’s tutorial, I will be showing you how to shoot stars with an Android smartphone. For this to work, you will need an Android smartphone with shutter … learn more

The night sky is an awe-inspiring. With light pollution, most students never see the night sky as it really is. That’s unfortunate because the night sky is amazingly … learn more

Exhibits at the National Air and Space Museum web site are altered to match a spotlight in the real museum.

The National Air and Space Museum hosts a searchable library of digital images and video. Images include Museum events and behind-the-scenes activities, historic photos, and pictures of artifacts … learn more

Space.com brings space down to Earth to provide an amazing journey celebrating exploration, innovation and discovery. Space.com presents current photos of the cosmos and encourages students to learn … learn more

The Hubble Space Telescope (and most telescopes) only takes photos in black and white. To make those beautiful space photos like the ones here, scientists add the color … learn more

In addition to the main image site, NASA has additional areas dedicated to specific topics. For Astronomy buffs, NASA posts each day a different image or photograph of … learn more

NASA’s image library consolidates imagery spread across 60 collections into one searchable location. Students can embed content in their own sites and choose from multiple resolutions, including the … learn more

This video from Flite Fest – an annual Flite Test meetup – shows kids, of all ages, having fun and learning new things, creating and building airplanes of … learn more

This video from MESArc shows Megan and Susannah trying to tame the Toothless Dragon! This video shows that you learn from failure and the value of not accepting … learn more

This video shows the first flight of the final version of the MF-35 Thunder, designed and built by Claira, an 8th grade student. And it shows some of … learn more

Claira, an 8th grade student, came up with the idea of turning the MESArc MF-35 Lightning model aircraft design into a workable delta style wing. Her goal was … learn more

Flite Test STEM is an educational program that helps students soar. Developed by Flite Test, a company specializing in the design and production of remote-controlled (RC) aircraft, the … learn more

This is one of those “don’t do this at home” type projects.

NASA’s Student Launch is a researched-based, competitive, experiential exploration activity. It includes yearly challenges reaching a broad audience of middle and high schools, colleges and universities, and non-academic … learn more

The NAR provides educational resources and a list of nearby clubs. National Association of Rocketry is the oldest and largest sport rocketry organization in the world. Take advantage … learn more

This launcher project uses air or a lack thereof, not water or pyrotechnics, to launch the spacecraft. Uses a vacuum pump, acrylic cylinder and simple 3D printed parts. … learn more

The Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) is the world’s largest rocket contest, designed to encourage students to study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Sponsored by the Aerospace … learn more

A simple bottle rocket launcher build out of a length of PVC pipe, some glue and a disposable pen. (Nice music, too)

Few classroom topics generate as much excitement as rockets. The scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical foundations of rocketry provide exciting classroom opportunities for authentic hands-on, minds-on experimentation. The … learn more

On of the easiest ways to build a rocket uses plastic 35mm film canisters and Alka-Seltzer. We saw these being demoed at a science day and everyone enjoyed … learn more

A PROJECT FOR EVERY LESSON. Instructables is committed to helping teachers inspire, engage, and prepare students through hands-on projects to make in the classroom. Always free, and always … learn more

You will want to take a few more safety precautions, but this video shows how easy it is to build a rocket.

The Starry Night software shows what the local sky will look like at 8pm on a given evening as well as patterns of movement of the constellations.

Once in a Blue Moon … is a common way of saying not very often, but what exactly is a Blue Moon? Learn the answer and more with … learn more

EarthSky Earthcare’s topics and resources are divided between today and tonight. Its main dissemination source is the radio. Earth & Sky started out as 2-minute broadcasts on radio … learn more

Akkana Peck has compiled a wide range of astronomy resources, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Moon and Galilean Moons of Jupiter (an interactive web page) to his … learn more

Ever wonder what you might weigh on Mars or The Moon? The Exploratorium has provided a chance to find out. Fill in your weight and see what you’d … learn more

Science doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, for most of the history of our investigation of the universe we used nothing more than sticks and stones. Just … learn more

The American Meteor Society has an excellent site about meteors and includes a calendar of upcoming meteor showers–capture your students’ dreams via just the naked eye.

Here you will find a collection of multi-disciplinary, interactive exercises and activities based on the Sun and solar science, most geared to grades 4-12. Most of these have … learn more

Windows to the Universe, from the University of Michigan, just seems to grow more and more incredible each month. Astronomy is a hook to interdisciplinary resources in the … learn more

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum has a complete on-line collection of planes (and space craft) with pictures and descriptions of over 356 aircraft. For a details … learn more

How do they simulate weightlessness without escaping the gravitational pull of the Earth? To experience a free fall safely, an aircraft climbs at a steep angle, levels off, … learn more

Think you need a NASA sized budget to experience weightlessness? As you can see from this fun video, all you need is a personal airplane and the right … learn more

EAA Chapter 1093 at the Midland Barstow Airport in Michigan created this video to describe how EAA’s Young Eagle Program works.

Since 1992, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has been giving kids ages 8-17 the opportunity to fly in a small airplane at no cost to them, introducing them … learn more

No, UEET is not some strange South American bird. It’s NASA’s Ultra Efficient Engine Technology. These Kid’s Pages were developed by NASA during the Centennial of Flight Celebration … learn more

For everyone who’s dreamed of flying like a bird, here’s what it would look like. Taken in the French Alps around Chamonix.

Students can make a mini helicopter using just paper and paper clips. This activity from the Exploratorium includes a template you an print out, full directions, “what’s going … learn more

Molecular Flipbook is a free and open source platform for the scientific & education community. Molecular Flipbook features a much more accessible and simple user experience than most … learn more

What can you do with some cardboard and misc. parts, plus your cell phone? How about a functional 3D viewer. Here’s how it works.

Molecular biologist (and TED Fellow) Janet Iwasa introduces a new open-source 3D animation software — Molecular Flipbook — designed to bring scientific hypotheses to life. Includes interesting incites … learn more

From the IMAX movie Cosmic Voyage. It puts big and small into perspective and takes you on a voyage through the universe! Narrated by Morgan Freeman. A modern … learn more