Earth and Space Science

• Earth's Changing Surface
  • Kaboom! On on beautiful clear morning, Sunday May 18, 1980, at 8:32AM, the quiet still air was shattered by an explosion 300 times the magnitude of the atom bomb dropped over Hiroshima, Japan. Mount Saint Helens in Southwestern Washington erupted, exploding hundreds of feet off its pristene snow-capped summit. What caused this destruction? Subduction! What's subduction? Well, that's what this chapter of Sci-ber Text is all about.
• Volcano World
  • Lots of information about volcanos, including an 'Ask-A-Volcanologist' page.
• Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery
  • The Mineral Gallery is a constantly growing collection of mineral descriptions, images, and specimens, together with several ways of accessing these descriptions. The descriptions include searchable mineralogical data, plus other information of interest to students and rock hounds!
• Rocks and Images
  • The Earth is made of rock, from the tallest mountains to the floor of the deepest ocean. Thousands of different types of rocks and minerals have been found on Earth. Visit the U.S. Geological Survey to learn more.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Select K-12 Resources from the left side menu to reach the resources for kids. The mission of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) encompasses research and higher education. However, the institution does, as appropriate to its mission, contribute to local, state, and national efforts for K-12 science and mathematics education.
• Agriculture
  • What do you think of when you hear the word "agriculture"? The image of crops growing in a field or a barnyard full of animals may come to mind. But even if you don't live on a farm, agriculture is all around you. As consumers, we depend on agriculture to provide food, clothes and other things we use every day. Click on the categories listed below. As you learn about crops and animals produced in Illinois and the ways in which they are used, remember that agriculture is more than farming.
• Solar Views
  • Views of the Solar System presents a vivid multimedia adventure unfolding the splendor of the Sun, planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and more. Discover the latest scientific information, or study the history of space exploration, rocketry, early astronauts, space missions, spacecraft through a vast archive of photographs, scientific facts, text, graphics and videos. Views of the Solar System offers enhanced exploration and educational enjoyment of the solar system and beyond.
• Visit the Elementary Space Page for more Space Information.
• Comets & Meteor Showers
  • A question I often get asked, either by email or when I give talks, is what is the difference between a comet and a meteor. Sometimes the question also includes an asteroid. The remainder of this page is dedicated to providing both descriptions and movies of each object in an attempt to help clarify the differences.
• Virtual Trips to Black Holes and Neutron Stars
  • Ever wonder what it would look like to travel to a black hole? A neutron star? If so, you might find this page interesting. Here you will find descriptions and MPEG movies that take you on such exciting trips. These movies are scientifically accurate computer animations made with strict adherence to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

Life Science

• Snacks about Life Science
  • Soap bubbles float on a cushion of carbon dioxide gas, We are not usually aware of our eyes' limitations. You can use a dim point of light to cast a shadow of the blood supply of your retina onto the retina itself. This will allow you to see the blood supply of your retina, and even your blind spot. Visit this site to learn more.
• Cells...
  • Cells Alive
    • This site has a lot of information on the nature of cells and microorganism-based diseases. Some areas are of a basic interest but most of the text is for a slightly higher-than-general science audience. Some of the topics are directed to everyday life such as "anatomy of a splinter" and "making antibodies".
  • Cells Biology
    • Cell Biology: studying cells, mitosis, meiosis, the cell cycle, prokaryotes, eukaryotes, & viruses.
  • Virtual Cell
    • The "Virtual Cell" will allow you to get a close-up view of several organelles in 3-D! You will be able to choose certain organelles within the cell and manipulate them by zooming in on the organelle, rotating the image, and dissecting several organelles to view their contents. The intent of the activity is to provide you with a better feeling of the appearance (structure), function, and location of the organelles.
• Health
  • Human Body Systems
    • This is a collection of links from the Smithsonian Institute. These links cover all the systems of the body.
  • Nutrition
    • This is a cute little site that deals with nutrition. You can get information about food allergies, keeping food fresh and a bunch more.
  • Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood
    • This site was developed as a companion to the PBS series Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood but is rich in content on its own. Educators will find lesson plans for high school and middle school as well as a discussion guide. Students can take a multimedia journey that follows a pint of blood through the transfusion process, learn the basics about blood, and trace the history of blood through an interactive timeline that tracks the scientific developments that contributed to society's understanding and use of blood.
  • The Food and Nutrition Information Center
    • FNIC's web site provides a directory to credible, accurate, and practical resources for consumers, nutrition and health professionals, educators and government personnel. Visitors can find printable format educational materials, government reports, research papers and more.
  • The Food and Drug Administration Kids Page
    • Learn about animal care, food safety, vaccines and much more about the Food and Drug Administration.
  • Neuroscience for Kids
    • The smell of a flower - The memory of a walk in the park - The pain of stepping on a nail. These experiences are made possible by the 3 pounds of tissue in our heads... the BRAIN!! Neuroscience for Kids has been created for all students and teachers who would like to learn about the nervous system.
  • 4 Girls Health
    • The www.4girls.gov web site, developed by the Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services gives girls between the ages of 10 and 16 reliable, current health information. The site focuses on many health topics that respond to adolescent girls health concerns and motivates girls to choose healthy behaviors using positive, supportive and non-threatening messages.
  • Get Straight: The facts about drugs
    • You can use GET IT STRAIGHT! THE FACTS ABOUT DRUGS to help you realize that using drugs is not the way to go. The book will also be helpful as a research tool for your school assignments, as something fun to read, and also as something to share with your friends.
  • BAM!
    • BAM! Body and Mind gives them the information they need to make healthy lifestyle choices. The site focuses on topics that kids told us are important to them ˘ such as stress and physical fitness ˘ using kid-friendly lingo, games, quizzes, and other interactive features.
  • Changes in Biological Energy
    • "What's for dinner" is often a phrase heard around hungry students. This section of sci-ber text is designed to help you learn how the energy found in food and other fuel sources helps keep things moving on earth. In addition, you will experience how the energy is changed between various forms on earth!
• Nature & Animals
  • Froguts.com
    • Teachers and students will find this a great alternative to frog dissection in an actual lab. Students can choose to navigate through the dissection with or without quizzes and tests. Visitors to the site get an overview of the frog's external anatomy and interactively dissect the frog. Through the frog dissection, pop-up captions explain the steps.
  • Virtual Frog Dissection Kit
    • This award-winning interactive program is part of the "Whole Frog" project. You can interactively dissect a (digitized) frog named Fluffy, make movies, and play the Virtual Frog Builder Game. The interactive Web pages are available in a number of languages.
  • eNature
    • This Web site offers an extensive listing of field guides for animals, flowers, and plants. The site gives visitors information on creating backyard habitats, links to nature experts, and guides to many different habitats and the animals and plants native to each area.
  • Nature Watch
    • This USDA Forest Service site offers a unique view into wildlife, fish and wildflowers or take a visit through a national forest.
  • The Tree of Life
    • A phylogenetic journey through life on Earth.
  • Ecosystems (Biomes too)
    • This site helps to differentiate biomes and ecosystems and explores some of the major biomes.
  • Introduction to Photosynthesis
  • USGS - Learning Web
    • Explore things on, in, around, and about the Earth such as plants and animals, land, water, and maps. Learn how biology, geology, hydrology, and geography can help us understand our changing world.
  • The Electronic Zoo
    • If the answer is not here, then you probably don't need to know it. This site is packed with links to information about animals of every shape and size imaginable. The kids would like to see some animals? Why not stop by the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, or one of the other "real" zoo pages. Have a question about a sick pet? Look up Veterinary Services or click on over to NetVet, a sister home page. Learn everything there is to learn about amphibians, birds, cats, dogs, ferrets, fish, horses, pigs, and invertebrates.

Science Fair Ideas and Mad Science

• Middle School Science Fair Projects
  • How to do a Middle School Science Fair Projects Presentation before your classmates or at the science fair. WOW! Today your teacher announced that your school is going to have a science fair and students are responsible for exhibiting their projects. What do you feel? Enthusiastic? Despondent? Dreadful? Fearful? Excited? Whatever you are feeling, don't worry, this site is designed to walk you through the world of science fairs. Yes, this site is for YOU!
• Bunsen Bob's Science Hunt
  • Find everything you need to choose a project, organize your plan of action, work out a schedule, and see how an actual project was picked, planned and finished.
• Discovery Channel's Science Fair Central
  • A comprehensive guide to creating your science fair project!
• IPL: Science Fair Project Resource Guide
  • The IPL will guide you to a variety of web site resources, leading you through the necessary steps to successfully complete a science experiment.
• Energy Quest's Science Projects
  • Below are listed a number of science projects and energy activities for students, K-12. Each of them have a short description on this page and then a link to the actual activity.
• Science Alliance
  • This site gives students in grades 4-8 tips and resources for completing research projects.
• Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab
  • Welcome to Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab. Your source of free science experiments for parents, teachers, and children of all ages. Kick off your shoes. Pull up a chair. Make yourself comfortable. Oh yeah, did we mention that protective goggles are required...