From Jungle to Lab: The Study of Life's Complexity
San Francisco's Exploratorium showcases the work of researchers at the Natural History Museum in London and Las Cuevas Biological Station in Belize, who are investigating the nature and diversity of life. From Jungle to Lab is part of the Exploratorium's Origin Project, created to explain how scientists explore "the beginnings of the universe, of matter, of the earth, and of life itself." This well-designed Web site contains loads of multimedia features, such as a slide show of Las Cuevas (inclu
Energy and Recycling
Energy and Garbage is one section of a US Department of Energy's educational Web site for kids. Features of this Web site include a section detailing the connection between energy and garbage, a thorough introduction to the history of garbage that includes facts and figures on how much waste we produce, information on recycling and reducing garbage at the source, and much more. The information in this Web site is presented in a friendly, narrative style. A short downloadable activity titled Ener
Wolfram Graphics Gallery
Wolfram Research, creators of Mathematica software (see also NSDL Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, July 16, 2004), have posted this gallery of images that demonstrate how "Mathematica has opened the door to a new kind of imagery that melds art and science." The colorful images in the gallery, created by Mathematica users around the world, are grouped by type: 2D Graphics, Polyhedra, Surfaces, and Animations. High resolutions images are available upon request, and in some cases there
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences presents its work in three main topics: environmental geochemistry and hydrology, geochemistry of the Earth's interior, and solid-earth geophysics. For each topic, the website offers summaries of the faculty's successes and current projects as well as links to the latest research news stories. Visitors can discover the equipment and technology available at the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center and the Materials Re
Insecta Inspecta World
Insecta Inspecta is the result of an interdisciplinary program at Thornton Jr. High School under the review of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. This Web site offers a fun way to learn about insects and other arthropods, and does a great job of placing these bugs in a larger cultural and historical context. In addition to providing a solid introduction to insects and arthropods, this site includes quirky trivia and entertaining audio and movie clips. For instance, visitors ca
"What Clones? Were Claims of the First Human Embryo Premature?"
This is a Scientific American article that argues that the results of the first human cloned embryo are misleading.
Alternative Medicine: All in Your Mind?
The latest addition to the University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate school's Why Files (first mentioned in the August 9. 1996 Scout Report) is about alternative medicine and the actual biological effects that alternative medicine has on the human body. For many years, alternative medicine was considered "quackery", but this Web site presents some of the science behind the placebo effect and hypnosis. There is also a page on some of the effects of and concerns about St. John's Wort. A bibliograph
NISEE: National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering
The National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering (NISEE) has a huge collection of earthquake data and images for researchers or anyone with a passing interest in these destructive forces. Operated at the University of California, Berkeley, the site has ten "eBooks" that range in topic from introductory earthquake engineering to earthquake risk-reduction measures. A giant database is given on the site with over 100,000 abstracts of research papers and reports. The Structural Engineerin
University of Wisconsin-Fluid and Melt Inclusions
The University of Wisconsin-Madison created this website "for people interested in the properties, behaviors and origins of fluid and melt inclusions in natural and synthetic materials." The website offers downloads of publications in _The Canadian Mineralogist_ journal and other rock and mineral papers. Students and researchers can find out about meetings and work shops. The website fosters discussion of hot topics in the field of fluid inclusion. Users have a chance to join the fluid inclusion
Bing & Bong's Tiny Planet
The Bing & Bong's Tiny Planet website, a supplement to the educational television series, offers excellent science activities, games, and online books for small children. Users can sail around the planet to learn about wind, read an online story to discover space, take an adventure through the water cycle, and much more. Visitors can also learn the essentials of colors, shapes, and light through short videos and interactive modules. The colorful website offers a great way for children to begin l
National Estuaries Day
Get the most out of National Estuaries Day (October 5, 2002) by visiting this Web site from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Follow a link to Estuary Live!, which offers online interactive fieldtrips through a number of estuaries around the nation. Guided tours of eight estuaries will be webcast live October 3 and 4, supplemented by videos from a number of other estuaries. Internet participants "will have an opportunity to see the fascinating creatures that make estuar
Vision Systems Design
Vision Systems Design is a magazine that provides comprehensive information and analyses about "machine-vision and imaging components, boards, assemblies, software, and systems." Its online version is free and has many Web-exclusive features available. For example, Back to Basics is a series of technical articles about a certain topic; the February 2003 issue has articles on FireWire interfaces, infrared systems used to increase vehicle safety, and much more. Technology news and industry trends
Your sense of taste
This brief illustrated resource about the sense of taste is part of a feature that explores how humans experience flavor. The five taste qualities--including umami--are mentioned. The resource also corrects the misconception that humans can only taste certain food qualities at specific regions of the tongue. A set of connected, labeled diagrams of the tongue, taste buds, the brain, and facts about taste are noted in a sidebar. One fact compares the average number of taste buds in humans, chicken
Popping the Kernel : Modeling the States of Matter
Constructing models can help students understand the particulate nature of matter. This article discusses how to use popcorn to engage students in model building and to teach them about the nature of matter.
Air pollution
Air pollution is a growing problem today. This lesson plan is designed to teach students about the problem, its effects on our environment and health and the latest methods designed to combat air pollution. The objectives of this lesson are (1) to define air pollution, (2) to identify major causes of air pollution (e.g., automobiles, burning garbage, electric power plants emissions, industrial boilers and certain consumer products), (3) to identify the effects of air pollution (health effects in
Teacher's guide to the infrared
This is a page from a larger website, Seeing our World Through a Different Light, sponsored in part by NASA. This page contains side by side standard and IR photos to illustrate how IR photos show heat. It describes and compares visible light and infrared light. An explanation, accompanied by photos, of how infrared cameras work is also provided.
Expedition to the Poles
In this lesson students will pretend they have just returned from a year in the Arctic or Antarctic. They will look at Web sites about these regions and expeditions to them, and they will create posters illustrating their experiences. Students will conclude by writing paragraphs explaining what it would be like to visit the polar region that they did not focus on in this lesson. As they complete this activity students will research the characteristics of the polar regions and the things they wou
Biology
Biology is the science of life, the branch of the natural sciences that studies living organisms.
BBC historic figures : Isaac Newton
This concise biography includes an image of Newton and related links in the right navigation bar including: one to an article Newton papers revealed; The Newton Project; and to a lengthier biography, Isaac Newton.
Tortoise and Hare Race
users step through the tortoise and hare race, based on Zeno's paradox, to learn about the multiplication of fractions and about convergence of an infinite sequence of numbers.
