Avocado Information
To borrow shamelessly from Benjamin Franklin, guacamole is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. The Agricultural and Natural Resources people at the University of California-Riverside would seem to agree. In this Web site devoted solely to the lovely avocado, readers can learn all about the history and horticulture of this subtropical fruit (that's right -- fruit). Features include time-lapsed videos of avocado flowering, another video on how to correctly prune a small avocado tree,
Reproductive & Cardiovascular Disease Research Group
The Reproductive & Cardiovascular Disease Research Group is "based in the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology at St. George's, University of London." The Group's "research interests include a number of areas concerned with reproductive and cardiovascular diseases such as trophoblast biology, nitric oxide and apoptosis, with particular emphasis on the role of these subjects in diseases of pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia." This website contains descriptions of protocols commonly utilized by
University of Newcastle upon Tyne: Department of Statistics
The Department of Statistics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne has an impressive Web site with a lot of good research information. The Research section of the site is divided into five different group areas, consisting of applied statistics, applied probability, medical statistics, Bayesian statistics, and bioinformatics. Each of these has a statement of the work performed and a list of recent publications. The Postgraduate Study section discusses a number of research projects currently u
Earth Today: A Digital View of our Dynamic Planet
Earth Today: A Digital View of our Dynamic Planet is offered by the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and is described as a "state of the art digital theater that's updated several times daily to show near real-time satellite views of the Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and landmasses." The Our Dynamic Earth section contains several topics, such as The Atmosphere, in which users can read about the subject and see impressive satellite images and animations of Earth from space. T
Backyard Weather Stations
Learn how to build your own backyard weather station with complete directions provided by FamilyEducation.com's Web site, Backyard Weather Stations. The site shows exactly what you'll need and how to build the necessary components (e.g., rain gauge and barometer), as well as how to keep records of the data collected. Parents and teachers will enjoy watching the kids "learn the basics of scientific observation and record-keeping while satisfying their natural curiosity about weather."
Herpetologists' League
Founded in 1936, the Herpetologists' League (HL) "exists to promote scientific study and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. The primary goals of the League are to support the acquisition of knowledge about these organisms, and to transmit that knowledge through publications, conferences, and symposia." Hosted by the Illinois Natural History Survey, the HL website contains contact information for current League Officers, as well as information about membership, and the upcoming Joint Meetin
PBS-American Field Guide: Primary and Secondary Succession in America's Forests
From PBS-American Field Guide, this website offers high school educators a multimedia lesson plan on Primary and Secondary Succession in America's Forests. The lesson plan utilizes hyperlinked video clips to introduce students "to several different North American Forests while learning about concepts associated with succession in both natural and disturbed environments." The site contains descriptions of two 30-minute, in-class activities, as well as a slightly longer outdoor observation activit
Atmospheric Processes : Conduction
After participating in this activity, students will be able to explain the process of conduction using a molecular model and explain that different materials conduct at different rates. They will also be able to identify air as a poor heat conductor (an insulator). The instructor guide contains detailed background material, learning goals, alignment to national standards, grade level/time, details on materials and preparation, procedure, assessment ideas, and modifications for alternative learne
Observe images of different climate zones
This Earth science resource shows students the location of 10 different climate zones on a world map. Red dots mark the location of deserts, highlands, and ice caps, as well as tundra, tropical wet and dry zones, and subtropical areas. Students are instructed to click on each red dot to see a photograph from that region. Each photograph includes a caption that describes its location. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
Mathematics Museum
Like any museum, this website called the Mathematics Museum provides some interesting visuals and explanations of various aspects of its subject, in this case mathematics. For example, the Fractal 3D Gallery includes video footage of 3D fractals and an FAQ section that provides some basic information on fractals. The Kodawari house includes some interesting math games and instruction for children as well as more advanced mathematics. Visitors can browse images created using Mathematica software
How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom
How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom builds on the discoveries detailed in the bestselling How People Learn. Now, these findings are presented in a way that teachers can use immediately, to revitalize their work in the classroom for even greater effectiveness. Organized for utility, the book explores how the principles of learning can be applied in teaching history, science, and math topics at three levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Leading educators
National Gardening Association
This is the homepage of the National Gardening Association, a nonprofit organization established to help gardeners, and to help people through gardening. The Web site contains loads of garden-related information, including over 2,000 articles, 30,000 FAQs, seed swap programs, a zone finder, pest control library, and much more. The site does advertise some retail items, but all information in this extensive online resource is available free of charge.
Linear Function Machine
This activity allows the user to explore simple linear functions. This Java applet requires a Java-capable browser. If you don't see the applet Java may not be functional in your browser or on your machine.
The Earth's Orbit
These eleven activities relate to the results of the motion and position of the Earth in its orbit, investigating both the causes and the effects of changing seasons. It starts simply by trying to quantify the observation that it is colder in the winter and ends by measuring the tilt of the Earth. This is chapter two of the online book Eyes on the Sky, Feet on the Ground, containing explorations into astronomy as a classroom tool for learning how to theorize, experiment, and analyze data. The ac
Platonic solids, duals (grades 6-8)
Using this virtual manipulative, the student can examine the dual relationship among the five platonic solids, each a polyhedron with identical regular polygonal faces. Every platonic solid has a unique platonic solid that fits inside it, with its vertices at the midpoints of the original solid. The student can manipulate, color, and change the size of each solid. A transparent mode is available for viewing the outline of each polyhedron and its dual. Instructions for using the applet and inform
Meteor crater map
A Landsat image of the world with crater locations flagged. One can zoom in on any location.
Polar Bears International Photo and Video Gallery
This page links to video intervews of the researchers and photographers, videos of polar bears taken with the polar cam, and images of polar bears.
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.
Finding Patterns
Build a pattern to complete a sequence of patterns. Study a sequence of three patterns of squares in a grid and build the fourth pattern of the sequence in a grid.
T.P. Away
What's a quick way to unroll a roll of toilet paper? This material is part of a series of hands-on science activities designed to arouse student interest. Here students use Bernoulli's principle and an electric leaf blower to force air over the top of the toilet paper to quickly unroll it. The activity includes a description, a list of science process skills and complex reasoning strategies being used, and a compilation of applicable K-12 national science education standards. Also provided are c
