New York Times: Plans for Ground Zero Unveiled
This article from the New York Times shows several concepts for possible monuments/ buildings at Ground Zero. The interactive feature, titled Envisioning Downtown, has some very impressive content. It has excellent footage of artist impressions and computer animations of the proposed architectures, all of which are quite remarkable. Seven designs are highlighted, with descriptions of the various characteristics and a few specifications unique to each structure. Short audio clips accompany most o
Explorer
Supported by the US Department of Education, the Explorer educational Web site is a collection of educational resources geared to k-12 students that include instructional software, lab activities, lesson plans, student created materials, and more. The physical science related material includes matter, energy, force and motion, waves and vibrations, and electricity, as well as many earth science topics. The site also contains a wealth of life science and mathematics material, which helps to make
NOVA: Sinking City of Venice
First aired on November 19, 2002, the Sinking City of Venice is a fascinating episode of the NOVA television series that focuses on the threat of rising tide levels for the exposed Italian city. Venice has many historical treasures and centuries-old architecture, which is forcing the government to turn to engineers for possible solutions to safeguard the city. A very ambitious proposal that is currently being considered involves massive underwater gates that rise in times of dangerously high tid
Canadian Civil Engineering History and Heritage
As part of Canada's Digital Collection project, this site exemplifies some of the country's most significant civil engineering landmarks. Most of the depicted sites have been "commemorated as National Historic Civil Engineering Sites by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering." Over 40 features include bridges, railways, dams, and the Alaska Highway. There are pictures and descriptions of each item in the collection. Several important civil engineers who contributed to national sites are also
Crocodiles and Turtles of Borneo
Whether you're a herpetologist or just have a fascination for reptiles, you will want to check out this Web site from the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the University of Malaysia, Sarawak. The site presents all documented crocodiles and turtles found on Borneo, representing six families altogether. An easy-to-use drop-down menu for each family lists individual species. Each species page provides a great photo as well as the "current valid scientific name, the Englis
Optical Storage in China: A Study in Strategic Industrial Policy
This unique paper, published in September 2003, discusses the current state and development of the Chinese high-tech industry. The author "begins with a brief overview of industrial policy for the electronics sector in East Asia, then discusses the relevant policies for two successive generations of optical storage: Video CD and DVD." The analysis of Video Compact Disc technology and its use is particularly insightful, since it is relatively unknown outside Asia. A brief look at other areas in t
The Brighton University Resource Kit for Students
The Brighton University Resource Kit for Students (BURKS) is an archive with "compilers, tutorials and reference manuals for dozens of different programming languages, a dictionary of computing with over 13,000 entries...a vast amount of useful software, information about the Internet itself, and much more." BURKS is primarily intended for individuals who do not have access to an Internet connection, which is why the collection mostly consists of resources from external websites. The collection
Graph Theory
Graph theory is widely used in computer science, engineering and of course, mathematics. Wikipedia offers this definition and overview of Graph Theory (1). This next website from Mega-Math (2) reviews some of the Vocabulary of Graphs and highlights some applications for graph theory, such as the design of computer systems and games. Some additional applications for Graph Theory are discussed in this more technical book called Graph Theory with Applications (3). This website from Georgia Tech (4)
Dan's Wild Wild Weather Page
Created by a meteorologist, this weather site is for students from 6 to 16 years old and their parents. Information and experiments are provided about radar, tornadoes, clouds, precipitation, lightning, humidity, satellites, temperature, forecasting, hurricanes, wind, and climate. While in the tornado section, students can click on any state on the map to get a hourly weather report, state forecast, zone forecast, short term forecast, forecast discussion, weather summary, public information, cli
American Bird Conservancy
The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a nonprofit organization working to "conserve wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas." The ABC website provides informative and useful features such as the Bird Conservation Directory, a searchable directory of contact information for professionals engaged in bird conservation throughout the Americas, and the downloadable Birdwatcher's Guide to Global Warming (last mentioned in the June 28, 2002 NSDL Scout Report for the Life Sciences). The s
Plants in Motion
Roger P. Hangarter of Indiana University's Department of Biology has created this wonderful collection of time-lapse photography that allows us "to see the movements of plants and clearly demonstrates that plants are living and capable of some extraordinary things. " The videos available show a broad range of plant growth phenomena, including germination, circadian responses, phototropism, and much more. The movies are fun to watch in and of themselves, but don't miss out on the informative desc
Grant Prideco: Engineering Toolkit
The Engineering Toolkit is a diverse assortment of utilities and interactive tools developed by a drilling manufacturing company. Possibly the most useful item in the toolkit is the Equation Bank, which contains nearly 100 equation solvers. Most are related to civil engineering and calculate effects due to pressure, parameters for pipe threading, and more. Another resource is the unit converter, a powerful tool with both metric and English units and over 20 dimensions from which to choose. A lar
Bridge Building: Art and Science
This site is one of the most substantial, comprehensive sources on the Internet dedicated to bridge design and history. It has an incredible list of sections from which to choose, and each describes a particular bridge type or characteristic. Several pictures are included from all over the world that give examples of arch, truss, suspension, and many other bridge designs. There are also explanations of forces that act upon bridges, as well as what issues are considered when choosing the kind of
Fossil Hominids: The Evidence for Human Evolution
This Web site from Talk.Origins, a "Usenet newsgroup devoted to the discussion and debate of biological and physical origins," aims to "provide an overview of the study of human evolution, and of the currently accepted fossil evidence." Recognized for excellence by a number of science and education organizations, this site has been updated to include new material concerning Homo habilus and two newly discovered fossil hominid skulls. As before, the site also offers an overview of the latest deve
American Heart Association: Children's Health
This website was developed by the American Heart Association to promote healthy hearts in children. The site provides a solid collection of downloadable games and songs for kids to learn about hearts (worksheets are available for pre-kindergarten-through eighth-grade students). For parents, the website offers basic information about a number of heart conditions that affect children such as congenital heart defects, heart failure, Kawasaki disease, and DiGeorge syndrome. The American Heart Associ
Captology: Computers as Persuasive Technologies
"The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab creates insight into how computing products -- from websites to mobile phone software -- can be designed to change what people believe and what they do." This unusual field of study is called captology, and the subject is explored in detail on the lab's homepage. The Key Concepts section provides a brief overview of captology and links to another page with nine topic papers published by researchers at the lab. In a series of examples demonstrating how comp
Paleontological Research Institution: Touring the Collections
The Paleontological Research Institution has a museum containing "a world-class collection, containing everything from dinosaur eggs of China to one of the most comprehensive Paleozoic trilobite, brachiopod, coral and crinoid collections in the United States." The Touring the Collections page allows visitors to view some of the museums most valued items. Students can currently choose from either arthropods or echinoderms, and then from several subcategories from the virtual specimen drawers. The
National Environmental Data Index
The National Environmental Data Index is maintained by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration Environmental Information Service. The service provides a full text search of information from twelve governmental agencies including the US Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA. Users can choose to search from all or individual agencies, by type of information, and by several specific subjects. Results display th
Human Genome Project Information: DNA Forensics
A detailed introduction to DNA forensic identification can be found on this Web site, provided by the US Human Genome Project (coordinated by the Department of Energy and the national Institutes of Health). The site includes descriptions of or links to a number of fascinating case studies, such as proving the son of executed French King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette did indeed die as a child in prison, and testing claims that African Lemba tribesmen are directly descended from the ancient tribe
Highlight of Biochemistry: Molecular Structures Made Visible
This Web site from the University of Hamburg Faculty of Biology offers useful three-dimensional images of molecular structures, many of them animated. The dozens of images included in this site should help visual learners understand molecular structure and function in a number of contexts, including virology, immunology, neurology, photosynthesis, genetics, and more. Detailed descriptions and related information accompany each image. This Web site also provides links to three tutorials covering
