"It Didn't Pan Out as We Thought It Was Going To"Amos Owen on the Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which became known as the Indian New Deal, dramatically changed the federal government's Indian policy. Although John Collier, the commissioner of Indian affairs who was responsible for the new policy, may have viewed Indians with great sympathy, not all Native Americans viewed the Indian New Deal in equally positive terms. In this 1970 interview with historian Herbert T. Hoover, Amos Owen, Mdewakanton Sioux tribal chairman, gave a mixed verdict on the Indi
"He'll Come Home in a Box": The Spanish Influenza of 1918 Comes to Montana
In 1918 and 1919, the Spanish influenza killed 550,000 people in the United States and 20 to 40 million worldwide. In a 1982 interview with Laurie Mercier, Loretta Jarussi of Bearcreek, Montana, described how people would pass through that tiny town seemingly healthy, only to be reported dead two days later. Her father went undiagnosed for many weeks and had plans to go to a nearby hot springs to rest. She believed that her father's death was averted only because the son of the local doctor was
Ice Core Gateway: Vostok Ice Core CO2 Data
The Vostok ice core has a long record of global carbon dioxide concentrations, with variations caused by factors other than photosynthesis and human activity. Ice core data sets from three different authors are available for download. Users can also link to other NOAA paleoclimate projects and information.
Worldwatch Institute Homepage
The Worldwatch Institute offers a unique blend of interdisciplinary research, global focus, and accessible writing making it a good source of information on the interactions among key environmental, social, and economic trends. Worldwatch's work revolves around the transition to an environmentally sustainable and socially just society - and how to achieve it. From their homepage, users can follow links to publications, a resource center, Worldwatch Live, a press room and research information.
Mount St. Helens, Washington homepage
This USGS web page contains images from the Mount Saint Helens eruptions. The site contains information about the 1980 eruption, activity before, during, and after and previous eruptions. The site also contains maps, current hazards reports, background information and more.
Phases of the Moon
This site contains a series of visualizations of the sun, moon and Earth System and how they relate to the changing face of the moon. Animations are in the form of Java applets, forms for field observation of the moon, and a collection of exercises and PDF versions of background material. There are practice questions and quizzes that discuss the animations.
The Great Energy Debate
The National Geographic Society's global energy debate lesson plan explores the controversial issues surrounding the energy debate in the United States. Students will research recent initiatives being taken in this area and analyze their implications. They will then assume the roles of pivotal stakeholders in this debate and testify to a mock congressional committee responsible for making decisions about public lands and energy resources. This Starting Point website describes the learning goals
A Golden Opportunity for Science
A Golden Opportunity for Science is an educational exercise developed by the Bureau of Land Management. This exercise uses activities about gold to teach science, centering on the following information: how the pursuit of gold shaped society; metaphors, myths, lores and legends about gold; the mineral properties of gold; lode deposits and placer deposits; mining and recovery of gold; and the technology of heap leaching. There is also a debate between different interest groups involving a small g
Rocks and Weathered Rocks
In this lab, students examine what happens when rocks weather, how different minerals weather at different rates, and what the ultimate byproducts are. This website builds context for lab use, details the learning goals and teaching notes, provides teaching materials and lab assessment recommendations, and additional references and resources.
Bartending at the Two O'Clock
Employees of the Two O'Clock, a Boston strip joint, talk about their lives and work. George, a bartender, talks about what it takes to be a bartender in a place like the Two O'Clock.
Vacation II
'Connors creates a fantasy vacation in limitless circumstances by constructing a travelogue that moves from New England forests to the bottom of the sea, to outer space and to all corners of the world. The artist uses video effects such as computer-assisted animation, editing processes, and sophisticated matting techniques as metaphors for perceptual experience.' Using both miniature sets and still and moving images of various environments, Betsy Connors evokes both real and virtual spaces.
Project Skymath
Project SkyMath is a mathematics module for middle school students, developed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). The goal of the pilot project is to demonstrate that acquiring and using current environmental and real-time weather data in middle school classrooms, in ways that embrace the dynamic and the uncertain natures of these data, will promote the teaching and learning of significant mathematics, consistent with the standards set by the National Council of Teache
Digital Images: From Satellites to the Internet
Students will learn about digital images and how satellites orbiting Earth send information and pictures to Earth over the Internet.
21st Century Explorer
This site answers questions that include: Why do we want to travel to Mars? How would your body change in space? Where would a space explorer find water and oxygen? How can we travel faster in space? Student actors (on video) and hands-on activities are featured with each answer. The site is for Grades 3-5 and available in Spanish.
Hurricanes: the greatest storms on earth
This website, provided by NASA's Earth Observatory, describes the science behind hurricanes. Sections include hurricane formation and decay, hurricane anatomy, information regarding storm surges, hurricane climatology, a description of the Saffir-Simpson scale and NASA study missions. Users will also find a list of references regarding hurricanes and hurricane science.
Video Gallery: Why Conserve Sharks?
This video gallery is from the Museum's Seminars on Science, a series of distance-learning courses designed to help educators meet the new national science standards. Part of the Sharks and Rays: Myth and Reality seminar, Video Gallery: Why Conserve Sharks? features two brief videos, each with a printable PDF transcript:Resistance to Cancer discusses why sharks make an interesting model to look at when investigating resistance to cancer. Immune System looks at the Mote Marine Laboratory's projec
NanoGame
Learn which everyday objects contain nanotechnology.
Crystallography 101
This tutorial on crystallography is broken down into equipment set-up, x-ray diffraction basics, symmetry and space groups, structure factors and phase problems, phasing techniques, model building, and real space correlation plots. Diagrams and interactive topics accompany the text, along with an interactive applet on Bragg's Law.
Faults
This site, which accompanies an introductory structural geology class at the University of Leeds, UK, contains information on faults. Topics include normal faults, thrust faults, strike-slip faults, faults and stress, and soft-linked fault systems. The site features explanations of the three basic types of faults with informative diagrams and a photo gallery.
Physical Weathering
This site features a collection of visual resources that can be used to help illustrate the process of physical weathering. Visualizations demonstrate different styles of mechanical weathering and the resulting impact on the landscape. Resources include animations, interactive graphics and photographs showing the effects of physical weathering. These visualizations are suitable for use in an introductory level geology lecture, lab, or other activity.
