| Science - Elementary |  |
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Updated: April 8, 2002
Ask Dr. Universe - Washington State University - Grades 3-12 (can be read to younger children) - Put this site up on your classroom computer for students to browse for hours and learn amazing things to satisfy anyone’s curiosity. Submit a question of your own, read the question (and answer) of the day, choose big or small questions: Who do people need sleep? Why don’t spiders stick to their webs? Why does hair turn gray? Answers come from the graduate schools at WSU and are presented in a beautifully designed format to please the eye and tease the mind. Non-science questions are also welcome. The question of the day would be a great start for your class each morning.
At Home Science - Grades 3-8 - The Exploratorium designed these simple science experiments primarily for use in the kitchen, but many could be adapted for classroom use. Most are very simple, a few are intentionally "yucky," and they all demonstrate serious science which is explained in simple, kid-friendly terms. A wealth of good illustrations helps retain interest. Teachers, students, and parents will all like this one.
Bob's Rock Shop displays rock and mineral specimens - Grades 4-8. The gallery of images features over 150 specimens. Site images could be used in a research report.
Charlotte, The Vermont Whale site - Grades 4-6 explains how a particular whale got to Vermont. Integrate this site into a discussion on animal migration.
Classroom Compass - Southwest Consortium for the Improvement of Mathematics and Science Teaching- Grades 5-8. This site is an on-line version of Classroom Compass, a quarterly publication. Instructional activities are linked to TIMSS and include excerpts from the National Science Education Standards and the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. A good site for teachers looking for interactive science or math ideas to illustrate abstract concepts. A great source for daily problem solving questions.
Children's Butterfly Site - Grades 3-5 - This US Geological Survey site provides a visual, simplified introduction to butterflies, their habitats, and their migration. Lots of pictures and easy-to-read text, as well as maps showing migration patterns and population dispersions. Easy to use.
Cool Science for Curious Kids - Grades 4-8 - Get your students engaged in science with this introduction to slime, roots, and the stuff that floats in the air. Howard Hughes Medical Institute has packaged sound science in a wrapper with just enough art work and "yuck factor" to get younger students interested. This one's a great starting point for a science adventure.
Tools For Diplodocus - Grades 2-4 requires Shockwave for an interactive experience. Students can build a dinosaur out of a pile of bones. Great fun, engaging classroom experience.
Dragonfly - Project Dragonfly, a joint venture of Miami University and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)- Grades K-5. Archived issues of Dragonfly magazine. Each link (issue) is designed for students to investigate and explore on their own and provides links to experienced researchers for students to communicate with. The home page includes a pond with hot links so that young students can navigate themselves through the site! An excellent site for students to ask questions and get answers from the experts! Winner of the 1997 Parents’ Choice Gold Award.
Earth Day '98 Online - Grades 4-8 includes information on both the history of Earth Day and Earth Day 1998 Events. Schools and communities can add their own events. Includes a timeline of what led to the first event.
Exploring Leonardo - Grades 4 - 12 - This site is sponsored by the Museum of Science, Boston, Mass. - An excellent site approaching Science through Leonardo DaVinci. Site includes The Inventors Workshop, (showing Leonardo’s inventions), Leonardo’s Perspective, a Biography and a section about his habit of writing from right to left! There are 4 pages with interactive elements and 5 lesson plans including hands on activities. Students can comment and send their ideas electronically to the Museum staff. Four stars from our reviewer!!
The Galapagos Islands - NSTA - Grades 4-12 - The National Science Teachers' Association developed this elegant site about the Galapagos islands, Darwin, and the abundance of species still found on the island. In addition to good maps and excellent photography, there are lesson and study ideas, explanations of geological features, and leads for further exploration of the topics presented. Great site for a study of ecology or natural science.
How Things Work - Complete Computer Solutions - Grades K-12 - Read a text explanation of how a fountain pen works or how a pneumatic hammer works. This would be a great reference for students of physics or inventions. It would also go well in a unit on inventions for any age, though the reading level is middle school or above.
Inventure Place - The National Inventors Hall of Fame, Akron, Ohio - Grades 5-12 - Read brief biographies of inventors who are in the hall of fame. The site is indexed and searchable. Students could easily use these biographies to start a research project, or you can post them on a bulletin board.
Kid's Gardening - Grades 2-5 - Here's an entire site devoted to getting students interested in growing things. Yes, there are ads and some commercial links, but there is also a good deal of useful content, including ways to involve parents in your students' gardening efforts.
Marking Time - Grades 3-8 - Clocks, calendars, and the evolution of time-keeping all get coverage in World Book's mini-unit on the history of calendars and clocks. There's enough content here to show the scientific and astronomical connections to time-keeping, and enough history to keep students intrigued. The presentation's graphics keep things interesting for a subject that often degenerates into long text descriptions.
MicroScapes - The Microscopic Gallery - AT & T and Len Stern - Grades K-12 - This site brings to life things too small for the human eye to pick up. The site contains a series of pictures taken through high power microscopes. The exhibition of pictures explores art and technology working together. Very user-friendly, loads easily and quickly!
Operation Webfoot - Grades 3-8 - This is one of those "crazy like a fox" sites that actually teaches experimental procedures by doing something that, at first, sounds silly. Learn how classes in eight states conducted an experiment and compared their results. Your students can do it too! See how your results compare, and discuss why the data may differ. (The duck and the frog are cute, too.) Site and concept were created by the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia.
Questacon: Canberra, Australia - The National Science and Technology Centre, Grades K-12. Requires Java and Shockwave to get the most out of this site. Students can take a virtual 3-D tour of Australia’s most fascinating interactive museum and explore the hands-on exhibits without ever leaving the classroom!
Sandlot Science - Grades 4-12 - This site offers a collection of optical illusions and puzzles that challenge students to explain why the brain perceives images and motion in the way it does. The puzzles are great illustrations of perception problems, and they also could work well as "stumpers" for students who need an addition challenge now and then. Many of these puzzles require a Java-capable browser.
Science Explorer - Grades K-12. This site is a comprehensive collection of natural science resources for teachers. Teachers can use this site to browse through the outline format to research a specific area of natural science. This site takes some time to go through and lesson plans are not easily available; however detailed bibliographic information is provided and all material is based on national science standards.
School Gardening - Grades K-5 - Texas A&M University created this site to help school students plant gardens and learn about how plants grow. There are ideas for what to plant, how to get started, and creative ways to design a garden that will keep students interested in the project.
Schoolyard Habitats - Grades K-5 - This site from the National Wildlife Foundation provides ideas and information to help students and their teachers create or enhance the habitats around their school buildings. The site contains a rage of plans and activities, so that schools in lots of different settings can find creative ways of improving their own local habitats. There are lots of illustrations and links to additional resources.
Science and Sports - Grades 4-12 - from the Exploratorium. A high-tech look at the physics involved in hockey, baseball, and other sports. Younger kids can grasp the concepts; older students can learn the details. Includes sound and video clips, but they aren't essential to using the site.
Structures - Around the World - Grades 3-8 - Here's a collection of hands-on experiments for elementary students involving creation of structures such as bridges, beams, poles, and pins. The experiments use a variety of improbable materials to show structural design principles. Teacher instructions are clearly presented in step-by-step fashion. Great site for introducing experiments to elementary students.
Nikola Tesla, Inventor - Grades 5-12 - Bogdan R. Kosanovic, University of Pittsburgh - This site features Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla, inventor of a telephone repeater, rotating magnetic field principle, polyphase alternating-current system, induction motor, alternating-current power transmission, Tesla coil transformer, wireless communication, radio, fluorescent lights, and more than 700 other patents. It is a small site, but includes a biography and quotes from the scientist as well as links for student researchers to learn more.
Tornado Project Online - Grades 3-8 - This site is full of tornado resources. It lists the Top 10 tornadoes and explains the Fujita Scale well and in color. There are several topics to choose from, all very interesting. They have information from over 60,000 tornadoes. The site includes interactive games and is easy to use. Tornado links are also available.
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