Sunday, January 24, 2010

10 Free Science Resources for Students and Teachers Guest Post from Karen Schweitzer

10 Free Science Resources for Students and Teachers

The web is a great place for students and teachers to find science resources. There are sites with educational videos, virtual science demos, interactive activities, suggestions for experiments, and science resources that can be shared with the whole classroom via interactive whiteboards. Here are 10 science-related sites for students and teachers to explore throughout the school year.

Bill Nye the Science Guy - Bill Nye offers a wide range of free science resources for kids and teachers on his website. Resources include video demos, printable experiment instructions, pop quizzes, activities, and exercises.

The Why Files - This site offers a look at the "science behind the news." In addition to interesting articles and facts, The Why Files also provides virtual science demos, cool science images, and teacher activity pages.

National Geographic - The Science and Space section of the National Geographic site offers a blog, educational articles, a photo gallery, videos, quizzes, and other activities that would be of interest to classrooms who are studying science topics. Other offerings include games and virtual field trips.

Exploratorium - Students and teachers who visit the Exploratorium website can explore hands-on activities, science videos, webcasts, a digital library with exhibit-inspired materials, and many other online resources.

Stellarium - This free planetarium software displays a realistic 3D sky on your computer. Stellarium also works well with Smart Boards and other interactive whiteboards.

Bugscope - Created by the Imaging Technology Group at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Bugscope provides classrooms with free access to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) that can be used to study insect specimens at high-magnification. After signing up, classrooms send in insects they've collected, propose an experiment and schedule a free, interactive session.

iKnowthat.com - iKnowthat.com is a standards-based education website with videos, interactive activities, and user-generated content. Science-related features include simulations, games, virtual labs, and animated illustrations.

NASA Space Games - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) offers word puzzles, scrambled pictures, trivia, quizzes, a board game, and other science-related games that can be played online or through interactive whiteboards. The NASA Space Games site is also a good place to find suggestions for science projects and experiments.

Try Science - Supported by more than 400 science centers worldwide, Try Science is an interactive science site with live science center webcams, online adventures, offline experiment suggestions, polls, and quizzes.

Ref Desk - The RefDesk offers a comprehensive science and technology facts encyclopedia with 100+ links to science resources around the web. The encyclopedia is a good place to find research materials for reports and projects.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online college classes for OnlineClasses.org.

No comments:

Post a Comment