Science-resources
From wiki.ucalgary.ca
Contents
Science
General Science sites
- Standards-based resources for K-12 science educators, including lesson plans, interactives and reviewed internet resources.
- Designed to provide a "fun, accessible, and free resource that accurately communicates what science is and how it really works".
- Formally the Science Alberta Foundation, Mindfuel provides engaging programs to help Alberta teachers ignite enthusiasm and knowledge about science.
- From 3M and Discovery Education, the intent of this website is to help student make real world connections to science. Provides teachers with inquiry-based lessons address key areas of life science, physical science, earth science, and technology/innovation using common materials you can find in your classroom.
- An online, searchable database of integrated, cross-curricular explorations and investigations for early years and primary grade educators. Part of 'IdeaPark' from Let's Talk Science. Canadian.
- Featuring U.S. public television content, you'll find here multimedia class-room resources for teaching many different aspects of science. The resources range lesson plans to video clips to full interactive units with substantive and rich resources embedded in them. After letting you take an exploratory look, the site does require you to register, but registration is free.
- Great science content from websites developed for topics featured on PBS's Nova science program.
- Learn about the science behind today's news events.
Discovery's Science Fair Central
- Featuring great science project ideas, general Q&A.
- CurioCity is a Canadian interactive, web-based meeting place where teens can connect with post-secondary students and science professionals to explore and discover the science, engineering and technology behind everyday life. Free registration will allow you to access educator resources.
- From Canada's National Research Council, a site that provide interactive activities and learning modules in the life sciences, physical sciences and astronomy & space science. Each learning module includes a hands-on/minds-on activity, discussion points, and assessment strategies and tools.
Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry Workshops
- Download comprehensive facilitators' workshop guides that give teachers a thorough grounding in the pedagogy and practice of science inquiry: examining different ways of teaching hands-on science, exploring the process skills of inquiry, engaging in a full scientific inquiry, and considering ways to include inquiry in their own classrooms.
- Thoughful articles and lesson ideas from the European journal to promote inspiring science teaching. You don't have to register to read and download all the articles on the website.
- Recent news stories in the field of science, especially animals, nature, environment, space, paleontology. Great photos and sometimes videos.
- News and details about NASA projects that have implications for earth science, and physical and biological sciences.
- A video exposition about the need for critical thinking and debunking the pseudoscience behind the claims for so many products in our world. Written and presented by Brian Dunning, host and producer of the podcast.(Time: 40 minutes)
- A teacher-created page with links to a variety of science sites appropriate for English Language Learners. All of them have both audio and text.
- View a timelines of the history of science by date, branch of science, places and people.
Interactives/Simulations
- From the United Kingdom, a growing bank of imaginative, highly visual science teaching-aids developed for use with interactive whiteboards in secondary schools.
- Links to good science interactives through the Verizon Foundation's Thinkfinity website.
- Research-based simulations of physical phenomena from the PhET project at the University of Colorado.
Videos
- An effort to make high definition science education videos available to anyone who wants them.
125 Science Videos: Our Greatest Hits
- The Open Culture website selects and links to 125 interesting and intriguing science videos.
Science of the Winter Olympic Games
- 16 short videos from the National Science Foundation exploring the science of different winter olympic sports. Lessonopoly has developed lesson plans for each video.
- Watch a variety of videos about the work of 26 Smithsonian scientists, including a volcano watcher, a frog follower, a parasite tracker etc.
Life Sciences
General Life Sciences
- 38 life science activities from Let's Talk Science (Western University)
Biology
- Explore this National Geographic resource to trace the genetic footprint of man over the past 60,000 years. Provides a good genetics overview section as well as tracing the genetics markers along the paths of early human migration.
- An extensive collection of excellent animations with audio, covering most medical conditions and providing great support when studying the human body.
- An interactive website for younger students about the human skeleton, the brain, the heart and the digestive system.
- Explanatory content, diagrams and interactive modules explaining cell biology, microbiology, immunology, and microscopy.
- The animated images make understanding cell biology much easier, by adding the aspect of motion. Suitable for senior high biology.
- A detailed interactive site exploring all the 'systems' of the human body. useful for high school biology.
- A wealth of multimedia, resources and information aimed at helping educators bring genetics, bioscience and health alive in the classroom. From the University of Utah.
Chemistry, physics
- An introduction to the science of chemistry not just for kids.
- From the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility a variety of hands-on activities, worksheets, games, online games related to physics and chemistry.
- A weekly, online video series that uncovers and explains the science of common, physical objects in our world and the changes they undergo every day.
- 31 Chemistry and 35 Physics activities from Let's Talk Science (Western University)
- Video showing how water can act as an acid and as a base depending on proton concentration. Senior high level.
Problem Solving: The "Wright" Math
- In a combination of physics and math, students will learn about the evolution of flight. Presented by NASA Connect. Other NASA Connect projects are available from the Apple Learning Interchange
Periodical Table
- An interactive Periodical Table of the Elements from Canada's National Research Centre.
The Visual Elements Periodic Table
- A visual interpretation of the periodic table. Click on individual elements to find not just information about it but also a memorable image associated with it, and sometimes a video.
- Entertaining brief video explanations of each element, from the University of Nottingham.
Earth sciences
- Images of various aspects of the earth: the atmosphere, oceas, land, energy and life linked to detailed information about what is happening to each.
The Weather World 2010 Online Guides
- Web based instructional resources related to meteorology, climate, remote sensing and global change.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research
- Click on Educator's Bridge for teacher resources at the elementary, middle and high school level related to various aspects of earth and atmospheric science: weather, climate, biodiversity etc.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Learning Objects
- Fifteen different 'learning objects' (composed on videos and interactive activities) on topics ranging from the water cycle, to plate tectonics, to ocean pollution.
- The educator's section of this website provides various classroom activities related to ocean properties, currents, ocean heat, El Niño, and fisheries; all built on the common themes of systems and structures, energy, change, interactions, and measurement.
- A kids' site developed by the New Brunswick Department of the Environment, with interactive diagrams showing not just the water cycle but also how wells and the public water system work.
Environmental Education
Visualizations/Videos
- A very interesting flash presentation that interactively displays the carbon dioxide emission levels of every country in the world, as well as their birth and death rates.
Visualizing the BP Oil Disaster
- Visually and dramatically shows the dimensions of the BP Oil Spill by allowing you to place it on your city and see how far-reaching it is. Just enter your locale and then click on Move the Spill.
- A graphic look at the amount of fish in the Atlantic Ocean in 1900 compared to today.
ARKive: Images of Life on Earth
- Gathers together the very best films and photographs of the world's species into one centralised digital library, to create a unique audio-visual record of life on Earth, prioritising those species at most risk of extinction.
- This interactive map shows the likely effects on different parts of the world if global warming continues.
- Multimedia animations produced by the International Polar Foundation on different topics linked to the polar regions, the way our planet's climate functions, climate change, biodiversity and energy.
- Visual representations on a world map of forest cover, forest loss etc.
- A National Geographic photographer's stunning photos documentating biodiversity. Half of the world’s plant and animal species will soon be threatened with extinction.
Lesson plans and resources
Environment Canada Resources for Educators
- Links to a wide variety of excellent resources for environmental education.
- From the Global, Environmental and Outdoor Education Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association, integrated lesson plans for grades 1 - 9.
- Designed for teachers and students, this is an educational tool designed to help students understand the process of sustainable planning, to balance land-uses such as agriculture, oil and gas and forestry with ecological integrity.
- An educational program from WWF-Canada that provides educators with access to over 30 curriculum-linked, printable in-class activities for grades 3 to 8. Each grade’s unit has a unique environmental theme with material designed to meet curriculum expectations in English, Social Studies, and Science. Requires free registration.
Years of Living Dangerously: Bringing Climate to the Classroom
- Extensive lesson plans, with corresponding videos, for middle and high school.
- From Oxfam, a week of activities about climate change for ages 9–11.
- A program that links schools in Canada to reputable Environmental Education organizations across the country (also available in French).
Young Reporters for the Environment
- A global network of students writing about and taking photos of environmental problems and solutions in their communities.
- Great resources for teachers and students about Canadian endangered species, conservation, biodiversity - including fact sheets about species at risks, lessons plans for educators.
ARKive: Images of Life on Earth
- Thousands of spectacular videos, images and fact-files illustrating the world's endangered species.
- This rich resource, from National Geographic and the World Wildlife Fund, gives access to information and images both about the "Global 200" priority areas for conservation, and to details about all 867 of the planet's land-based ecoregions.
Education for Sustainable Development
- A series of curriculum units developed by the Virginia Department of Education. The emphasis on quality of life, in some of the units, provides a good link to Alberta's Social Studies curriculum as well.
- Resources and lesson plans about the growth of the world's population and the effects on the environment. From the Population Connection website.
- One of Canada's greatest conservationists.
- Lesson plans, videos, photos and stories of small actions that tip the balance from decline to restoration.
City of Calgary Environmental Initiatives Homepage
- Climate Change and Air Quality, Recycling, Water conservation an other City of Calgary Initiatives and resources.
- An award-winning course designed for teachers, educators, and adult learners with a science background who want to learn more about current issues in environmental science. It consists 13 units, all freely available on the website, with each unit composed of a thirty-minute video and an online text chapter. While this is not a curriculum for use in a high school classroom, some materials may be very useful to supplement existing curriculum.
Fossils
- See ancient fossils in 3-D on your computer screen.
Geography
- This is a really cool tool for geography. You must download and install some free software though.
- A website for teachers about using Google earth in the classroom.
- Also cool, with no download. Global satellite imagery, and street maps for cities and highways, e.g. Satellite view of southern Alberta
Windows Live Local(formerly MSN Virtual Earth)
- This is Microsoft's version of Google Maps. Not great coverage for our part of the world, but very good for the US. also allows both map and satellite views
- The Website of the National Geographic Society, tons of virtual tours, pictures and other resources.
- Mapping our World is a whiteboard teaching product for 8 to 14 year olds from Oxfam. It explores the relationship between maps and globes, and how different projections influence our perception of the world. It challenges the idea that there is one 'correct' version of the world map.
Solar System and Beyond
- A version of Google's map system, with images and data from the moon - showing the sites of the APOLLO landers.
- One of the coolest sites I have seen yet. Interactive satelite photos of the entire earth. You have to download software though.
- View a map of the earth showing the day and night regions at this moment or view the earth from the Sun, the Moon etc.
- Lesson plans from the Canadian Space Agency for teaching about many topics related to the solar system and beyond.
- Interactively explore the planets, comets, nebulas, black holes and galaxies.
- Photos and information about the Earth, the solar system and the rest of the universe. For each planet there's information about the climate, atmosphere, interior, geology etc. and it includes information about myths about the origins of the earth, the sun and stars from different cultures.
- It's the interactivity that makes this interesting. Choose any two planets, click compare and you get a view of, and information about, the different size of the planets
- The science about space, space travel and the earth itself that is being learned by NASA.
- This website associated with the PBS film "Seeing in the Dark" has many interesting features: star charts automatically tailored to your location, photos from an internet telescope from which you can request photos,lots of information on different astronomy topics,and activity guides for teachers.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Rich multimedia resources about an array of space endeavours including the search for other planets, explorations of Mars, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Includes resources for educators.
Technology
- Explore over a dozen online exhibits about technology topics from The Tech Museum of Innovation.
Optical Illusions
Sandlot Science Optical Illusions
- These are tremendously fun and intriguing.
