Forces of Nature
Fascinated by natural disasters? Here you can learn about earthquakes, tidal waves, hurricanes, and other dramatic manifestations of nature. The site provides interesting facts, photos, and scientific discussions of natural phenomena and their causes and effects. There are also tips for event prediction and preparation. Other features include disaster simulations, multimedia galleries, games, and quizzes. This is a ThinkQuest site. http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/

Hot AIR: Rare and Well-done Tidbits from the Annals of Improbable Research
Here is a collection of articles on the lighter side of science: breaking news, feature articles, unauthorized teaching materials, The Bureaucracy Club, projects and surveys, and more. The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) is a humor magazine of science, medicine, and technology. AIR is known for (a) funny genuine science; (b) deadpan satire; and (c) the Ig Nobel Prizes (annual awards for achievements that cannot or should not be reproduced). "About a third of what we publish is genuine research, about a third is concocted, and about a third of our readers cannot tell the difference." AIR is produced by the same people who from 1955-1994 founded and edited the Journal of Irreproducible Results. The editorial board consists of fifty-odd eminent scientists, doctors, etc. from around the world, including eight Nobel Prize-winners. "We explore this question: How do you tell what's important and what's not, and what's real and what's not - in science and everywhere else?" http://www.improb.com/

The Solar Space Station
Here's a good place to explore space and the Solar System, with many pictures and amazing facts about our universe. There are descriptions and photographs of the planets, the Sun, Moon, and the Earth; other sections tell about comets, asteroids, and noted astronomers. Space news headlines keep visitors up to date, and there is a glossary of space terms. The multimedia section has photos, videos, and sound recordings from important moments in space exploration. http://www.solarspace.co.uk

The Tech Museum of Innovation
The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California is a hands-on technology museum devoted to inspiring the innovator in everyone. Online exhibits and activities include The Robot Zoo, The PC Webopedia, and video interviews with individuals like Steve Wozniak. Students can enjoy hands-on science and technology classes and labs; K-12 school groups can get discounted tickets. Teachers can attend free Inspiring Teachers Workshops and apply for the SGI/Tech Museum of Innovation BRITE Award to get classroom computer equipment for innovative programs. The Tech brings science and computer technology outreach programs to schools, and sponsors other programs like Michael Jordan on basketball, teamwork, and the triumph of adversity; Wild California with dramatic views of America's wilderness; 2001: Destination Space Exhibit; and The Spirit of American Innovation. In the Know Zone! is an interactive discussion series featuring speakers whose innovative careers have pushed back the frontiers of our known universe. A new Center for Learning is named in honor of the late Robert Noyce, co-founder of Intel. There are technology workshops, lectures, summer camps, youth programs, and programs for the whole family. You can visit the online calendar of events here or subscribe to a free electronic newsletter to learn what's happening at The Tech. http://www.thetech.org

BioMEDIA Associates Biology Education Website
Explore the lives of "whirling animals", take a detailed tour of the surface of a sea star, examine the evolution and diversity of the eye, match microscopic larva of a marine animal with its adult form, or investigate the natural history of one of the classic organisms of biology such a Daphnia or Planaria. Plunge into an animation of cell biology, see life in a drop of pond water or follow the evolution of life through time. BioMedia Associates' biology education website provides galleries on these and other topics illustrated with dramatic photographs and animations. The site features an Organism-of-the-Month contest and quiz, a collection of free downloadable teaching guides, and web links on evolution and ecology. In addition to the free content, the site has a catalog of BioMedia's products, which include instructional videos and CD-ROMs, stock footage, and bioscience film production services. http://ebiomedia.com

Redcolony.com - The Future of Mars
Ever wonder what a city on Mars would be like? Here scientists and other writers discuss possible futures for the Red Planet. The site features the latest news, Mars data, images from NASA, and many exclusive articles. Ideas for colonization include how to build the first settlements, and the possibility of terraforming - transforming the environment into one more like Earth - and a discussion of plant and animal life that could survive in the Mars environment. Some researchers are thinking about industries that could thrive on Mars. You can read here about past and future missions, and the weather, geology, and possible history of Mars. The site also offers downloads, a newsletter, chat, a forum, and more Mars links. http://www.redcolony.com

PhysicsLessons.com
This website is a great resource for science teachers, with science lessons, news, demonstration ideas, experiments, microlabs, a cool interactive periodic table, a whiteboard, and more. Some of the topics covered are mechanics, fluids, heat, waves and sound, light, electricity and magnetism, and chemical reactions. There is a page with links to physics educational items you can buy. If you teach physics or physical science, you can sign up for free email and your own free Physics Forum, an online message board service. PhysicsLessons.com has been recognized by the California Science Teachers' Association and the National Science Teachers' Association. http://www.physicslessons.com

Galileo Galilei
This educational website investigates the life, times, and scientific theories of Galileo Galilei, who is called "Father of Modern Science." Science owes much to Galileo, for by introducing experimentation and a requirement for empirical proof, he revolutionized scientific study. Here you can read about Galileo's life, his discoveries, and how he was eventually persecuted and silenced by the Catholic Church. In addition, the site has sections covering some of Galileo's interests such as flotation, the pendulum, the telescope, the Laws of Motion and Inertia, the moons of Jupiter, projectiles, and the thermometer. There are links for teachers and students to NASA's Galileo Mission websites. http://www.curriculumunits.com/galileo

Earth and Moon Viewer
The New Year is a good time to take a bigger perspective. Here you can view a map of the Earth showing the day and night regions at the moment, or view the Earth from the Sun, the Moon, the night side of the Earth, above any location on the planet, or from a satellite in Earth orbit. You can see a topographical map of the Earth, up-to-date weather satellite imagery, or a composite image showing cloud cover, land and sea temperatures, and ice. You can also view the Moon from the Earth, Sun, night side, above named formations on the lunar surface, or as a map showing day and night. You can create a custom request with frequently-used parameters and save it as a bookmark in your browser. Expert mode allows you to do even more cool stuff. http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/vplanet.html

Time: The Eternal Element
What is time? Can you chase time to measure it? This educational website explores time from the philosophical and physical points of view, and discusses subjective and objective time reckoning. The Virtual Classroom section of the site works with problem-based learning (PBL) to help students understand various aspects of time. Interactive features of the site include a console where a student can keep personal notes, a forum, and quizzes. There are guides for teachers who want to implement the material in their classroom programs. The site presents a study of how time has been experienced from ancient times up to the Year 2000, and a review of the evolution of time-measurement devices through the ages from sundials to atomic clocks. Students can learn to make their own sundials. There are sections on Albert Einstein, Immanuel Kant, and others who studied the phenomenon of time, and monuments such as Stonehenge which show how the ancients understood time in astronomical cycles. An image gallery illustrates some of the historical material. The site was developed for ThinkQuest 2000, an international student Web design contest. The site is presented in English and Dutch. http://library.thinkquest.org/C002607/

The Energy Planet
This website was designed to help people learn about energy, energy sources, and energy use. Many of our current energy sources will be exhausted in the next century, and human beings must find new forms of energy. There is also a need to find alternative sources of energy that are less polluting. The site begins with a section on traditional energy sources, explaining how power is currently generated by such means as coal, oil, natural gas, wind, hydroelectric plants, and nuclear fission. Flash animations illustrate the text. The next section explains future energy sources, specifically fusion and fuel cells. There is an energy dictionary and a timeline showing the development of energy sources. Visitors are encouraged to observe how these forms of energy generation are built on the forms of the past, and to envision new forms of energy for the future. The site also has biographies of inventors and innovators; experiments that show how the principals of energy generation work; lessons on how more complex machines work; and a section on the achievements of ancient cultures before the discovery of electricity. The website was created for Thinkquest 2000, an international student competition, by three teenagers from the Netherlands, the USA, and Singapore. http://library.thinkquest.org/C004471/

Middle School Science
This is a lesson resource for middle school science teachers, homeschool parents, and students. There are lesson plans in chemistry, physics, life science, and earth science. There are also some teaching tips from experienced educators, study tips for students, and links to more school science sites. http://www.middleschoolscience.com

Sighting the First Sense - Seeing is Believing
This is an educational website on sight and visual perception. Here students can learn about the eye, study a timeline of optical discoveries, refer to a glossary, join a discussion forum, and test their knowledge with interactive quizzes. There are sections explaining eye anatomy and function, eye disorders, eye safety, and how to improve vision. There is also a section about how visual images are perceived by the brain, with interesting optical illusions to illustrate. Visitors can interact with other users, taking full advantage of Internet-style learning. The site was created by three teengers in different parts of the globe for the International ThinkQuest competition, and is available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. http://library.thinkquest.org/C001464/

Life Science Connections
These interactive adventures for middle school students can make the study of life sciences more fun. The three adventures are The Human Body, Life Science Safari, and The Case of the Disappearing Dinosaur. Colorful flash animations help make the presentations interesting, and the lessons have interactive quizzes to help students learn. http://www.vilenski.org/science/index.html

The Water Rocket Index
Here you can discover how much fun it is to launch a water rocket, for a science project or hobby. Whether you're studying for a Ph.D. in fluid dynamics or just playing, you'll find everything you need here; there are over 61,000 words on the subject with a further 21,500 words to download. The site has sections covering parachutes, launchers, safety, rocket designs, fin variations, bottle modifications, and recovery systems. There are many different designs from simple to sophisticated, from small to huge, including directions on how to make each one, and pointers for inventing your own. Rocket enthusiasts will enjoy the photographs of launches and aerial photography taken from the rockets. There are even computer models, including one you can download. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pagrosse/h2oRocketIndex.htm

MindQuest.net
This site has science resources for students and teachers, including videos, message boards, a chat room, and science news feeds from Reuters. Science topics found here include astronomy, biology, chemistry, computing, mathematics, alternative medicine, paranormal science, philosophy, physics, pre-med planning, and more. Science resources in biology include detailed study outlines, interactive exams and puzzles, videos, and free clip-art of molecules, cells, and tissues. There are also custom-picked links for various sciences. The Tour Page has a demonstration of how a class can use this website as a model for constructing their own educational website. http://mindquest.net