Science Surfing
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Byrd Flight
Produced by the National Science Foundation, this Web site commemorates explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd’s historic flight to the South Pole about 75 years ago. Chronicling how aircraft make scientific research in polar regions possible, the site contains an overview of Byrd’s accomplishments. It also features a first-person account of a commemorative flight that recently retraced […]
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Dynamic Earth
Rocks and minerals are the stars of this lively, interactive online exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History. In the pages now available (with much more to come), learn about various aspects of rocks and mining. The site includes a photo gallery devoted to minerals and a selection of mineral-related screen savers and […]
- Health & Medicine
Exploring the Heart
Learn about the human heart at a fascinating online exhibit from the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia. Discover the complexities of the heart’s development and structure. Follow the blood on its journey through the blood vessels. Check out how to keep your heart healthy and how to monitor your heart’s health. Look back at […]
- Humans
Museum of Science
Interested in ancient Egypt, how your body ages, electron microscope images, or fractal patterns in nature? The Museum of Science in Boston offers a wide variety of online exhibits. You can learn the basics of robotics, explore Mt. Everest, venture to Antarctica, meet Leonardo da Vinci, dip into Earth’s oceans, and much more. Go to: […]
- Humans
Imagination Factory
Looking for creative ways to recycle materials? This imaginative Web site for kids focuses on how to make art using materials that most people throw away. The activities include drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, and crafts. A “Trash Matcher” section links various types of solid waste with appropriate activities. Go to: http://www.kid-at-art.com/
- Physics
CERN at 50
This year, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) celebrates its 50th anniversary with a variety of special events. CERN’s Web pages commemorating the anniversary include a timeline showing historical milestones in the development of the laboratory, archival photos, and other materials. Go to: http://www.cern.ch/CERN50/
- Animals
Elephant Voices
Elephants are highly social animals and have a well-developed method of communicating with each other. For nearly 30 years, scientists at a national park in Kenya have been studying elephants and their behavior. The researchers have found that these intelligent beasts use more than 70 kinds of vocal sounds and 160 different visual and tactile […]
- Humans
Bat Moves and More
Take a look at the winners of this year’s Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Science magazine. Particularly noteworthy is a dramatic video that shows a bat tracking and capturing a praying mantis. This video was made by researchers at the University of Maryland, who combined slow-motion video, animation, […]
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Sequenced Genomes
These listings are about as close as modern genomics gets to Pokemon cards. Here are illustrations and quick descriptions of organisms whose genomes have been sequenced. Some are familiar, such as Homo sapiens, but in most cases, it’s a great way to meet some amazing biological oddities. Go to: http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/resources/sequenced_genomes/genome_guide_p1.shtml
- Computing
Net History
Nethistory.info is a new Web site devoted to the history of the Internet. Its aim is to provide material documenting the applications and platforms that came together to create the early Internet, including protocols, personal computers, e-mail, the World Wide Web, networks, and much more. You can sign up for a free monthly newsletter and […]
- Animals
Bird Calls
The Macaulay Library at Cornell University has the largest collection of animal sounds in the world. More than 67 percent of the world’s birds are represented in the center’s 160,000 recordings, along with sounds made by insects, fish, frogs, and mammals. The Library also archives and preserves a sampling of the behaviors of different animal […]
- Earth
Eye on Mount St. Helens
Keep an eye on the ongoing volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington. Images taken by the Johnston Ridge Observatory’s VolcanoCam, at an elevation of about 4,500 feet, are updated roughly every 5 minutes. They’re snapped from a distance of about 5 miles from the volcano, looking approximately south-southeast across the […]
