Science Surfing
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Grossology
This Web site from the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh accompanies a traveling exhibit, based on the book Grossology by Sylvia Branzei, that addresses many of the “slimy, oozy, crusty, stinky” questions that kids love to ask about the human body. Visitors can view scenes from the exhibit, listen to gross body sounds, try out […]
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Mystic Stuff
Scientists describe and ponder their own brushes with spiritual, mystical, and psychic happenings in the online journal called The Archives of Scientists’ Transcendent Experiences (TASTE). Psychologist Charles T. Tart of the University of California, Davis, produces the journal and hopes to build a database of accounts by bona fide, show-me-the-data researchers for future investigations into […]
- Health & Medicine
Food Forays
Ever wonder what the Vikings ate on their lengthy voyages to new lands? What pioneers cooked on their treks along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip? The fascinating answers to these and many other food-related questions can be found at the Food Timeline, a collection of links to related Web pages, compiled by […]
- Humans
Moon Trees
In 1971, astronaut Stuart Roosa brought hundreds of tree seeds with him on the Apollo 14 flight to the moon. Known as “moon trees,” the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States and elsewhere. This Web site chronicles that project and documents what happened to those seedlings. Go to: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html
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Toxicology Game
The University of Washington’s evolving Project Greenskate Web site gives students the chance to investigate potential health concerns surrounding the hypothetical development of a city park on a former industrial site. They visit various fictitious places, such as the Department of Environmental Quality, City Hall, a Community Center, and the local high school, to obtain […]
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Brain Museum
Interested in comparing the brains of mammals? The Brain Museum Web site offers images and information from one of the world’s largest collection of well-preserved, sectioned, and stained mammal brains. Viewers can see photos of brains of more than 100 mammal species (including humans). The site also presents material on a variety of topics of […]
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Explore Mars
NASA has made more than 100,000 images of Mars available as a Web-based photo album. The archive of pictures, taken by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor, covers the period from September 1997 to the present. Go to: http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/index.html
- Health & Medicine
Cooking Science
The Exploratorium’s “Science of Cooking” Web pages offer all sorts of advice on how to improve your cooking–with a pinch of science. Information, recipes, and activities focus on spices, bread, meat, eggs, and more. Experience the thrill of pickle making and learn about a zesty dish called kimchi. Explore the science of cooking your holiday […]
- Archaeology
Digging into Ancient Texts
For both scholars and amateur archaeologists, the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative Web site offers fascinating glimpses of a distant past. Visitors can view images of thousands of carefully catalogued cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia. The texts include early creation myths, legal codes, medical prescriptions, and recipes for beer. Many are more mundane–ledgers, deeds, receipts, and lists […]
- Plants
X-rayed Flowers
For new insights into the delicate architecture of flowers, take an X-ray view. Albert G. Richards, who taught dental radiography at the University of Michigan, presents a gallery of unfamiliar views of familiar flowers, from the hidden archways of an iris to the complex plumbing of columbine spurs. Go to: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~agrxray/gallery.html
- Earth
Timely Climate
Science educators at the University of Colorado and the National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder have designed an online tool that lets users study climate change and variability on different time scales–from daily fluctuations to cyclic changes with periods that span 100,000 years. Focusing on climatic processes and specific climate events, each time-scale category has […]
- Health & Medicine
Cancer Net
Cancer.gov is a huge compendium of information on cancer assembled by the National Cancer Institute. You can find out the characteristics of different cancers, ponder treatment options, peruse statistics on cancer incidence, and check out support groups, coping strategies, and much more. The site offers access to scientific papers and lectures, along with a search […]
