Science Education

NASA for Educatore

"Find Teaching Materials NASA's Education Materials Finder will help teachers locate resources that can be used in the classroom. Users may search by keywords, grade level, product type and subject. With hundreds of publications and Web sites indexed, the finder is the best way to locate NASA educational resources."

NASA For Students

NASA's Education Program
"NASA’s journeys into air and space have deepened humankind’s understanding of the universe, advanced technology breakthroughs, enhanced air travel safety and security, and expanded the frontiers of scientific research. These accomplishments share a common genesis: education. As the United States begins the second century of flight, the Nation must maintain its commitment to excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education to ensure that the next generation of Americans can accept the full measure of their roles and responsibilities in shaping the future. NASA will continue the Agency’s tradition of investing in the Nation’s education programs and supporting the country’s educators who play a key role in preparing, inspiring, exciting, encouraging, and nurturing the young minds of today who will be the workforce of tomorrow. " ... more

EarthKAM

"EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) is a NASA educational outreach program enabling students, teachers and the public to learn about Earth from the unique perspective of space. During EarthKAM missions (periods the EarthKAM camera is operational), middle school students around the world request photos of specific locations on Earth. The entire collection of EarthKAM images is available in a searchable EarthKAM image archive. This image collection and accompanying learning guides and activities are extraordinary resources to engage students in Earth and space science, geography, social studies, mathematics, communications and art.

The project was initiated by Dr. Sally Ride (America’s first woman in space) in 1995 and called KidSat. The KidSat camera flew on three space shuttle flights (STS 76, 81 and 86) to test its feasibility. In 1998, the program was deemed successful and renamed to EarthKAM. The EarthKAM camera flew on two additional space shuttle flights (STS 89 and 99) before moving over to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2001 on Expedition 1. The EarthKAM camera has since been a permanent payload on board the ISS and supports approximately four missions annually." ... more

"What is ThinkQuest?
ThinkQuest is an online learning platform that helps students develop important 21st century skills, including communication, critical thinking, and technology skills.

It includes:
• ThinkQuest Projects: A project environment that supports collaborative learning
• ThinkQuest Competition: Technology competitions that challenge students to solve real-world problems
• ThinkQuest Library: The world's largest online repository of student-developed learning projects, visited by millions of web learners each month
• ThinkQuest Professional Development: Professional development for educators

The Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) provides ThinkQuest as a free service to K-12 schools globally.

The ThinkQuest Library
Connect to the award-winning ThinkQuest Library, a rich repository of 8,000+ educational websites.

Join the 58 million learners annually who visit the library to access engaging, student-created content.

View previous ThinkQuest Competition entries that we are proud to showcase." ... more

"Cosmeo brings together a deep video encyclopedia, interactive games, reference content, and tutorials to help kids stay engaged in learning.

Cosmeo is based on the multimedia tools from Discovery Education that reach more than 30 million students in classrooms across the United States, and amazing video from Discovery networks including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and Discovery Kids.

-30,000 educational video segments
-40,000 math tutorials tied to widely used textbooks
-20,000 images and clip art animations for use in reports
-150,000 reference articles
-10,000 trusted links mapped to grade level by educators
-Challenging interactive games
-Online dictionary, biographies, and reference materials" ... more

"Science Buddies
The award-winning, non-profit Science Buddies empowers K-12 students, parents, and teachers to quickly and easily find free project ideas and help in all areas of science from physics to food science and music to microbiology. Whether your goal is to find a fun science activity for your kids or win the international science fair, sciencebuddies.org puts comprehensive, scientist-authored tools, tips, and techniques at your fingertips.

Mission
Science Buddies mission is to help students from all walks of life to build their literacy in science and technology so they can become productive and engaged citizens in the 21st century. We have created personalized learning tools, over 15,000 pages of scientist-developed subject matter (including experiments based on the latest academic research), and an online community of science professionals who volunteer to advise students. We also provide resources to support parents and teachers as they guide students doing hands-on science projects. Representing much more than a website, Science Buddies quickly and efficiently matches students with the information that will hold their interest and answer their questions. We provide a bridge between scientists and students, giving students access to current scientific research and simultaneously giving scientists a way to reach out to young people interested in their fields.

Overview of Programs and Resources
Taking inspiration from the news, from the frontlines of university research, and from kids themselves, our staff scientists publish new content weekly. They often collaborate with experts at high tech companies, government labs and agencies (like NOAA and NASA) and top universities. Science Buddies provides fun, intellectually-stimulating and cutting-edge science education resources such as:
* An online library of 1000+ Project Ideas, which are detailed scientist-authored outlines that help students create a project in any of 30 different fields of science and engineering
* The Topic Selection Wizard tool to help students find a project idea that perfectly matches their unique interests
* The Project Guide is an online encyclopedia for how to do science research and science fair projects. It includes step-by-step guidance, actual sample assignments, photos of science fair projects, tips for success, and self-grading checklists for students. Also includes tools, techniques, and reference information such as safety guidelines and a section on the engineering process." ... more

"The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE's vision promotes and supports students, teachers and scientists to collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system working in close partnership with NASA, NOAA and NSF Earth System Science Projects (ESSP's) in study and research about the dynamics of Earth's environment.

Who is involved in GLOBE?
Announced in 1994, GLOBE began operations on Earth Day 1995. Today, the international GLOBE network has grown to include representatives from 111 participating countries coordinating GLOBE activities that are integrated into their local and regional communities. Due to their efforts, there are more than 54,000 GLOBE-trained teachers representing over 24,000 schools around the world. Over 1.5 million students have participated in GLOBE, contributing more than 22 million measurements to the GLOBE database for use in their inquiry-based science projects.

GLOBE brings together students, teachers and scientists through the GLOBE Schools Network in support of student learning and research. Parents, Scientists and GLOBE Alumni also support students' engagement in GLOBE." ... more

"Science.gov is a gateway to government science information and research results. Currently in its fifth generation, Science.gov provides a search of over 50 scientific databases and 200 million pages of science information with just one query, and is a gateway to over 2100 scientific Websites.

Science.gov is an interagency initiative of 18 U.S. government science organizations within 14 Federal Agencies. These agencies form the voluntary Science.gov Alliance which governs Science.gov.

Science.gov 5.0 provides the ultimate science search through a variety of features and abilities, including:
• Accessing over 45 databases and 200 million pages of science information via one query
• Clustering of results by subtopics, authors, or dates to help you target your search
• Wikipedia results related to your search terms
• Eureka News results related to your search terms
• Mark & send option for emailing results to friends and colleagues
• Download capabilities in RIS
• Enhanced information related to your real-time search
• Aggregated Science News Feed, also available on Twitter
• Updated Alerts service
• Image Search

The content for Science.gov is contributed by participating agencies committed to serving the information needs of the science-attentive citizen, including science professionals, students and teachers, and the business community. Many of these agencies are members of CENDI, which provides administrative support and coordination for Science.gov." ... more

"USGS
The USGS is a science organization that provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely, relevant, and useable information.

USGS Mission
The USGS serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.

The USGS employs the best and the brightest experts who bring a range of earth and life science disciplines to bear on problems. By integrating our diverse scientific expertise, the USGS is able to understand complex natural science phenomena and provide scientific products that lead to solutions. Every day the 10,000 scientists, technicians, and support staff of the USGS are working for you in more than 400 locations throughout the United States.

As the Nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues, and problems. The diversity of our scientific expertise enables us to carry out large-scale, multi-disciplinary investigations and provide impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers." ... more

AAAS
"The American Association for the Advancement of Science, "Triple A-S" (AAAS), is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. In addition to organizing membership activities, AAAS publishes the journal Science, as well as many scientific newsletters, books and reports, and spearheads programs that raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide"

AAAS Mission
"AAAS seeks to "advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people." To fulfill this mission, the AAAS Board has set these broad goals:
• Enhance communication among scientists, engineers, and the public;
• Promote and defend the integrity of science and its use;
• Strengthen support for the science and technology enterprise;
• Provide a voice for science on societal issues;
• Promote the responsible use of science in public policy;
• Strengthen and diversify the science and technology workforce;
• Foster education in science and technology for everyone;
• Increase public engagement with science and technology; and
• Advance international cooperation in science.

AAAS Education Programs
From kindergarten to high school, and from academic to corporate laboratories, AAAS promotes diversity and the best possible science education for all students. The Association provides networking opportunities, practical career advice, and insights to guide curriculum and textbook development." ... more

"EurekAlert! is an online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society. EurekAlert! provides a central place through which universities, medical centers, journals, government agencies, corporations and other organizations engaged in research can bring their news to the media. EurekAlert! also offers its news and resources to the public. EurekAlert! features news and resources focused on all areas of science, medicine and technology.

Public Information Officers
EurekAlert! offers a number of services to Public Information Officers (PIOs), some of which require a subscription. To register as a PIO, visit www.eurekalert.org/register.php. PIOs from hundreds of organizations worldwide use EurekAlert! to distribute science, health and technology news, experts and other resources to reporters.

The Public
The general public (anyone who does not fit in the categories above) is welcome to visit EurekAlert!. Public users have access to nearly all areas of EurekAlert!, with the exception of the Embargoed News section and Experts Database." ... more

"Science NetLinks is a premier K-12 science education resource produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. At Science NetLinks, you'll find teaching tools, interactives, podcasts, and hands-on activities, and all of it is free!

Science NetLinks provides K-12 teachers, students, and families with quality resources for teaching and learning science.

All of the resources are Internet based and free to everyone. Lessons and activities can be printed or used online. Many of the interactives, esheets, and tools work great on an interactive white board or in a computer lab. All of the resources are designed to be delivered in a variety of formats and classroom settings.

Science NetLinks is part of Thinkfinity, a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 10 premier educational organizations. The Thinkfinity partners include the AAAS, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Council on Economic Education, the National Geographic Society, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the National Center for Family Literacy.

The Thinkfinity partnership provides free, Internet-based content across academic disciplines. Science NetLinks' role is to provide a wealth of standards-aligned resources for K-12 science educators, including lesson plans, interactives and reviewed Internet resources. Science NetLinks is a dynamic site with new content being added on a regular basis, so check back often." ... more

Science
"Founded in 1880 on $10,000 of seed money from the American inventor Thomas Edison, Science has grown to become the world's leading outlet for scientific news, commentary, and cutting-edge research, with the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general-science journal. Through its print and online incarnations, Science reaches an estimated worldwide readership of more than one million. In content, too, the journal is truly international in scope; some 35 to 40 percent of the corresponding authors on its papers are based outside the United States. Its articles consistently rank among world's most cited research.

Science's leading position stems from many factors:
* the journal's strong tradition of editorial independence;
* its high standards of peer review and editorial quality (of the more than 12,000 top-notch scientific manuscripts that the journal sees each year, less than 8% are accepted for publication);
* its Board of Reviewing Editors, consisting of more than 100 of the world's top scientists;
* its strong connections with the scientific community, which ensures a stream of lively, up-to-date, and authoritative news and commentary in its pages;
* the dedication of its professional staff in the U.S., the U.K., and other countries, including 26 Ph.D. editors, a creative production and art group, and a team of science writers, reporters, and journalists second to none;
* the support of its publisher, AAAS, the world's largest general-science society.

Today, a century and a quarter after its founding, Science continues to publish the very best in scientific research, news, and opinion. Whether you're concerned with AIDS, SARS, genomic medicine, Mars, or global warming, or just want to keep abreast of where the scientific world is and where it's going, you will find something worthwhile in Science.Today, a century and a quarter after its founding, Science continues to publish the very best in scientific research, news, and opinion. Whether you're concerned with AIDS, SARS, genomic medicine, Mars, or global warming, or just want to keep abreast of where the scientific world is and where it's going, you will find something worthwhile in Science. " ... more

Science Update

"Quirky, entertaining and informative, Science Update is a daily, 60-second feature covering the latest discoveries in science, technology and medicine. Produced by AAAS, the world’s largest general science society, Science Update has reported on thousands of scientific and medical breakthroughs—and won dozens of national awards—since its inception in 1988. Science Update even answers listeners’ science questions, phoned in to our toll-free answer line, 1-800-WHY-ISIT (1-800-949-4748), or submitted via our online form on our Contact page. For more in-depth science news, you can also listen to our weekly Science Update Podcast.

Here you can browse the extensive archive of Science Update’s flagship daily, minute-long, syndicated radio show (now also known as the Science Update Podcast – Daily Edition) by date or by topic. You can also find past episodes of the Science Update Podcast – Weekly Edition." ... more

Sally Ride Science™
"Sally Ride Science™ is an innovative science education company dedicated to supporting girls’ and boys’ interests in science, math and technology. We believe that when children are encouraged to pursue their interests they are inspired to think about their futures, and are better prepared to pursue a wide range of exciting opportunities in high school, college and beyond.

Dr. Sally Ride
Dr. Sally Ride, best known as America’s first woman in space, founded Sally Ride Science in 2001 to create quality programs and products that educate, entertain, engage and inspire.

A key part of our corporate mission is to make a difference in girls' lives, and in society's perceptions of their roles in technical fields. Our school programs, classroom materials, and teacher trainings bring science to life to show kids that science is creative, collaborative, fascinating, and fun." ... more

The Exploratorium

"The Exploratorium is a museum of science, art, and human perception located in San Francisco, California. We believe that following your curiosity and asking questions can lead to amazing moments of discovery, learning, and awareness, and can increase confidence in your ability to understand how the world works. We also believe that being playful and having fun is an important part of the process for people of all ages.

The Exploratorium isn’t just a museum; it’s an ongoing exploration of science, art, and human perception—a vast collection of online interactives, web features, activities, programs, and events that feed your curiosity.

We create tools and experiences that help you to become an active explorer: hundreds of explore-for-yourself exhibits; a Web site with over 25,000 pages of content; film screenings; workshops for lifelong learners including day camps for kids and family investigations; evening art and science events for adults—plus much more. We also create professional development programs for educators, and are at the forefront of changing the way science is taught. We share our exhibits and expertise with museums worldwide" ... more

Stanford SOLAR Center
"The Stanford Solar Center is dedicated to sharing the joy and excitement of solar science exploration. Acting as the education and public outreach arm of the Solar Observatories Group, and funded by NASA, the Solar Center provides resources, activities, and projects relating to the Sun for teachers, students, and the public.

Our award-winning Solar Center website, targeted at 4th-12th grade students and science teachers, provides inquiry-based activities and a broad range of information relating to the Sun. Solar art, folklore, music, literature, and archaeoastronomy complement our scientific information and offer intriguing multidisciplinary "hooks" into solar study.

A key project of the Center has been the distribution of space weather monitoring instruments throughout the world during the United Nation's International Heliophysical Year and also the UN's International Space Weather Initiative. See The Space Weather Monitor Program.

The Solar Center also enables educator workshops, science displays at public events, science demonstrations at local schools, curricula materials for teachers, as well as partnerships with science museums, observatories, and planetariums.

The Stanford SOLAR Center Goals
* Science is fun, exciting, engaging. Science is exploration and discovery. Every child was born a scientist. We hope to keep that adventurous spirit alive.
* Science is based on observation, measurement, computation, facts and data. By involving the students in how solar science is done, they will better understand the nature of scientific exploration and be more able to evaluate scientific discoveries and the role of science in their world.
* Science is for everyone, not just a few elite. We hope to empower the students, giving them a sense of how solar science is done by letting them BE the scientist..." more

Verizon Foundation

"Verizon is a long-standing partner in national and global campaigns to improve literacy and educational attainment. The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, invests in initiatives that leverage innovative technology and interactive learning to increase teacher effectiveness and advance student achievement. We are committed to enabling children and adults to acquire the complex set of skills that are required for success in the 21st century and empowering them to access, absorb, evaluate and use the infinite amount of information that broadband delivers.

Verizon Thinkfinity is the Verizon Foundation’s nationally recognized signature initiative for education and literacy. Verizon further supports education with initiatives that help to keep children and teens safe – online, while on the phone or watching television..."

Verizon Thinkfinity Content Partners

"Verizon Thinkfinity Content Partners produce the program's nine discipline-specific, standards-based Web sites. Each site includes lessons for teachers, activities to use in and out of the classroom, games for young children and teens, adult literacy resources and reference materials for anyone in the education field, as well as for parents and afterschool practitioners." ... more

"ScienceMaster brings high quality science to the Internet. The ScienceMaster goal is to provide the best science resources for teachers, parents, hobbyists, and life-long learners. The ScienceMaster web pages include links to research sites, lesson plans, activities, and project ideas. Through ScienceMaster website and products, we demonstrate our commitment to meeting the needs of home, educational, and professional users of scientific resource sites and software.

ScienceMaster was formed in 1997 with one goal - to excite young minds about science by integrating information, communication and community with compelling products and services all in a fun-to-use Internet network. The ScienceMaster team includes science professionals, educators, subject matter experts, and technical advisors who work collaboratively to bring you the best science resources.

Browse our current selections, hear sound clips of audio interviews, see pictures from the NASA and USGS archives, or JPEG and GIF images you can download and keep. Nothing could be easier." ... more

"Science Bob" Pflugfelder has been a fan of science since he was just six years old. Over the years, he has been exploring the scientific world with thousands of students. He also encourages parents and teachers to practice "Random Acts of Science" by providing instructions and videos for interactive science experiments on his web site, as well as public presentations and workshops that help make science come alive.

Bob has been featured on television including recent appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! He has also been featured in several magazines including People, Bop, Popular Science, and Nickelodeon Magazine for his work teaching science to many well-known young actors.

Bob found it was a lot of work setting up labs at studios, so he purchased an ambulance and turned it into his own traveling mobile science lab! He would take it right to the movie and TV studios to teach his students. His students have included: David Gallagher, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jonathan Lipnicki, Hillary Duff, Frankie Muniz, Haley Joel Osment, Tahj Mowrey, Dylan & Cole Sprouse, and many others.

Bob continues to teach science outside of Boston while he develops experiments and videos to share with his website visitors.

Of course, Bob also loves answering the questions that you send to him here at ScienceBob.com. So next time you see a big blue science ambulance driving around your neighborhood, don't worry, it's just Science Bob on his way to another adventure." ... more

The Science Club

"Since 1987, The Science Club has been bringing science to life for over one million elementary school children, teachers, and parents. The Science Club fuels the wonder and joy of learning, through school assemblies, parent and teacher workshops, television, video, and print. The Science Club has also designed programs for museums, agencies, and educational organizations."

The Science Club Philosophy

"We started The Science Club in 1987 to help children and their caregivers understand the voluptuous and sensual character of learning. It had seemed to us that we spent entirely too much of our education on the accumulation of unusable and disjointed facts and not enough time on art and whimsy of the search. We felt our goal should not be data for datas sake but the skill of using data to solve problems, to spend our education learning how to think not what to think. We approached this mission with the only tools we had. Our own passion for learning and our sense of humor. We are still grateful for these tools as we are still learning and we still make so many mistakes that a sense of humor is sometimes all that stands between us and the funny farm. The credentials for the science club are many and extremely different from what one might expect from a mainstream educational consultant. While it is true that Kathy is a teacher with fifteen years experience and a masters degree in educational technology as well as a curriculum coordinator for a major school system, The Science Club also represents those who do not thrive in traditional school settings..." more