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Experiments and Lesson Plans

Useful Links

What is the basis of all science?    Experimentation     Science grows because curious people ask questions, propose hypothetical answers then test them. Coincidentally that is also one way a child learns about his world. Experimenting seems to be an intimate part of what makes us human. Throughout history people have done simple experiments, like trial and error, but the organized body of experimental knowledge that science has become is relatively recent. One can find glimmers of the idea of an experiment-based approach to nature in Aristotle and some of the other philosophers of his time. Their ability to make accurate observations and to reason from them was as highly developed as ours, but their insistence on the ultimate power of the human mind rather than the experimental test often led to erroneous conclusions such as the belief that the sun revolved around the earth. Euclid's wonderful geometrical propositions and proofs are a sort of experimental science, depending as they frequently do on the drawing and construction of appropriate figures for demonstrating the truth or falseness of an hypothesis. If this idea could only have been extended to the world of matter and energy instead of only numbers, science and its mechanical brother, technology, might have been advanced by as much as a millennium. Of course, the imagination falters at the thought of Medieval society equipped with electric motors or even steam power. Perhaps the slow pace of technology is just as well. We have at least a chance to attain wisdom before we overpopulate the planet and destroy ourselves through a combination of the ancient elements of pestilence, famine and war.

Introduction to the Experimental Basis of Science When and where did the concept of experimentalism arise and how has it progressed since then? Herbalists and medicine men have always been experimenters, but of a very practical sort. The development of a coherent theory to explain why certain drugs did certain things would not have occurred to them. They knew, for example, that administering an extract of wormwood would expel intestinal parasites or that digitalis would strengthen the heart, but they did not look for the reasons behind these actions. It was usually all they could do just to keep the patient alive. Spinning theories was the job of philosophers--but philosophers did not perform experiments. The early practitioners of medicine were very keen observers and their reasoning powers were as acute as ours, but the framework upon which they placed the results of their 'experiments' was not a scientific theory but the prevaling common wisdom of their time. The conclusions were wrong because the premises were wrong, and it would take many centuries before the basics of anatomy, physiology and drug action would be known. Other areas of science such as biology hardly existed as independent disciplines as they do today. One studied and classified plants to use them as food, medicines, dyestuffs, or in some other practical way. Likewise animals were domesticated and raised for meat, fur and hides, or as transportation and a source of power. Whatever experimentation that was done with plants and animals must have been of a very practical type and not simply for the sake of understanding as we perform basic research today. A considerable amount of this type of experimentation must have been carried on over the years, but unfortunately, there are very few records of it because those who did this sort of work depended primarily on oral transmission of the results or kept the formulas secret to prevent copying by their competitors in the trade. The alchemists were an unusual group of natural philosophers who actually did combine the reasoning and theorizing ability of a scientist with the apparatus and chemicals of the laboratory. The old woodcuts and engravings show them with their assistants in dark rooms with fires burning under huge glass retorts and a large book of formulas open in front of them. Though they worked under primitive and hazardous conditions by the standards of today, their experiments were carried out in a more or less organized way. They gathered the natural materials around them and tested them singly and in combinations using the primary agents of fire and water. What they observed in their experiments may have been valid but their reasoning was frequently flawed because of the commonly accepted theories of the day, such as the doctrine of signatures, which were held to be true without adequate proof. Technological advances in the smelting of metals, the compounding of medicines, the grinding of lenses, engineering, military armaments, architecture, road building, and so on, all came about through testing of new methods and materials, but there was no organized, written body of theoretical knowledge such as provides the scientific basis for the technological creations of our own time. Occasionally we find in the writing of one person such as the thirteenth century scholar, Roger Bacon, a clear statement of the importance of setting up hypotheses and testing them, but this is the exception until we reach the sixteenth century and that other Bacon, Sir Francis (not related to Roger as far as we know). From his time on, persons of intellect and curiosity have grasped the idea that workable knowledge of a subject can only come from the controlled, logical application of observation, experiment and thought, followed by publication of the results for scrutiny by other scientists. As the community of scientists grew and blossomed into scientific societies and departments in the universities, the sharing of knowledge through teaching and reporting of experimental results vastly stimulated the rapid growth of technolgical advance in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Resources for Teaching

Carolina Biological Supply Company Carolina Biological Supply Co. was founded in 1927 in Burlington NC as a supplier of biological specimens for teachers. This is where the frogs, earthworms, crayfish and grasshoppers that we dissected in high school biology came from. The company is still the premier supplier of biological specimens in America, but they have expanded to provide many more resources for science teachers. Today, the 'Carolina Curriculum' has become the source for a full spectrum of biology and math lessons for K-12 classes including kits for classroom projects and demonstrations. In collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution's National Science Resource Center, Carolina now provides the STC Program for science teaching in grades K-8. This is a complete curriculum with lesson plans, science kits, testing materials and teacher's guides. The programs have been extensively tested in many schools and really work.

Experiments and Lesson Plans In what follows, I will give an outline of the areas of science covered and list the types of experiments described. My goal in designing these pages in twofold. First, I want to provide middle school and high school teachers with a large group of tested experiments to use in their science classes and second, I want to inspire students to see that science is a way of asking questions and getting reliable answers and not just looking at pondwater under a microscope. With that idea firmly in mind I looked for experiments that do not have obvious outcomes and are challenging because they require a cerain amount of student input in the selection of a question to be asked. These experiments are designed to provide students with a strong grasp of the biology involved and the role that experimentation plays in the discovery of new knowledge. Teachers need to emphasize to the class that these exercises are designed with two purposes in mind: to illustrate principles of biology and, more importantly, to show them how to construct a hypothesis, test it and interpret the results. I have tried to set up the experiments so that inexpensive, readily available materials and apparatus can be used. It is assumed that the lab has basic glassware and reagents, scales, thermometers, microscopes, dissecting tools, and computers. For teachers with some mechanical skill and time I will include plans for do-it-yourself construction of lab equipment such as digital photomicrography setups, electrophoresis chambers, computer-assisted data acquisition networks, etc. Emphasis is placed upon preparing the students thoroughly for the experiments so that they understand the questions asked, what importance attaches to the results and how the methods are designed to answer the questions accurately and completely. I have tried to design experiments that arouse curiosity and do not have obvious answers. Examples from the scientific literature are presented to point out how previous workers have struggled with the same sorts of questions and even how they have failed when experiments were designed poorly. In this way, students should see that science is a work of people--not just a catalog of facts and theories in a textbook. The importance of making accurate observations, of working carefully, and of recording all results--even ones that seem irrelevant--is continuously stressed. It is hoped that teachers will also consult the other pages on this site, particularly the science history and nature walks sections. I don't like to teach history as 'History' because I believe it tends to generate a preconceived attitude that what follows is just a boring bunch of dates and dead people. There is an art to bringing the past to life and it is something that I feel very strongly about. Why are we here if all that happens gets shoved into a dusty archive to be dredged up only in scholarly discussions? How can we make students see that Galileo was a real person with loves and pains and frustration and moments of wonderful insight? I can't tell you how to do that but I can try to provide some unusual material and engaging details that you can use perhaps to create the imagery of a past time. Once students realize the connectedness between all scientists and the passage of knowledge and truth from one to the next, then I believe they have grasped the essence of science. Finally, as teachers I believe it is our responsibility to listen carefully to what our students are saying and to ask them to participate in their own education. We have come a long way since the time when a student was thought of simply as a passive vessel waiting to be filled with the vast knowledge and experience of our superior minds. Flexibility and diversity must be built into the process so that teachers feel free to experiment with novel methods of education in order to capture that willful spark of attention without which true learning is impossible.

Featured Experiments and Methods for the Classroom Computer Simulations of Global Climate Change Climate change researchers use highly complex computer simulations to model what happens when certain changes, like temperature or CO2 increase, are introduced into the earth's ecosystem. They use software that has to run on multiple supercomputers, so that makes such experiments beyond our reach as classroom teachers, right? Not so! NASA has produced a scaled-down but still valid simulation program called EdGCM, for Educational Global Climate Model, that you can download here free with registration. Students can quickly learn to use EdGCM and then design research projects to test the effects of changing a variety of global climate parameters. Running the simulation gives them a graphic demonstration of the effects of even small changes in human activities on sea levels, plant growth and other measures. Great for classroom demonstrations or independent projects, try out the EdGCM and let me know how it works for you. National Science Project to Study Effects of Climate Change on Animal Migration Want to participate in a great scientific adventure where you learn by becoming a partner in a project rather than just reading a textbook? Then join the Journey North! Journey North is a nationwide science network sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation through its Annenberg Media division. Their goal is to utilize the best combination of online graphic, text, video and interactive methods to improve K-12 education in science and math. The website, tells you how to join as a teacher or a student, and the registration is free. I think this is one of the greatest amateur science projects in our country. This year over 17,000 classrooms in all 50 states and 7 Canadian provinces are participating in the Journey North. The plan of the project is for students to watch for the signs of seasonal change in their area's first appearance of flowers and leaves on sentinel plants, sightings of migrating birds, weather changes, and the like, and to record them and publish their data online for other students to see. In this way, everyone can track the progress of the seasons and see if there are any significant changes to the normal pattern, for example an earlier appearance of flowering because of global warming. Classes can choose to concentrate on one species like the monarch butterfly, ruby-throated hummingbird or, here in Florida, the manatee. The students are hooked up with scientists across the country who volunteer their help by providing tracking data, scientific advice and mentoring. Spring migration monitoring lasts from February to June, but there's also a fall watch for signs of the southward migration. The animal sightings, plant information, weather data and other observations are gathered together by the dedicated Journey North staff and published on the website for all to study. The information from so many observers can provide surprisingly useful scientific data, especially now when climate change is such an important topic for environmental planners. The Journey North has been a model for excellence in science education since its establishment in 1991. Involving students in real-life observation, careful data recording and processing and online publication gives them an exceptional experience of the way real scientists work. They can be proud of their part on the team, and what they learn on the job is going to stick with them. And for some, this experience may be the stimulus to a great career as a scientist.

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Areas of Biology Included in Experiments

MONERA Basic techniques and culture conditions Microscopy Genetics Bioremediation Soil bacteria Extremophiles Bioluminescent bacteria

FUNGI Identification and classification Culturing and growth conditions Funaria test Mycorrhizae Yeasts Slime molds

PLANTS Photosynthesis Growth hormones Tropism Cell biology

INVERTEBRATES Responses Cell Biology Insects Genetics

VERTEBRATES Amphibians Fish Birds Mammals

BIOCHEMISTRY Classes of molecules Properties of water Solutions, buffers and pH Proteins DNA and RNA Enzymes

ECOLOGY Sampling methods Biodiversity Microhabitats

MATHEMATICS Statistics

HUMANS Genetics Senses Cell biology

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USEFUL SITES The descriptions and opinions appended to each link are my own and do not necessarily reflect an accurate or complete picture of the site. The order of the entries does not imply anything about relative rank or importance. I have no interest in promoting one site over another. The sites included here are simply ones that I find useful in teaching, following the news in science, setting up lab experiments and gathering information.
Science News	Ref Desk	Organizations	Teaching & Science Projects	Science Books & Magazines	Scientific Suppliers	Chemistry & Molec. Biol.
Cell Biol. & Microbiology	Fungi & Plants	Invertebrates	Vertebrates	Ecology & Environment	Computing & Statistics	Physiology & Medicine

SCIENCE NEWS Wired News - Contains a wide-ranging mix of news stories and interviews from the commonplace to the decidedly unusual. Reuters Science News - Factual reports on science-related stories for the professional and the public. Science Daily - Online science news magazine that summarizes content from universities and research institutes with links to the original story. This is one of my all-round favorite news sites. It covers everything: biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, computing, space, archeology, technology and more. There are many links to outside sites useful for students, teachers and the public looking for science information. Scientific American news - Some content free, some by subscription only. There are some videos provided by Reuters and links to science blogs. Science News - The classic weekly news magazine of all areas of science. Has archive of back issues to 1926. Some content only available to subscribers. Has good links. MIT Technology Review - An excellent source for learning about the newest technological discoveries and research. Articles have links and a list of related articles and can be downloaded as pdf files. The Why Files - Current science news stories including archive. BBC Health News - With the vast resources of the BBC and their usual excellent reporting and writing, this site provides information on every area of medicine. Medical conditions A to Z, lifestyle and health (diet, fitness, complementary medicine, etc.), medical tests, staying healthy at 50+, help and advice. There is also a message board where you can communicate with others. NewsWise Daily Wire - This is one of the best sources of up-to-the-minute news stories in medicine, science, the humanities and business. There are services for journalists that require subscription, but they also offer free daily email news alerts for the public from scientific journals, universities, institutions, research organizations, governement labs, and professional societies from around the world. The content is factual, clearly written and supported by references to the source material. I often get ideas for science blogs from reading NewsWise stories. REFERENCE DESK Webster's Online Dictionary (Rosetta Edition) - This amazing dictionary not only defines a word but gives you every conceivable bit of accessory information about it from its origin, to biblical references, translations into many foreign languages, pictures, examples from literature and more. Great for people who like to browse through the dictionary. Pandora's Word Box - This site provides a wonderful tool for studying word origins and also learning about mythology and the classics. Designed to help med students master terminology, there is an alphabetical listing of words that includes numerous root examples from several languages, quotations from classical authors using the word, and illustrations. For inveterate dictionary readers like me this site is great for just browsing. Google image search - We all use Google as a search engine for the web, but have you tried using the Google Image search tool? I think it is great! From the main google page select image search, type in the keywords describing the image you want and click search. You get a page of thumbnails that you can easily look through to find exactly what you want--or even things you hadn't thought of yet! Then click the image and the page on which the image appears is shown with a clickable viewer to see an enlarged version. It's so easy. I found things this way that would have taken me much longer to do as a straight websearch. And, you will probably find some useful images that you weren't even looking for. Just be sure to check on the copyrights if you are planning to use them. Online dictionary - This free dictionary is from the same company that provides FreeLibrary. Not only does it fully define a word, it also provides synonyms and antonyms, and an example of its use from literature with a link to the work from which the quote comes! OneLook word search - Search for word definitions from 970 online dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference sites. Translations from or into Spanish, German, French, etc. are also possible. One unique feature is called the revese dictionary. Here you type in a question, a description or a simple phrase and OneLook will come up with a list of possible matches. Great for crossword puzzle solving. Teaching and learning Latin - This website was put together by St Louis University for teachers and students as a help to acquiring proficiency in reading and speaking Latin. There are many exercises and readings taken from such classical sources as Cicero and Marcus Aurelius, plus Latin translations of Aesop's fables, Shakespeare's sonnets and Confucius' Analects, plus movies and sound files. There are also links to general information on Roman history, discussions of the value of classical learning and Latin grammars from the 1600's. The Educypedia - Contains links arranged in five groups: Information Technology (software, CD/DVD, tutorials, etc.); Resources dictionaries, encyclopedias, images and clipart, history, etc.); General (news, weather); Electronics (antennas, repairs, circuits, etc.); Science (anatomy, geology, myths, math, etc.). The Skeptic's Dictionary - This website is the creation of Robert T. Carroll, the author of a book also called The Skeptic's Dictionary". It points out fallacies, fuzzy logic, insufficient evidence, and outright fraud in over 400 topics covering UFO's and aliens, the paranormal and the pseudoscientific. Librarians' Index to the Internet - A collection of links on many subjects including history, science, gardening, html guides, biography and much more. Newave History Worldsearch - Want to see what happened in 1430? Just go to this site and click on the appropriate date range and you will get a list of major events for that year. There is also a sidebar that gives a brief description and link for a major event that occurred on the current day throughout history. A fun site to browse and also a good way to put things in their proper context. Virtual Library - Originating from the UK, this site has links to education, history, museums, philosophy, general reference, science and more. Internet History of Science Sourcebook - This site consists of an organized directory of links to sources for the ancient, medieval and modern history of scientific thought. The directory was constructed by Paul Halsall of Fordham University for students and teachers of the history of science and provides an ideal starting point for advanced reading in specific periods or countries. The sources are public domain and copyright-permitted for use in research and teaching. Internet Modern History Sourcebook - This site was also constructed by Paul Halsall of Fordham University for students and teachers of modern history. The index has been updated for easier use and consists of a list of clickable categories with brief highlights. They include: The Reformation, the Early Modern World, Everyday Life, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. For example, clicking 'Industrial Revolution' brings up several pages of links to texts with descriptions--"Lowell Mill Girls" by Harriet Robinson, "Women Miners in the English Coal Pits", and "Observations on the Loss of Woolen Spinning", ca. 1794. This is a great site for teachers or simply for those interested in a particular historical period. Reading primary sources is an excellent way to get the real flavor of the times. People Darwin Knew. - This useful list of fifty-one 19th century figures includes such luminaries as Charles Lyell, the famous geologist, and Wilberforce, the anti-evolution bishop, along with Darwin's girlfriend, Fanny Owen, and a fascinating group of geologists, military men, clergymen, teachers and others. The short biographies for each one and the description of their influence on Darwin are very useful when you just want a concise footnote for an article. University of Richmond Writing Center - A comprehensive site for writers of nonfiction--essays, research reports, term papers and the like. The information is well-organized by topics and has a search box for finding specific items. Biographical Encyclopaedia - An unusual and well-written compendium of philosophers, scientists, churchmen, writers and other historical persons, this free online encyclopedia is provided by Thoemmes Press. These scholarly articles are written by expert historians, researchers, professors, etc. The World Factbook 2003 - This site is run by the CIA and gives information about the world's countries. The 'intelligence' is arranged in easily readable bits covering all the essential facts about the country's geography, resources, physical features, people, government, national leaders, economy and, of course, its military capability. Biochemistry Glossary - The Portland Press which produced this glossary is the publishing subsidiary of the Biochemical Society of London. This searchable directory of definitions of biochemical terms is up-to-date and comprehensive, and even includes some primary source references for detailed reading. Poetry online - The U. of Toronto English Dept. has put together this marvelous collection of online poetry from earliest times to recent. There is a name index, a poem index, and surprisingly, an index by date so that you can read selections from specific periods to experience the flavor of the times as expressed by its poets. Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911 edition. This edition of EB is freely available through the LoveToKnow website and is an OCR version of the original. The illustrations are absent and there are numerous typos but the text is readable. This edition is commonly known as the Scholar's Edition because of the great number of articles by famous authorities in each field. Wikipedia - The free online encyclopedia constructed and edited by the users. Now including over 225,000 entries. Clemson BioLab newsgroup Internet Archive - This ambitious project aims to produce and maintain an archive of all the public websites on the net from as far back as 1999. Their database now contains over 300 terabytes! The project is a combined effort of the Alexa group, Library of Congress, National Science Foundation, and others. Searching is done by title of page but a full-text search mode will be available soon. The site also has links to downloadable books, music and movies, as well as a very useful FAQ. Museum of the History of Science - Housed in the Old Ashmolean Building in Oxford, UK, this treasure trove of scientific instruments, books and artefacts from antiquity to modern times is a must-see for everyone interested in the history of experimental science. The website includes a list of on-line exhibits including a description of recent finds from the grounds of the museum itself during its recent refurbishment. ORGANIZATIONS NABT-National Association of Biology Teachers - The NABT, based in Reston, Virginia, has more than 9000 members and is dedicated to improving the quality of life sciences education. The website contains news, announcements of conferences and workshops, a bulletin board, and many more useful resources. Society for Amateur Scientists - A society started by Shawn Carlson, winner of a McArthur award, to promote and support research by 'citizen' scientists. NSTA-National Science Teachers Association - This is the major national science teacher's organization, including elementary, middle school, high school and college. The NSTA publishes a journal for each educational level and persons who join NSTA may opt to receive one or all of the journals. There is news of the day, announcements, links, discussion groups, information on jobs and career, and a list of teaching resources including books, software, videos, science kits and supplies, and more. The NSTA recently received a $7.5 million grant from NSF to develop a mentoring system for new middle and high school science teachers (VMSS-Virtual Mentoring for Student Success). CELL & MICROBIOLOGY Kimball's Biology Pages. - This online biology textbook has been around for many years and just keeps getting better as Harvard professor John Kimball continues to add to and update the information. Searching of the huge database is by keyword or alphabetical by subject. It is the many hyperlinks, however, that define and organize the terms that make this site such an effective self-learning tool. The level of difficulty of the content is from high school through college. Cell animations. - Moving depictions of the Krebs cycle, protein synthesis, meiosis, etc. for advanced high school and college students. Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology. - This production of the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State U. has it all--a microbe zoo, microbe of the month, tales of microbes and microbes in the news--as well as many links to other sources on the web. Microscopy-UK - This unique site was put together by an online community of scientists, artists, lay people and amateur microscopists and contains an eclectic mix of photo galleries, tips on microscopy, items for sale, and much more. On Closer Inspection - This is the personal website of a photomicroscopist named Tom Webster. The site includes an excellent description of how to set up a photomicroscopy lab on a limited budget. There's also much helpful info on selecting the proper film (yes, he uses real film, not digital) and lighting. If you are interested in making videos of critters under the microscope, check out his description of the camera setup and look at the great short clips of rotifers, oscillatoria and other pond life. Home microbiology lab. Basic and complete information for the beginning microbiologist. Excellent descriptions of micro lab safety and techniques for utilizing equipment found around the home to do experiments. The Bioluminescence Webpage. This is a serious research-oriented site with peer-reviewed content, announcements of meetings, links to papers in scientific journals, and a description of the chemistry and physice of bioluminescence. The pages are the product of a group of bioluminescence researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara. FUNGI AND PLANTS The Fifth Kingdom - The name of this site refers to the nomenclature that places the fungi within a kingdom separate from plants. There is a great collection of fungi photos, and some online content from the textbook , The Fifth Kingdom. LichenLand - From Oregon State University, this introduction to the lichen family is geared to children but information varies from elementary to advanced. The parts of lichens are illustrated by photographs with a sidebar description and there are many additional links for more information. Into the world of lichens - This one page overview of lichens gives you all the essentials about these unusual symbionts. Habitat, biology, ecology, uses in medicine and industry, indicators of environmental pollution and more aspects of lichens are explained in a few clearly written paragraphs. On the page there are links to other lichen sites where you can get additional information and illustrations for teaching about lichens. New York Botanical Garden Virtual Herbarium - Consists of searchable catalogs of the vascular plant specimens, fungi, lichens, and plants of regional areas--North and South America, West Indies, neotropics, etc. The vascular plant catalog is arranged according to families and has over 90,000 listings most of which have digitzed images. There is also free software that you can download to make your own digital herbarium. The Modern Herbal - This classic 1931 book on the use of herbs was written by Maude Grieve and contains anatomical descriptions of the herbs, their medicinal or household use, the active components and quotations from the classic herbals such as Gerard's and Culpepper's. Henriette's Herbal Homepage - A good resource for all things herbal. Henriette Kress, who lives in Finland, started this site in 1995 and it has grown steadily as befits a collection of plant information. Here you can find photos of herbs, herbal FAQ's, online readable pharmacopeias and dispensatories from the 19th and early 20th centuries, and links to lots of neat stuff. VERTEBRATES The Whole Frog Project - Contains numerous links to virtual frog dissection. With high-resolution 3D photos and MRI sections, these images provide more detail than can be seen in an actual dissection. COMPUTING AND STATISTICS Alexa - Here you can find statistics on the most popular websites on the net, the hottest news items, information on Alexa's database and webcrawling software and much more. Alexa is affiliated with Amazon. PC Magazine - Here is your one-stop shopping point for news, reviews of products and software, downloadable freeware and shareware, solutions to computing problems, security, and more. Information changes frequently, so it's worth checking the site once a week or so. Advanced scientific calculator and units converter - Can do logarithms, trig functions, pi and convert from one type of unit to another. Virtual Statistics - Aimed at students, this probability and statistics simulator allows you to learn about all the common measurements tools. Tutorial for making webpages using html coding. Covers mostly basic information but has a complete list of links for more advanced coding. Has a really easy to use color chart that gives the names and the codes for a selection of colors. There are also free banners, sidebars, and buttons to use on your pages. Tutorial explaining how to use the National Library of Medicine search site for journal articles.

TEACHING AND SCIENCE PROJECTS BEoN-Biology Education Online - BEoN is a peer-reviewed online journal for life sciences teachers (K-16). It is produced by the NABT and Access Excellence (at the National Health Museum) with funding from the National Science foundation. National Science Education Standards-1996 This document is available as a downloadable pdf from the National Academies Press website. The download is free but you have to register with an email and zipcode. They also offer 3000 other titles online in 26 categories from agriculture to urban development. The content, for the most part is academic, analytical and specialized, but can be very useful if you are researching a special topic. The Gateway to Educational Materials - Sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Education, this site contains a huge number of links to educational resources on the net. The site is well organized, allowing you to search according to grade level (pre-K through adult education) as well as subject, and also to limit the search to free material. Access Excellence at the National Health Museum was originally produced by Genentech beginning in 1993. It is now the educational arm of the National Health Museum and provides teachers of biology and health sciences a site for interaction with students and colleagues. U.S. government teaching resources site. - Offers lesson materials in various areas including the arts, science, health, and technology. Material comes from a consortium of over 30 federal agencies that pooled their resources to provide free content for teachers and students. BioEd Online - Biology Teacher Resources. This site, sponsored by the Baylor College of Medicine, Baylor, Texas, USA, and Texas A&M, has science news, discussion forums for teachers to exchange ideas on lesson plans, labs, textbooks, etc., and teaching resources such as Powerpoint slide sets that can be downloaded. Lesson Planet. - Billed as the 'largest directory of lesson plans on the web', and with 30,000 plans I would imagine the claim is true. Covers all subjects and grades and has resources for parents and students as well as teachers. There is a list of the teaching standards by state, web tools, clip art, grant information, job listings, collaborative programs and member information as well as the wealth of actual educational content. Mr. Walton's Science Page. - Contains course outlines for biology, chemistry and physics from Brunswick Academy in Virginia (K-12). The intro page has a listing of current computer virus/worm outbreaks with links. How stuff works - Very interesting site for those of us who are curious about everything. There are explanations of the mechanics of tanks, the ins and outs of file sharing, the use of DNA as a cancer diagnostic tool, how the Mars rovers work and much much more. Good browsing site. BioInteractive - Science teaching tools from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Includes animations and videos, virtual museum and virtual labs, and Ask-a-Scientist for answers to your science questions. Science project help - This site advertises itself as the largest on the net for science project ideas, information and help. Projects are offered for grades 1 through 12. The Biology Project - Created and maintained by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics of the University of Arizona, the site provides lesson plans and activities for middle and high school teachers and a wealth of information about basic chemistry, molecular biology, biochemistry, metabolism, photosynthesis, development, cell biology, human biology, immunology, genetics and more. Indiana Biolab. Started and developed by Harold Eddleman, PhD, and president of Indiana Biolab, this site clearly reflects Dr Eddleman's warm personality and enthusiasm for science teaching. There are numerous useful links for teachers, students looking for help on science projects, or lay persons simply wanting more information about some aspect of biology. There are detailed descriptions of experiments in microbiology using simple equipment and supplies that can be found in the home or purchased inexpensively. There's lots more, so go and browse! Understanding evolution. - Designed for teachers, this comprehensive site presents the history, evidence, relevance and misconceptions about evolution. Ambleside Online. - This site provides access to the curriculum materials of the Charlotte Mason philosophy of teaching. Most of the material and links are free for home or classroom use and are based on a method of teaching in which the child learns from primary materials, observation and discussion rather than textbooks. There are innumerable interesting links such as Why read Plutarch?, the Shakespeare Resource Center, nature poems, and a whole series of articles from a 19th century publication called the Parents Review. Sigma Xi - Job resource for students. Has listings according to science category. Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab Lab Dad's laboratory SEED-home lab experiments Home training science lab tools Retirees' science demos SCIENCE BOOKS AND MAGAZINES Dover books - Reprints and publishes a huge variety of out-of-print titles including many interesting older science books. FreeLibrary - A collection of freely accessible online books, mostly nonscientific, but including Darwin and Descartes. Associated Booksellers Exchange - Used and new books for sale from a large coalition of online booksellers. Use the simple search menu to look up an author or title or subject and you will get an extensive list of all the works for sale from worn reading copies to signed first editions to Marocco-bound rarities. The homepage has news of books and authors. Biotechniques Online - This free journal of methods, protocols and tips is the oldest (30 years) in print and is now available online with a search box so you can find specific topics from back issues. Designed for researchers in biology, biochemistry, medicine, etc.,the articles can be very technical, but many provide simple, basic techniques applicable to school or amateur labs. Scientific American - Homepage of the classic American magazine of science and invention. Science news and some magazine content available online. You can get answers to scientific questions through the Ask the Experts page. The American Naturalist - Beginning publication in May 1867 at the Univ. of Chicago Press, AN is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Naturalist Society. It publishes articles on plants and animals, ecology, behavior, genetics, evolution, and more. Internet History Sourcebooks - Historical source material collected and edited by Paul Halsall of Fordham University. The site is searchable and includes science and world history (ancient, medieval and modern). All material is copy-permitted for classroom use. Discourse on Reason by Rene Descartes Alexandria and Her Schools-the Ptolemaic Era by Charles Kingsley History of Science Vol.1, the Beginnings of Science by Henry Williams History of Science Vol.2, Beginnings of Modern Science by Henry Williams History of Science Vol.3, the Physical Sciences by Henry Williams History of Science Vol.4, Chemistry and Biology by Henry Williams SCIENTIFIC SUPPLIERS Carolina Biological Supply Nebraska Scientific.Co. - Sells kits for DNA extraction and gel electrophoresis, paper and thin-layer chromatography, blood typing, enzyme assays, and many more. They also have common bacterial strains, chemicals, balances, microscopes, glassware, plastics and other lab items. American Science and Surplus - an ecelectic selection of useful, hard to find items for science fair projects, teaching demos, or just plain fun. Some of the categories are toys, arts & crafts, electronics, hardware, house & garden, lab supplies, motors, office supplies and tools. LabWarehouse.com - Lab glassware and tubing, microscopes, scales, corks, vials, teaching kits and many other items. Kevin Kelly's Cooltools CHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY The Virtual Chemistry Lab. - Provides a platform for students to perform online chemistry experiments. The simulations cover all areas of a high school or college introductory chemistry course - molarity and solutions, titration, acid-base equilibria, thermodynamics, etc. Students can experiment on their own or be assigned specific exercises to complement homework problems. The Vlab software can also be downloaded to provide a standalone application. Organic chemistry help. - Designed for both basic and advanced student, OChem has flashcards for memorizing reactions, lots of animations and visuals, and practice tests to sharpen your skills. Biotech Online. - A resource for information on chemistry and biology. There is a dictionary of biological terms, a descriptive list of chemical acronyms, an introduction to glycolysis and a section on the medicinal properties of plants. INVERTEBRATES Insect database. - Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology has put together a wonderful collection of bug images for identification and enjoyment. Collembola of the World. - Collembola or springtails as they are commonly known are an ancient, ubiquitous and fascinating group of arthropods. They can easily be raised in the lab and used in various behavioral experiments. This site includes a photo gallery of springtails, extensive and technical taxonomy and information on anatomy, physiology, ecology and paleontology. ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT Environmental Education on the Internet - This site is sponsored by the North American Association for Environmental Education. and is a member of the Environmental Education and Training Partnership, EETAP USGS Biology Resources - The U.S. Geological Survey has been around for 125 years and has amassed a huge archive of informaton about the earth, its natural features, ecology and resources. There are data on invasive and endangered species, environmental impact studies, links to local and regional groups, and much more. US Environmental Protection Agency - The EPA website contains a lot of information about environmental education programs and links to other sites. There is a clickable US map that takes you to regional EPA sites for local information in a specific area. There is a list of EPA-sponsored environmental education program grants that you can apply for (the deadline was Jan. 2004, however). So you don't miss the next grant cycle, there is a calendar of important dates and events. The Globe Program - A worldwide group of students who perform experiments and do observations of their local environments and ecosystems and report to the Globe net where the information is assembled and added to the published database. Teachers can use this site as an example of scientific collaboration and cooperation in the study of ecology and the answering of important questions about environmental protection. Virtual Forest - With this forest model program from Hampshire College, you will be able to see both the forest and the trees. Change the amount of rainfall, the light, temperature, soil, etc. and see what happens to over 30 species of trees. PHYSIOLOGY AND MEDICINE Comparative anatomy-circulatory, digestive, respiratory, reproductive and nervous systems.

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