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Resources for Educational and Science Content

Print, TV, and Video Material
Science Toys and Demonstration Equipment
Ideas for Inexpensive Classroom Demonstrations
Web-Based Science Education Material
Special Opportunities and Projects

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Print, TV, and Video Material

More than ever before, there is an enormous amount of high-quality science-based educational material available in the print and video media.

  • Magazines. These include such popular entries as Discover, National Geographic, New Scientist, Science News, Scientific American and - and others. Among the weekly newsmagazines, Time, Newsweek and The Economist all provide very good coverage, especially in areas such as medicine and technology. Some material is freely available online, some of it for a fee.

  • Newspapers. The Science Times (appearing each Tuesday in the New York Times is an excellent resource. Its coverage is quite broad. USA Today (see its Tech and Tech_Space sections) and the Wall Street Journal are also good sources, but their material is more specialized toward medicine and technology. USA Today and the New York Times provide their science material for free, while the WSJ may require a subscription. The New Mexican and the Albuquerque Journal both carry sections devoted to science and technology, though the coverage is mostly limited to issues of local interest.

  • Books. Computer-based page layout and image-management programs have revolutionized the publishing industry, and no place is this clearer than in the case of science books for the public. These days almost all of them are lavishly illustrated and intelligently laid out. Often the text is excellent as well. A number of publishers have even found ways to produce their works at very attractive prices (e.g. National Geographic, The Smithsonian Institute and Dorling-Kindersley).

  • Professional Journals About Science Education. Many professional societies have branches that focus on education, and many of those produce useful journals. An example is Science Teacher from the National Science Teachers Association.

  • Television. There are numerous excellent TV specials available, including the National Geographic and Nova series. These, and a significant amount of additional programming, are shown regularly on KNME. Good material can often be found on the Discovery Channel. CNN also has on its website special sections on science and technology. The other networks don't, and although most of them have "science correspondents," the nightly news segments are very short and unpredictable as to time. Occasionally there is a true "science special," but they are rare.

  • Video. There is also a wide variety of material available (usually as a by-product of made-for-TV specials) on DVD and VHS. Much of it is from National Geographic and Nova.

  • Web-based Video. Excellent sources of material on a wide variety of subjects can be found at Public Broadcasting Service TeacherSource and at WGBH (Boston) Teachers' Domain. The material on Teachers' Domain is free of charge. A good source of streaming video, on a huge variety of subjects, can be found at Discovery Education streaming. It is, however, a subscription service. YouTube also has a number of science-oriented segments which both instruct and amuse.

Science Toys and Demonstration Equipment

A search on Google for "science toys" yielded many possiblities. A few are listed below:

Most of the museums and science centers listed below also have gift shops featuring science toys.

An interesting local source of laboratory odds and ends made available through Government surplus is The Black Hole in Los Alamos (662-5053).

Ideas for Inexpensive Classroom Demonstrations

Edge, Ronald, ed., String and Sticky Tape Experiments, American Association of Physics Teachers.

Freier, G. D. and F. J. Anderson, eds., A Demonstration Handbook for Physics, American Association of Physics Teachers.

Pizzo, Joe, ed., Interactive Physics Demonstrations, American Association of Physics Teachers.

Web-Based Science Education Material

The URL's listed here are reliable sources of information for educational and science content. Please email us with any suggestions, corrections or omissions.

General Education (including science)

Science Education

A very comprehensive compendium of vetted, accurate information for teachers seeking to improve science, mathematics and engineering education is the National Science Digital Library. This site is funded by the National Science Foundation, and is operated by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and Columbia and Cornell universities.

GLOBIO's Glossopedia is a free, interactive, online encyclopedia for elementary-school science and general studies applications.

For general information about science content, see the Yahoo K-12 Science Education site.

Scilinks is a site created by the National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA) that directs students, teachers and parents to a host of professionally selected web sites that support the learning of science.

Science Made Fun claims to be your one-stop shop for science fun. Each topic is discussed in a podcast, which is accompanied on the site by photos, videos, games and links to other sites.

"TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted." (Taken from the TED website description.)

Science myths are interestingly tested on Mythbusters. Though created in fun, and done in an amusing way, these segments are often very good expositors of the scientific method.

Science Buddies is an excellent source of information about science fair projects.

An interesting website for general technical knowledge is How Stuff Works.

Wikipedia is an excellent reference source for science materials, though recall that it is open-source.

For unit conversions from almost anything to almost anything else, see the OnlineConversion site.

Don't forget the power of web-based search engines. They've changed everything about the way we do research. See Google Scholar or Google Earth for two recent examples of the power of Google. For much, much more see the Google Guide. The Google entry window can even be used as a very versatile calculator.

Science.gov is a gateway to over 50 million pages of authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. government agencies, including research and development results.

Click on General Resources for a listing of helpful sites containing information about science education in general.

Click on Science Resources in New Mexico for a listing of places in New Mexico that make available high-quality information for science educators.

Click on Science Resources from National Museums for a listing of museums that make available high-quality information for science educators.

The list below contains pointers to information about specific subjects in science.

General Resources

  1. American Association for the Advancement of Science site for educators
  2. American Association for the Advancement of Science Netlinks site
  3. Association for Women in Science
  4. Bill Nye, the science guy
  5. California Teach Program
  6. Center for Curriculum Materials in Science
  7. Center for Science Education (Education Development Center, Inc.)
  8. Copernicus Project
  9. Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS)
  10. Department of Energy Office of Science Education Site
  11. Discover Educator's Guide
  12. Eisenhower Nat’l Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education
  13. Enchanted Learning
  14. First Hand Learning
  15. Highly Interactive Classrooms
  16. Institute for Education and the Arts
  17. Instructional Materials in Science Education
  18. JASON Project
  19. K-12 Traveling Science Programs
  20. Museum of New Mexico Foundation
  21. NASA Education Website
  22. National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions
  23. National Center for Science Education
  24. National Science Digital Library
  25. National Science Foundation Classroom Resources
  26. National Science Resources Center
  27. National Science Teachers Association
  28. National Science Teachers Association SciGuides
  29. Public Broadcasting Service TeacherSource
  30. Project 2061 (AAAS)
  31. Science Education Centre, Soweto, South Africa
  32. Teachers' Domain, WGBH Boston
  33. Teaching Matters
  34. TERC
  35. WhizKids Foundation
  36. WGBH (Boston) Teachers Domain

Science Resources in New Mexico

For museums, observatories and laboratories in New Mexico see the subject areas below or go to the Calendar of Events.

  1. Center for Hands-on Learning
  2. College of Santa Fe
  3. Environmental Education Association of New Mexico
  4. Los Alamos National Laboratory
  5. Math, Science and Technology Partnership
  6. New Mexico Council of Teachers of Mathematics
  7. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
  8. New Mexico Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (NM MESA)
  9. New Mexico Network for Women in Science and Engineering
  10. New Mexico Partnership for Math and Science Education
  11. New Mexico Public Education Department Math and Science Bureau
  12. New Mexico Science Teachers Association
  13. New Mexico State University
  14. New Mexico Tech
  15. Sandia National Laboratory
  16. Santa Fe Community College
  17. Santa Fe Science Initiative
  18. St. John's College
  19. Science New Mexico
  20. University of New Mexico

Science Resources from National Museums

  1. American Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC)
  2. Association of Science - Technology Centers
  3. Boston Museum of Science
  4. Exploratorium (San Francisco)
  5. Flandrau Science Center (Tucson)
  6. Lawrence Berkeley Hall of Science (Berkeley)
  7. Liberty Science Center (Jersey City)
  8. Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
  9. Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC)

Science Resources by Subject Area

Agriculture Resources

  1. National Future Farmers of America Organization

Anthropology and Archeology Resources

  1. The Amerind Foundation
  2. Arizona State Museum
  3. Autry National Center (comprising The Southwest Museum of the American Indian, The Museum of the American West, and The Institute for the Study of the American West)
  4. Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe)
  5. Maxwell Museum (Albuquerque)
  6. Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (Santa Fe)
  7. National Museum of the American Indian
  8. National Park Service (Bandelier, Mesa Verde, etc.)
  9. School of American Research (Santa Fe)
  10. Valles Caldera National Preserve
  11. The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian (Santa Fe)

Art in Science Resources

  1. Felice Frankel: Envisioning Science
  2. Fractal Foundation
  3. Forum for Science and Art
  4. Eric Heller: Resonance Fine Art

Astronomy and Cosmology Resources

  1. Adler Planetarium
  2. American Astronomical Society Education Office
  3. Ask an Astrophysicist
  4. Astronomical Society of the Pacific
  5. Astronomy Center
  6. Astronomy.com
  7. Astronomy Education Review
  8. Astronomy Picture of the Day
  9. Astronomy Unbound
  10. Bad Astronomy
  11. ComPADRE (Many aspects of astronomy and physical science)
  12. Haystack Observatory (Radio astronomy)
  13. Inside Einstein's Universe
  14. Journey by Starlight
  15. Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGTN)
  16. Laser Interferometer Gravity Wave Observatory (LIGO)
  17. Magdalena Ridge Observatory (near Soccorro, NM)
  18. Microsoft WorldWide Telescope
  19. NASA Education Website
  20. NASA Student Observation Network
  21. National Astronomy Education Projects Catalog
  22. National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO)
  23. National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
  24. National Virtual Observatory (Education and Outreach)
  25. Perimeter Institute (Dark Matter)
  26. Rose Planetarium
  27. Santa Fe Community College Planetarium
  28. Sea and Sky
  29. Sloan Digital Sky Survey
  30. Sky and Telescope Magazine
  31. Space.com
  32. Windows on the Universe

Biological Sciences Resources

  1. Biological Sciences Curriculum Study
  2. Biology Daily
  3. Bugscope at the University of IIlinois
  4. Earth’s Birthday
  5. Encyclopedia of Life
  6. FastPlants
  7. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Lectures on Evolution
  8. New Mexico Game and Fish Department
  9. Rio Grande Zoo (Albuquerque)
  10. Voyage of the Beetle (A journey around the world with Charles Darwin)

Chemical Sciences Resources

  1. About Chemistry
  2. American Chemical Society
  3. ChemSense
  4. Honeywell Nobel Interactive Studio
  5. Journal of Chemical Education
  6. Materials World
  7. Nobel Prize Lectures in Chemistry
Climate Science Resources

  1. Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms
  2. NOAA Hurricane Education Materials
  3. Scenes from the South Pole Station
  4. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Complexity Science Resources

  1. Fractal Foundation
  2. New England Complex Systems Institute
  3. Santa Fe Institute

Computational Science Resources

  1. Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge
  2. Desert Academy computer laboratory (992-8284)
  3. National Center for Supercomputing Applications
  4. Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
  5. San Diego Supercomputing Center
  6. Santa Fe Prep computer laboratory (982-1829)

Ecological Sciences Resources

  1. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
  2. Audubon New Mexico (Randall Davey Center)
  3. Ecological Society of America
  4. EcoVersity (Santa Fe)
  5. Encyclopedia of Life
  6. Global Biodiversity Information Forum
  7. Hawkquest
  8. The Living Desert
  9. National Biological Information Infrastructure
  10. New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

Environmental Science Resources

  1. Environmental Education Association of NM
  2. Environmental Protection Agency (Go Green!)
  3. Environmental Protection Agency (What you can do at school)
  4. Exploring Energy in New Mexico
  5. Garbage Week
  6. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
  7. National Library of Medicine TOXMAP
  8. New Mexico Coalition for Clean, Affordable Energy
  9. New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department
  10. Parajito Environmental Education Center
  11. Project Learning Tree
  12. Project Wild
  13. WERC (A Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development)

Gardening Resources

  1. FastPlants
  2. Missouri Botanical Garden
  3. Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden
  4. Rio Grande Botantic Garden (Albuquerque)
  5. Santa Fe Botanical Garden

Geographical Sciences Resources

  1. Geographic Information Systems
  2. Geography Dictionary / Glossary for Students
  3. Google Earth

Geological Sciences Resources

  1. American Geological Institute
  2. American Geophysical Union
  3. Geological Society of America
  4. Geology.com
  5. Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)
  6. U.S. Geological Survey
  7. Valles Caldera National Preserve

Global Climate Change Sciences Resources

  1. Climate Change New Mexico (Resource list)
  2. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
  3. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Education
  4. Oregon State U. College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences
  5. U.S. Global Change Research Program

Marine Biology and Oceanography Resources

  1. Albuquerque Aquarium
  2. Georgia Aquarium
  3. Monterey Bay Aquarium
  4. Scripps Institution of Oceanography
  5. Sea and Sky
  6. Shedd Aquarium
  7. Tingley Beach (Albuquerque)
  8. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  9. The World's Oceans (Global Research and Development Org.)

Materials Sciences Resources

  1. About Temperature
  2. Advanced Light Source
  3. ASM International (Materials Information Society)
  4. Division of Condensed Matter Physics, American Physical Soc.
  5. Making Matter
  6. Matrials World Modules
  7. Molecular Expressions
  8. National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
  9. Spallation Neutron Source
  10. Stanford Synchrotron Research Laboratory
  11. National Synchrotron Light Source

Medicine and Public Health Resources

  1. BioQ Collaborative
  2. CDC Disease Detectives
  3. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service
  4. CDC National Prevention Information Network
  5. W. R. Clark Books (Lay introductions to medically related topics)
  6. Epidemiology Supercourse
  7. Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  8. John Snow and Public Health
  9. Mayo Clinic
  10. Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy
  11. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
  12. National Institutes of Health
  13. Nobel Prize Lectures in Medicine
  14. The Stanford Health Library
  15. University of Illinois School of Public Health
  16. WebMD

Musical Sciences Resources

  1. Concert Hall Acoustics
  2. David Lapp: Physics of Music and Musical Instruments
  3. Exploratorium on Music
  4. Musical Science in Australia
  5. Songs for Teaching

Nuclear and Particle Physics Resources

  1. ABC’s of nuclear science
  2. American Physical Society nuclear physics education site
  3. American Physical Society particle physics education site
  4. Bradbury Science Museum
  5. European Laboratory for Nuclear Physics (CERN)
  6. Fermilab
  7. Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics
  8. National Atomic Museum
  9. National Nuclear Science Outreach and Education Database
  10. Particle Adventure
  11. QuarkNet
  12. Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)
  13. Particle Physics Education Sites
  14. Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC)
  15. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
  16. US high-energy physics outreach programs

Nutrition Resources

  1. Nutrition Explorations
  2. Society for Nutrition Education

Physics Resources

  1. Adopt-a-Physicist
  2. American Association of Physics Teachers
  3. American Institute of Physics
  4. American Physical Society Forum on Education Directory
  5. American Physical Society Physics Central
  6. Conceptual Learning Approach to Waves (CLAW)
  7. ComPADRE (Many aspects of physics and physical science)
  8. Contemporary Physics Education Project
  9. Paul Doherty's Exploratorium Web Page
  10. Delores Gende's HS Physics Teaching Collection
  11. Einstein Online
  12. Honeywell Nobel Interactive Studio
  13. Hyperphysics
  14. Information on "Physics First"
  15. Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
  16. MIT Open CourseWare for AP physics
  17. My Physics Lab Simulations
  18. "Next Time Physics" (from Paul Hewitt)
  19. Nobel Prize Lectures in Physics
  20. Perimeter Institute (Exotic Physics Topics)
  21. Physics Education Technology
  22. Physical Sciences Resources Center, American Association of Physics Teachers
  23. Physics Classroom
  24. Physics Front
  25. Physics Hypertextbook
  26. Physics Quest
  27. PhysicsWeb Interactive Physics Experiments
  28. Purdue Physics Educational Assistance, Research and Learning Strategies (PEARLS)
  29. Robert Dalling's Links to Introductory Physics Instruction
  30. Society of Physics Students
  31. Sonoma State University Directory of Physics and Astronomy Educational Resources
  32. Julian Sprott's Demonstration Sourcebook for Teachers of Physics
  33. Hubert van Hecke's Web Page
  34. The Whysguy
  35. Windows on the Universe

Sport Science Resources

  1. Exploratorium on Sports
  2. Gatorade Sports Science Institute

Veterinary Sciences Resources

  1. Merck Veterinary Medical Manual