·http://www.nms.ac.uk/explore/

The National Museums of Scotland host an astonishing range of collections - many of them available for viewing online. The Explore page opens to three basic didactic venues. Collections Stories, which delve deeply into the museums' collections, feature explorations of a variety of subjects from Mary, Queen of Scots to the Concorde supersonic passenger jet. The Play section utilizes interactive games to teach children about Ancient Egypt, the Romans, the Vikings, and other subjects. Finally, readers may use the Search Our Collections option to browse the database of over 24,000 beautiful and fascinating objects. [CNH]

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·http://www.who.int/wer/en/

The World Health Organization publishes a freely available and easily accessible Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER), and this web site has every issue, including records that date back to 1926. Readers may start anywhere, but one interesting plan of entry is to begin with the current issue, and work backwards. For instance, the November 21, 2014 issue (No. 47, 2014, 89, 517-528) includes reports on global routine vaccination coverage and progresses toward poliomyelitis eradication in Nigeria, while the June 18, 1996 issue covers a variety of topics, including antimicrobial resistance monitoring. Each issue is written in both English and French. [CNH]

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·http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/participate/marsforeducators/

The not-so-distant planet Mars has fascinated students for generation, and these days we know more than ever about the Red Planet. This special Mars for Educators section of the NASA website features a wealth of great resources for teachers. For younger classes, educators will want to look to Imagine Mars, a national arts, science, and technology initiate that challenges young people to design a livable community on the planet. Teachers with older students might like the Mars Robotics Education section, which outlines lesson plans about the robotics used to explore the planet's surface. Additionally, there are many curriculum supplements and classroom resources highlighted on the page. [CNH]

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·http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/

The Annenberg Learner's Bridging World History course consists of 26 units organized along a chronological thread. The site features a staggering array of worthwhile resources, including visual aids, expert interviews, an archive of more than 1,500 images and maps, and an audio glossary where students can click and listen to the pronunciation of over 300 place names and historical figures. A great place to start is About the Course, which outlines the logic of the class and provides an overview of the units. Then delve into the units themselves, as they guide you through agricultural and urban revolutions, the spread of religions, early empires, and much more. While middle school and high school teachers will certainly benefit from this information-soaked site, anyone with even a passing interest in world history will also find much to ponder here. [CNH]

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·http://www.climate.gov/teaching

Earth's climate is a mind bogglingly complex system of interdependent parts and teaching about that system is no easy task. This site from NOAA climate.gov provides all the resources teachers need to bring the subject to life. Educators may wish to start with the featured resources, which update regularly. The information-thick e-pamphlet, Teaching Climate Literacy, is another great feature that highlights seven essential principles for informed climate decisions. Educational resources and tools can be browsed by topic, including: Climate Systems, Causes of Climate Change, Measuring & Modeling Climate, Climate Impacts, Human Responses to Climate, and Nature of Climate Science. [CNH]

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·http://digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/landingpage/collection/berkpost

"There's a time when the operating of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part... And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheel, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop!" These words, shouted by the incendiary student leader Mario Savio at a free speech rally at UC-Berkeley in 1964, helped define a generation. Coupled with the war in Vietnam and the growing sense that the U.S. government no longer had the interests of its citizens in mind, Berkeley students led one of the loudest and most effective anti-government campaigns in American history. This special collection from the University of British Columbia features 250 posters from the protest movement. Often hand drawn, the posters are a powerful expression of the hope and bitterness of that tumultuous era. [CNH]

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·http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was founded in 1976 to advise the President and others in the executive branch on matters related to the complex fields of science and technology continually shaping our world. Recently OSTP has released reports on Big Data and Privacy, Education Technology, and the White House Science Fair. On the site, readers can click Pressroom to read dozens of similar reports, all freely available in PDF format. Currently featured on the site is President Obama's 45-minute speech to Loyola University students, in which he outlines a case for action on climate change. [CNH]

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·http://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections/AmerLangs

This collection from the University of Wisconsin, American Languages: Our Nation's Many Voices, is comprised of a slew of resources related to the regional dialects and distinct languages spoken in the United States, with an ear toward the German-American variations of the upper Midwest. A great way to explore the collection is by searching for individual interviews by keyword. For instance, searching for the word "child" returns 51 different interviews recorded in the late 1960's and early 1970s with men and women from around the country. Each interviewee exhibits his or her particular dialect while reading a story or speaking about issues of the day. [CNH]

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·http://www.foia.cia.gov/collection/soviet-and-warsaw-pact-military-journals

The Warsaw Pact, which was signed by eight communist states in the spring of 1954 as a reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO, was a Cold War military alliance that lasted until the fall of the Berlin Wall. This site includes hundreds of now declassified documents related to the Warsaw Pact military strategy, from both U.S. and Soviet perspectives. Before delving into the ocean of information presented here by year, readers might like to first View the OPA Press Release and Collection Booklet, then download the PDF for a colorful and well organized introduction to the history, politics, economics, and war strategy surrounding this important Cold War treaty. [CNH]

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·http://collections.stanford.edu/mjf/

The Monterey Jazz Festival Digital Collection at Stanford University chronicles the longest running jazz festival in the world. Founded in 1958 in the seaside city of Monterey, California, the festival has hosted most of the world's great jazz players. On the home page simply click play to listen to a classic performance by Billie Holiday at the 1958 festival. Other offerings include an inspired improvisation from the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet and a classic drum arrangement from Tito Puente, among many, many others. A great way to explore the site is by clicking on Collection Highlights, where listeners can delve into Historic Performances, Jazz Educational Programs, and learn about The Festival Firsthand: Oral Histories and Interviews. [CNH]

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·http://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2014/housing/home.htm

This website by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is packed with stats about housing. For anyone who is curious about how homeowners, renters, and the housing industry have taken the hits of the Great Recession, this site is a welcome resource. Available online or as a downloadable PDF, readers will learn about customer spending on household items, employment in residential construction and housing related industries, prices for household items and commodities, and injuries in occupations related to construction and home-building. Graphs, charts, and tables bring the points home in a digestible, informative style. [CNH]

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·http://us.whales.org

Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), a non-profit organization that fights internationally for the rights of whales and dolphins in the face of hunting, habitat destruction, and other encroachment, hosts a beautiful and informative site. Start with About Whales and Dolphins to learn about over 80 species of these majestic sea mammals, including the antarctic minke whale, which is the smallest of the rorqual whales. Distribution maps and photographs accompany the detailed information provided here. The Brain Power section, which offers some facts about how whales and dolphins learn and pass on knowledge, is also worth the read. [CNH]

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·http://smp.uq.edu.au/content/pitch-drop-experiment

Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest-running laboratory experiment, the Pitch Drop Experiment was inaugurated by Professor Thomas Parnell in 1927 to illustrate that everyday materials can behave in truly strange ways. To start, Dr. Parnell took a sample of pitch, a derivative of tar commonly used to seal boats, and heated it. He then poured it into a sealed stem and let it settle. It's been "dripping" very, very slowly ever since. On this site from the University of Queensland's School of Mathematics and Physics, readers can learn about the experiment, watch a 10-second Pitch Drop Timelapse Video, or watch a Live view of the Pitch Drop Experiment. By signing up, readers can also join the over 31,000 others who diligently keep up the Tenth Watch in high resolution. [CNH]

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·http://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-hill

Which is taller, the U.S. Capitol Building or the Washington Monument? Is anyone buried in the Capitol? What is the "whispering gallery?" The answers to these questions and more can be explored on this beautiful and well-apportioned website. Visitors might like to start by perusing the sections on Architecture, Art, Buildings, Capitol Grounds, Facts, and History of Capitol Hill. Next, numerous 360 degree panoramas of the buildings and grounds are offered in the Multimedia Gallery. The Virtual Capitol also shouldn't be missed and will take readers to the Architect's Virtual Capitol. Here, readers can Discover, Explore, and Learn about this iconic American location via an interactive map and timeline. [CNH]

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·http://ngmaindia.gov.in

From the hauntingly beautiful images that appear in the intro to the arresting photographs of architecture, paintings, and sculptures throughout, the website for the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi proves to be a feast for the eyes. The site can be browsed by Collection and Exhibitions, but the most beautiful images are found by linking to Showcase. From there, an essay about the NGMA appears, as well as over a dozen categories, including Miniature Painting, Bengal School, and others. Select any of the categories for a short vignette and representative images. [CNH]

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·http://www.arl.org/

Although ARL exists primarily to serve the needs of research libraries and librarians, its work is of great importance to the scholarly community at large. ARL is guided by the idea that "open and equitable access to information is a fundamental tenet to society." In adhering to this principle, ARL promotes open access publishing and streamlining of the scholarly communication process. For those new to ARL, there's a handy 2 minute tour of the website found in the About section. The Publications & Resources area of the site provides access to a huge list of freely available resources including articles, statistics, issue briefs, conference proceedings, and SPEC kits, which are cumulated sets of best practices from ARL member libraries. [DS]

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·http://www.timeful.com

If you're looking for a clean, clear, simple app that helps you find time for the things you want to do, look no further. More than just a calendar app, Timeful intelligently helps you keep track of your life. For instance, after repeated To-Dos, Events, and Habits provided by you, the app will begin to make suggestions. Your approval or dismissal of these notifications help make smarter alerts for the future. Timeful is currently available for Apple devices running iOS 7.0+. [CNH]

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·https://vine.co

Put simply, Vine is a social video app. It allows you to shoot six second videos (continuously or stopping and starting) and share them with the world. While this might not sound like groundbreaking web genius, the catchy platform and online video sharing community can make it an addictive experience. Available for iOS (6.0+), Android (varies with device), and Windows. [CNH]

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NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Discovers New Batch of Earthlike Planets
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150106-kepler-goldilocks-exoplanets-universe-space-science/

ALIEN EARTH: Red sun's habitable world spotted 470 light years away
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/01/07/alien_earth_with_a_red_sun_discovered_470_lightyears_away/

'Alien Earth' is among eight new far-off planets
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30705517

Eight New Planets Found in "Goldilocks" Zone
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2015-04

Kepler Mission Overview
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/overview/#.VK2tPmTF_pA

Validation of twelve small Kepler transiting planets in the habitable zone
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~torres/smallHZ/smallHZplanets.pdf

Launched by NASA in the spring of 2009, the Kepler Telescope, a 15-by-9-foot space observatory, has encountered its share of speed bumps. In fact, the $600 million mission was brought to a dismaying halt a year and a half ago, when the space agency was unable to adequately repair two broken reaction wheels. So the announcement this week that analysis of existing data from Kepler had identified its one-thousandth verified planet was greeted with jubilation by many in the scientific community. Of special interest, the astronomers working on the data also established several new "earth-like" planets - that is, planets that are about the size and temperature of the earth, and might therefore support life. Natalie Batalha, of NASA's Ames Research Center, said, "I'm over the moon. This is tremendously good news for...the search for life beyond Earth." [CNH]

The first three links take readers to coverage of this groundbreaking data analysis from National Geographic, the Register, and the BBC, respectively. The fourth link navigates to a press release from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, which further details the breakthrough. Next, readers may scout NASA's Kepler homepage, which is loaded with information about the mission, including an overview, information about the spacecraft, and even a multimedia section. For those who really want to delve into the subject, the sixth link presents readers with the scientific paper that outlines these discoveries, to be published in The Astrophysical Journal.