·http://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/zoology

With 29 zoology-related activities, comics, quizzes, games, book lists, and other sundry tidbits, the Zoology section of the American Museum of Natural History's OLogy website is a goldmine of resources for the preteen set. For instance, within Zoology Stuff select the Mammal Books icon for a list of annotated books, such as Steve Parker's Mammal, a "lushly illustrated" tome about the "natural history of mammal behavior and anatomy." Or select Create a Coral Reef for instructions on how to create a model of a coral reef, including sections on What You'll Need, What to Do, and Cool Coral Facts. Zoology Stuff can be filtered by categories such as All, Hands-On-Activity, and Games. Educators and parents working with elementary schoolers and middle schoolers will find excellent resources here. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://www.teachersandwritersmagazine.org/

Teachers & Writers Magazine is an online periodical published by the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, a group that "seeks to educate the imagination" through publications, workshops, and other literary arts resources. On the site, readers may scout the Essays & Articles, which are professionally composed and tend to focus on the intersection between literary creation and imaginative education. The Student Writing section is chock full of student essays, poems, and stories from around the country. And the well-organized Archives feature about a dozen former issues, dating back to the inauguration of the site in July 2014. In addition, educators will find many useful resources in the Lesson Plans section, such as Sarah Porter's lesson about sarcasm. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://bluebrain.epfl.ch

The Lausanne, Switzerland-based Blue Brain Project has been building a virtual brain in a supercomputer for over a decade. And while the task seems almost Sisyphean - simulating a single neuron takes approximately the computing power of a laptop - they have made tremendous strides. Readers may like to begin with the In Brief tab, which provides an overview, timeline, and glossary for the project. Next, the Science tab harbors a great deal of interesting insights, especially under the Results and Insights section (which can be located in the Publications subsection). Here readers may read summaries of research, such as Perin, Berger, and Markram's 2011 paper, "A Synaptic Organizing Principle for Cortical Neuronal Groups," which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/teens-in-the-times/

For educators who are searching for ways to make their lesson plans vital and relevant to teenagers, Teenagers in the Times is an excellent place to start. This monthly-published subset of the New York Times blog, The Learning Network, gathers a virtual phalanx of articles related to the experience and impact of teenagers. For instance, the June 2015 issue divides dozens of articles into three broad categories: Civics, Politics, Government, Economics, and Business; Science, Technology, Math, Health and Sports; and Arts, Media and Culture. Featured articles from that month include an expose of teenage slang, a profile of teenage golfer Brooke Henderson, and a look at the difficulties of French high school students, among many others. Activity sheets and links to lesson plans can be located are also available. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/

This Annenberg Classroom site starts with a well-informed curriculum about the American Constitution and its amendments, and then links those topics to daily civics news, student discussions, and a host of other interactive, ever-developing current events-based education. On the site, readers may like to start with the Knowledge section, which is divided into The Constitution, The Congress, The Presidency, The Courts, and State & Local. Within each category, subcategories fill out the picture. For instance, under the Constitution tab, readers will find a 25-minute documentary about the Supreme Court decision Miranda v. Arizona, which first required police officers to read suspects their Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. In addition, the Speak Out section features articles that articulate public policy debates, and then invites students to Join the Discussion. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·https://scratch.mit.edu/

Brought to the world by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group and the MIT Media Lab, Scratch allows children to program their own interactive stories, games, and animations, as well as share their projects with a larger online community. Parents and educators may like to start with Info for Parents and Info for Educators sections, which can both be located under the About tab. To take full advantage, users will first need to Join Scratch - a free and simple four-step process that requires nothing more than an email address. From there, users may peruse the Explore tab, where they will find thousands of projects in the categories of Animations, Art, Games, Music, and Stories. However, the heart of the Scratch site is the Create tab, where anyone can begin to design their own projects by following user-friendly instructions. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://www.fema.gov/coastal-flood-risks-achieving-resilience-together

This informative subset of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website offers a profusion of material on coastal flood risks in the continental United States. The various maps, charts, and articles may be scouted by interest group (Homeowners, Community Officials, Industry Professionals, etc.) or by geographic region (Atlantic, Pacific, Great Lakes, and Gulf of Mexico. In addition, readers may access dozens of brochures, fact sheets, case studies, catalogs, and other flood-related resources under the Coastal Flood Risk Resources tab. The brochure, "Local Strategies for Addressing Climate Change," is an excellent overview of flood risk strategies and can be found under the Case Studies section in the Coastal Flood Risk Resources tab. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·https://www.opensecrets.org

The Center for Responsible Politics was originally founded in 1983 by a bipartisan team of United States senators who were concerned about the increasing influence of money in American politics. The Center's OpenSecrets website came online just after the 1996 elections, and has been publishing analyses of money in politics ever since. The site's landing page, where readers can find daily blog entries and up-to-date coverage of the intersection of money and politics, is a good place to start. From there, readers may delve into four categories, including Politicians & Elections, Influence & Lobbying, News & Analysis, and Resources. The Resources page is especially compelling. Here readers may explore frequently asked questions, download a Follow the Money handbook, and even proffer an iPhone App. They may also participate in creating mashups with the Center's bulk data. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://www.americanantiquarian.org/prang/

Often considered to be the "father of the American Christmas Card," Louis Prang pioneered many technologies in chromolithography, becoming part of a wave of entrepreneurs that brought mass produced art into the homes of Americans. This site from the American Antiquarian Society features many of Prang's works, as well as informative annotations and a well composed biography. Readers may like to begin with the Christmas Cards tab, where they can read about Prang's great innovation and view some of the world's first Christmas cards. What is a Chromolithograph?, which can be located under the Chromolithography tab, explains the history and art of the lithograph, while the Education section outlines Prang's impact on art education in the United States. The heart of the site, however, is the beautiful Image Gallery, which features 40 original Items, complete with annotations. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013

It has become a truism that we live in an age of information. However, the true scale of the data currently available to the average citizen can still inspire some measure of awe. Such may be the experience when scouting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s crime website, which features a staggering array of crime statistics from around the country. Here readers may examine the statistics for violent crime, property crime, and clearances (cases that are closed due to an arrest). They can also look up hate crime statistics and read about law enforcement officers who were killed or assaulted. And they can do all of this by state, city, or even small town. In addition, the Frequently Asked Questions section provides answers to such quandaries as How many police officers are employed in my city? and Are more people murdered by a stranger or by someone they know? [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·https://wrightinracine.wordpress.com/

Frank Lloyd Wright, who was born Frank Lincoln Wright in Richland Center, Wisconsin in 1867 and died at age 91 in Phoenix, Arizona, was named by the American Institute of Architects, as "the greatest American Architect of all time." This blog by author, photographer, and Wright expert, Mark Hertzberg, orbits the famous Johnson Wax Headquarters, which was built in 1936 in Racine, Wisconsin, and to this day is considered a classic of American architecture. Blog posts are well-researched and often feature original photography. Recent entries have covered a new exhibition at SC Johnson, a celebration of Wright's birthday, renovations of old Wright buildings, and much more. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://www.ediblegeography.com/

With posts dating back to August 2009, Edible Geography is one of the web's best and oldest food blogs. Meticulously researched, the spunky, erudite entries will please most anyone interested in the history, art, science, and pleasures of everyday and exotic comestibles. Recent posts have delved into restaurant menu museum exhibits, "fourth-wave, post-globalization, micro-batch salt," and the wonders and horrors of a giant bread factory. Diving further back, Nicola Twilley, the brains behind the site, has blogged about the canners of New York City, the shape of Chicken McNuggets, the intricacies of banana shipping, and just about every other topic anyone could think of related to food. All in all, the mix of food and culture will give readers much to digest and enjoy. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/retrieve/Collection/CID/VC

This exhibit about the historical use of posters to inform the public about health issues provides a fascinating look into the way visual media have developed over time. Readers may like to begin with the Brief History section, which provides an introduction to the exhibit, including the innovations of French artists in the mid-19th century and the adoption of posters for the purpose of public health campaigns during World War I. From there, readers may explore the categories of Infectious Disease, Environmental Health, Anti-Smoking Campaigns, and HIV/AIDS, each of which is accompanied by a thorough annotation that introduces and explicates the context for the campaign, visual strategies, and other helpful information. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://www.philostv.com/

For those readers who love a good conversation, and especially a good conversation about great ideas, Philosophy TV provides an astounding array of material about nearly everything philosophically related. Interlocutors include grad students and professors neck deep in their disciplines, speaking on topics as widely ranging as free will, love, moral disgust, and astrophysics. Readers may like to scout the site by categories, of which there are many, including aesthetics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of psychology, just to name a few. Most episodes are approximately one hour long and are presented as a dialogue between two speakers. Each is accompanied by a handy text synopsis that explains what the two philosophers spoke about, including timestamps for specific reference to topics discussed. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/engineering/

Since its founding in 1995, ScienceDaily has published over 140,000 articles, 50,000 images, and thousands of new videos, all without subscription fees. The Engineering News section of the site is well known for its timely coverage of engineering innovations. Recent articles have explored a mathematical model that raises the possibility of bacteria-controlled robots, highlighted the spectra of macroscopic quantum behavior, and recapitulated analyses of Pluto drawn from the New Horizons spacecraft. Conveniently, each article begins with a pithy summary and ends with a link to the actual peer-reviewed journal being referenced. For readers who are looking for a single site from which to launch an exploration into the world of engineering, ScienceDaily's Engineering News is a wonderful place to begin. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/

Launched in July of 2015, the Digital.Bodleian website created quite the buzz amongst librarians, historians, and other communities invested in increasing access to cultural heritage online. While Oxford University’s Bodleian Library has been digitizing parts of their amazing collections for almost 20 years, the results were either spread across separate project websites or accessible only by visiting the library in person. Digital.Bodleian changes all that, bringing together more than 115,000 high-resolution images of books, manuscripts, maps, and more in one gorgeous interface. From the main page, users may either begin by searching the entire site by keyword, or by browsing through collections on topics ranging from Kalighat Paintings to The Entomologist’s Useful Compendium to the medieval Gough Map. Collections can also be filtered by types, including Early Printed Books, Maps, and Ephemera, as well as broad topics, such as History and Politics, and Science and Natural History. With features that allow users to curate their own collections, add notes and tags to individual images, share via social media, and even export images and metadata from the collection, expert researchers and curious amateurs alike will have plenty of reasons to revisit this growing resource. [EB]

Back to Top  |

·https://www.random.org/

Created by Dr. Mads Haahr of the School of Computer Sciences and Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, RANDOM.ORG has generated over two trillion truly random bits in its nearly two decade history. As the site notes, "true" randomness is not as easy to come by as one might think. In fact, most computers generate pseudo-random numbers using mathematical formulae. RANDOM.ORG, on the other hand, uses atmospheric noise to generate truly random numbers for anything from lottery drawings to coin flips to card shuffles. Many of the services on the website are free, though readers may also use the Third-Party Draw Service for a small fee. Readers may also like to explore the Learn About Randomness section, where they can learn about the history of randomness, read testimonials, and peruse quotations. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

·http://mapstack.stamen.com/

Map Stack allows educators, students, or anyone fascinated by maps to create exquisitely tailored cartographic images via a web-based click interface. The tool uses a system very close to the classic Photoshop platform of layers and palettes, allowing users to design their own maps without having to know any code, install software, or even do any typing. Layers are created using roads, labels, backgrounds, and even satellite imagery. In addition, the maps can be tweaked and fine-tuned with different colors, opacity, brightness, and other visuals. Best of all, the site makes sharing completed images via Pinterest and Tumblr quite easy. While learning the ins and outs of the site can take a little while, the results are more than worth it. [CNH]

Back to Top  |

How Trees Calm Us Down
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/what-is-a-tree-worth

New research suggests nature walks are good for your brain
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/06/29/fixating-or-brooding-on-things-take-a-walk-in-the-woods-for-real/

Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150709/srep11610/full/srep11610.html

Alliance for Community Trees: Resources About Trees
http://actrees.org/resources/about-trees/

Walking
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1862/06/walking/304674/

Ralph Waldo Emerson - Texts:
http://www.emersoncentral.com/natureand.html

A new study published in Scientific Reports made headlines this week with a bold conclusion: for every additional ten trees on a city block, people in the study experienced a whopping one percent increase in overall well being. As study author Marc Berman explained to Alex Hutchinson of The New Yorker, “To get an equivalent increase with money, you’d have to give each household in that neighborhood ten thousand dollars.” Berman's study, which boasts a sample size of over 30 thousand Toronto residents, is only the latest in a series of new investigations about the benefits of green spaces. For instance, one study showed that taking micro-breaks to look at nature boosted attention levels, while another suggested that participants who took a 90-minute walk in nature exhibited less signs of negative rumination than those that took a walk in an urban area. These findings will come as no surprise to nature lovers. It's nice, however, to know that Thoreau, Emerson, and many others among our great American writers, were right all along about the wondrous capabilities of nature. [CNH]

The first link, from The New Yorker, provides an overview of Berman's new study on the health benefits of trees. Next, the Washington Post's Chris Mooney reviews some of the latest research on green spaces more generally. Next up, the third link navigates to Berman's article, "Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center," which can be read in full online. After that, the Resources page of the Alliance for Community Trees offers many educational items. Finally, the last two links navigate to Thoreau's lauded essay, "Walking," and to a database of Emerson's Addresses and Lectures about nature.