Oklahoma Climate Data [.pdf]
http://climate.ocs.ou.edu/
Produced by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, the Oklahoma Climate Data Web site offers information on various weather topics for the state that include normals and extremes, a rainfall update, monthly summaries, climate event summaries, and a weather timeline. The data is presented in tables, charts, illustrations, or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files (e.g., the timeline that goes back to 1900). A very interesting collection of facts, this site is a great example of a public agency offering quality information of their work to the public. [JAB]
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Science and Technology [.pdf]
http://www.swcs.org/f_conservation_scitech.htm
The Soil and Water Conservation Society with about 10,000 members worldwide strives to "foster the science and the art of soil, water and related natural resource management to achieve sustainability." Their Web site includes the Science and Technology page, which contains recent conservation science and technology information published or disseminated by the society, conferences, or workshops. The information is organized into several categories that include Water Resources, Land Use Management, Soil Resources, and more. One such report is a thirty-two page Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file entitled "Realizing the Promise of Conservation Buffer Technology," which resulted from the 2001 National Conservation Buffer Workshop. Several other reports and publications are available on this site that may assist professionals and researchers in related fields. [JAB]
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Search Awards
https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a6/A6AwardSearch.htm
The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Awards Abstracts Database can be found at their Search Awards Web site. Here, users can find information about research projects that NSF has funded since 1989. Including completed and in-progress research, the database can be searched by keyword; by pull down menus; or by lists of recent awards, awards by program, awards by institution, and awards by state. Included in the results are the receiving organization, program manager, amendment date, amount awarded, and other basic information. [JAB]
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Geologic Hazards: Geomagnetism
http://geomag.usgs.gov/
Anyone researching or interested in geomagnetism will appreciate the US Geological Survey's Geologic Hazards: Geomagnetism Web site. Visitors will find research publications, various downloadable magnetic charts, models, data plots, an online calculator for magnetic fields, and more. [JAB]
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Resources for Geographers
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/virtdept/resources/contents.htm
Maintained by Lance Christian and Kenneth Foote of the University of Colorado at Boulder Department of Geography, the Resources for Geographers Web site is an excellent source of information on the Internet for geographers. Links are offered for search engines, online journals, professional associations, research organizations, map collections, geo-spatial datasets, newsgroups and listservers, academic departments, jobs, educational resources, software, and miscellaneous other geography related resources. [JAB]
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Codes of Ethics Online
http://www.iit.edu/departments/csep/PublicWWW/codes/science.html
The Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at the Illinois Institute of Technology maintains the Codes of Ethics Online Web site. The Center writes: "With the advent of the Internet, it seemed clear that digitizing the codes and making them accessible over the World-Wide Web would benefit researchers, students, and professionals alike." The science page contains links to over fifty organizations' ethical codes, including the American Institute of Chemists, the American Physical Society, the Water Quality Association, etc. [JAB]
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Index of Tradenames
http://www.plastics.com/tradenames.php
A new free service from Plastics.com, the Index of Tradenames site contains hundreds of plastics related product tradenames. Categorized by letter from A-Flex to Zytocal, each entry contains the product name, a description, and its manufacturer. Although links are not provided, this specialized collection of facts will give professionals a handy starting point to locate needed information. [JAB]
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Natural Hazard Statistics [.pdf]
http://205.156.54.206/om/hazstats.shtml
The Natural Hazard Statistics Web site offered by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) provides statistical information on fatalities, injuries, and damages caused by weather related hazards that are compiled by the Office of Meteorology and the National Climatic Data Center. Statistic categories include US Summaries, Lightning, Tornado, Tropical Cyclone, Heat, Flood, Cold, Winter Storm, and Wind between years 1995 to 2000. For example, forty-one people died as a result of the tornadoes that occurred in 2000. Downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file, each report contains short descriptions, as well as nicely organized and easily read data. [JAB]
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America's Backyard: Exploring Your Public Lands
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographyaction/backyard/educators.html
One of the latest Geography Action pages from National Geographic is the America's Backyard: Exploring Your Public Lands Web site. The educator's page contains everything a teacher would need to help kids learn about the nearly 600 million acres of public lands of the United States. In the continued visually stunning style, the National Geographic site contains facts and figures, a timeline of the history of public lands, a photography section, and lesson plans for all age levels. Additional activities and links are also provided, making the site a wonderful educational resource for teachers or anyone interested in learning more about our public lands. [JAB]
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Living in Space [Flash, Audio Player]
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/index.html
NASA's Living in Space Web site allows kids of all ages the opportunity to learn how astronauts cope with zero gravity conditions in space. Everything from eating, dressing, working, and having fun is explained through descriptions, photographs, movies, audio files, and more. Other interesting items are also available, such as the interactive daily timeline of an astronaut's activities and several other links to fun pages. [JAB]
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Acid and Base pH Tutorial
http://www.science.ubc.ca/~chem/tutorials/pH/launch.html
From the University of British Columbia's Chemistry Department comes the Acid and Base pH Tutorial Web site. Here, advanced high school and beginning college students will find an introductory lesson with twenty different sections and accompanying quizzes to help reinforce learning. Specific sections include strong and weak acids and bases, buffers, titration, biological applications of pH, and more. Although the site's frames leaves little room to view the illustrations and text, the content makes it a good way for students to gain insight into this occasionally difficult topic. [JAB]
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Weather Eye
http://weathereye.kgan.com/
Presented by the Central Iowa Power Cooperative and Iowa's KGAN news station, the Weather Eye Educational Web site offers kids of varying ages lessons about the weather. The site is divided into four sections, including a page for kids in grades 2-8, a page for grades 6-12, a teacher's page, and a parent's page. The Cadet section for younger kids, for example, contains information about current weather, experiments to try, and many lessons in various related subjects, as well as activities and quizzes to help keep the attention of curious kids. [JAB]
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2002 Education Catalog
http://www.earth.nasa.gov/education/catalog/index.html
The 2002 Education Catalog from NASA's Office of Earth Science has been made available, providing "information about agency-wide earth science education programs and resources for elementary through university levels." Chapters are divided into a formal and informal education section, workforce/ professional development, education products, and NASA's resources for educators. The site offers an online version and downloadable Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files of the entire report. [JAB]
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Introduction to the Great Lakes
http://www.glin.net/teach/geog/intro/intro_1.html
As part of The Great Lakes Information Network, The Education And Curriculum Homesite (TEACH) "focuses on advancing Great Lakes-related educational materials for the broad audience of educators and students in the Great Lakes region and beyond." The Introduction to the Great Lakes pages contain an overview of the watershed, including maps, photographs, and descriptions; other sections take a more detailed look at the five individual lakes. Additional links for further information are also provided -- such as Great Lake geography, history and culture, pollution, and more -- giving kids or anyone interested a well-designed introduction to the lakes. [JAB]
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Planet Pals [Flask, QuickTime]
http://www.planetpals.com/index.html
Created by designer, illustrator, and educator Judith Ann Gorgone, the Planet Pals Web site provides good material for young kids related to the health of the planet. The colorful pages contain basic information about the earth, energy, recycling, water conservation, pollution, and more. The fun and interactive Meet the Planet Pals area is especially interesting, where kids can listen to animated cartoons talk about various aspects of conservation. Even though the site is geared towards young children, they may have difficulty finding the educational specific pages by themselves; so, a parent's or teacher's assistance would most likely be helpful. [JAB]
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Science Fair Handbook
http://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/science_fair/index.html
Continually updated, the Houghton Mifflin Education Place Web site (last Mentioned in the June 28, 1996 Scout Report) contains several new features including the Science Fair Handbook. This site is designed to "provide ideas, strategies, and techniques which will make a planned science fair a pleasant and enjoyable part of a classroom or school science program." The pages describe what a science fair is, how-tos for a successful one, helping students choose a topic, various forms to print out, and tips for teachers. [JAB]
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The Nobel Prize in Physics: Educational [Flash]
http://www.nobel.se/physics/educational/
The Nobel Foundations online Nobel e-Museum Web site (last mentioned in the October 12, 2001 Scout Report) contains some very informative and fun physics pages. These interactive activities and games include topics on tools used by physicists, transistors, microscopes, and the exploration of the interior of matter. These well done pages, although best viewed with a higher speed modem, contain high quality material presented in a fresh and exciting way for young adults and lifetime learners. [JAB]
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Mines and Mineral Occurrences of Afghanistan [.pdf]
http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of02-110/of02-110.pdf
The USGS has recently released the report Mines and Mineral Occurrences of Afghanistan in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. The 95-page open file report is an inventory of more than 1000 mines and mineral occurrences in the country that resources that include metals, industrial minerals, coal, and peat. The data was compiled from published literature and digital files of the members of the National Industrial Minerals project, and are presented in tables that list mineral showings, deposits, and pegmatite fields. This site is also reviewed in the May 3, 2002 Scout Report. [JAB]
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Fossil Fuels
http://fossil.energy.gov/education/
The Department of Energy Web site Fossil Fuels is billed as an energy education site mainly for older kids, but can be enjoyed by adult kids as well. The site gives an introduction to energy, and then a more detailed look at the acquisition and uses of coal, oil, and gas. The good descriptions, illustrations, and animations, along with the frequent questions page and glossary of related terms, combine to give a clear and enlightening overview of the subject. [JAB]
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National Environmental Publications Internet Site
http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/nepishom/
National Environmental Publications Internet Site is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and contains a database of over 9000 documents that have been published by the EPA. Searches can be attempted by keyword or by publication title, which should help make finding a particular document easy. Once found, the documents can be viewed, printed freely, or ordered directly from the EPA. [JAB]
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Guide to the Science of the Atmosphere
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/basics/wworks0.htm
Offered by USAToday.com, the Guide to the Science of the Atmosphere Web site contains dozens of well-designed and informative pages about weather. Topics include the sun, wind, storms, rains, floods, snow, tornadoes, and much more. Each page usually contains a description and a graphic or animation, as well as links to further information. If you are able to ignore the advertisements, a lot of knowledge can be gained by spending some time surfing this site. [JAB]
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Understanding Lake Ecology
http://wow.nrri.umn.edu/wow/under/primer/page9.html
Part of the larger Water on the Web project, the Understanding Lake Ecology site links the University of Minnesota with industry, community and tribal groups, Minnesota's high schools, community colleges, technical colleges, and natural resource and regulatory agencies. The extensive site contains information on the basics of physical, chemical, and biological properties of lakes, and processes including their formation, stratification, eutrophication, etc. [JAB]
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Map Projections Overview
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/mapproj/mapproj_f.html
The Map Projections Overview Web site was developed by Peter H. Dana from the Department of Geography at the University of Texas at Austin. An introduction briefly explains why there are so many different types of map projections and the distortions resulting from each. The main section of the site then provides descriptions and illustrations of various types of projections, including cylindrical, conic, azimuthal, and more. [JAB]
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Atomic Structure Timeline
http://www.watertown.k12.wi.us/hs/teachers/buescher/atomtime.asp
Lee Buescher is a microbiology and chemistry instructor at Watertown High School in Watertown, WI. He maintains the Science Lab educational Web site and the Atomic Structure Timeline page. The timeline follows major discoveries and advancements throughout history related to atomic structure. From Democritus to Bohr to modern day scientists, the descriptions and links explain the individual and what they accomplished. [JAB]
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Telescopes
1. Inventions: Telescopes
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/page/t/telescope.shtml
2. Telescopes in Education
http://tie.jpl.nasa.gov/tie/index.html
3. Telescopes and Binoculars
http://skyandtelescope.com/howto/scopes/
4. Australia Telescope Compact Array LIVE!
http://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/public/atca_live/atca_live.html
5. The Kitt Peak Virtual Tour
http://www.noao.edu/outreach/kptour/kpvt.html
6. Hubble Space Telescope Public Pictures
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pictures.html
7. Image Gallery: Telescope Photos
http://www.sdss.org/gallery/gal_photos.html
8. Telescope Data Center
http://tdc-www.harvard.edu/TDC.html
The first Web site on telescopes comes from Enchanted Learning.com, called Inventions: Telescopes (1). This site gives a brief description of the history of telescopes and their inventors, beginning with Hans Lippershey and his refracting telescope in 1608. The next site, offered by NASA, is the Telescope in Education site (2). This program provides students from around the world the opportunity to use a remotely controlled telescope and charge-coupled device camera in a real-time, hands-on, interactive environment. All of the information needed for educators to set up the program can be found within. The third site, from the online periodical Sky and Telescope, is called Telescopes and Binoculars (3). These how-to links give information on choosing your first telescope, caring for optics, using a map for your telescope, making a backyard observatory, and more. From the Australia Telescope National Facility comes the next site, Australia Telescope Compact Array LIVE! (4). The array is a radio telescope made up of six 22m antennas whose locational and other information is updated every ten seconds on the site. Telescope images and links to other similar sites can also be found here. The next site, from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is the Kitt Peak Virtual Tour (5). The Kitt Peak National Observatory is the first national observatory of the United States and has the world's largest collection of optical telescopes. The site gives a complete tour of the grounds and telescopes, along with descriptions, maps, photographs, and more. The Space Telescope Science Institute's Web site, Hubble Space Telescope Public Pictures (6), provides a large database of space photographs and press releases regarding Hubble. The extraordinary pictures are categorized by subject and the press releases by year (which also contain relevant photographs). The next site from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey called Image Gallery: Telescope Photos (7) contains pictures not of what the telescopes are viewing but of the telescopes themselves. The short descriptions and impressive photographs give unfamiliar users an idea of what these machines actually look like. The last site, Telescope Data Center (8), is maintained by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which is part of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The Data Center supports scheduling, observation, data reduction, analysis, and data archiving for the optical telescopes, and offers these products on the site for anyone interested. [JAB]
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Below are the copyright statements to be included when reproducing annotations from The NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences.
The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing any portion of this report, in any format:
From The NSDL Scout Report for Physical Sciences, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2002. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
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Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2002. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.
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