US Water News
http://www.uswaternews.com/homepage.html
This is the home page of the monthly publication US Water News. Most online content is news coverage of water supply and quality, legislation, water rights, conservation, and the global waterfront. The collection of links is quite impressive, with state, federal, international, nonprofit, and many other resources listed. Assorted buyer's guides for a wide variety of water products are given with links to online catalogs. For people that want to stay current on new developments and technologies, there is also information about upcoming water related conferences from around the world. [CL]
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EPA: Tools and Literature [.pdf, .exe]
http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/tools.htm
Green Chemistry, as its name implies, is an environment friendly practice of using chemistry to prevent pollution. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Green Chemistry Expert System software that can be freely downloaded from this site. The program can be used to assess hazardous substances in chemical reactions, learn about green synthetic methods, design safer chemicals by modifying existing ones, consider alternatives to traditional solvents, or search for additional reference information. Each function is contained in one of five modules included in the program, and they give results based on user input for specific conditions and applications. Detailed instructions for installing and using the program can also be found on this Web site. [CL]
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Fire Research Information Services [.pdf, .mpeg, QuickTime]
http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/fris/
Maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), this site is a hub of information and other resources related to fire research. It provides direct, free access to many Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) publications, test data, and reports. Some of the experimental fire data represents tests of residential fire sprinklers, fire fighting agents, and diffusion flame measurements, to name a few. A large collection of fire simulation and modeling programs developed by BFRL are available for download. International fire conferences are also listed, as well as links to other associations and research organizations. [CL]
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The Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory: Oxford University: Chemical and Other Safety Information [MS Word]
http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/
Working with chemicals can be very dangerous if properties of the chemicals are not known. This site serves "as a source of general information about the potential hazards of chemicals," but it warns that the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) should always be obtained from the manufacturer. Compiled by the Oxford University chemistry department, the resources given on this site complement MSDS sheets very well. For instance, a brief guide explains how to properly use and interpret them, and a many terms related to chemical safety are defined in a glossary. Over 5,000 chemicals are profiled from information based on MSDS sheets. This is a very substantial site, and there are many more useful features listed. [CL]
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Water Research Network
http://water.nml.uib.no/
Self-described as a "multidisciplinary database of research, researchers, and institutions dealing with fresh water issues all over the world," the Water Research Network (WRN) is a product of collaboration between the University of Bergen, Norway, the Norwegian Research Council, and the Government of the Netherlands. Active since October 2001, WRN invites researchers from various disciplines to submit information about their water research projects (free registration is required). While the site's material is mostly metadata and relevant mainly to researchers, casual users should find links to other more substantive Web sites that may interest them. Unique browsing categories, like Water in Time and Water and Ethics, should prove helpful in finding something worthwhile. An interesting side note, WRN's creators intend the database to contribute to the multi-volume book History of Water and Civilization, a project initiated by UNESCO. [TS]
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Department of Energy Research and Development Accomplishments [.pdf]
http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/index.html
For those users interested in the history of a wide variety of notable inventions and discoveries, the US Department of Engery's (DOE) Research and Development Accomplishments Web site should provide unique insight into topics like the video game, CAT/ MRI scans, and the Human Genome, among others. The site's primary focus is its accomplishments database, which contains "searchable full-text and bibliographic citations of documents reporting accomplishments from DOE and DOE contractor facilities." For example, a search on the keyword "Einstein" renders a long list of Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) documents that cover topics ranging from the Manhattan Project to magnetic fusion energy research to transuranium elements. In addition to the database, the site offers two other substantial sections -- Featured Topics and Snapshots -- both which should provide most readers with much relevant information to browse. [TS]
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GIS Internet Resources
http://www.tec.army.mil/gis/index.html
Offered by the US Topographical Engineering Center, the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Internet Resources Web site provides links "to GIS companies, associations, and government web pages as well as sources of software, data, publications, and services." While not endorsed by the US Government, this metasite's material gives those readers interested in GIS a great place to start. Organized under sections ranging from Webmapping to Map Libraries to Data Collection, it operates in a similar way to other hyperlink compilation Web sites: users find a section that interests them and then begin to click on links that grab their attention. The site is easy to use, and, even though it uses HTML frames, its navigation model is intuitive. [TS]
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The Federal Commons
http://www.cfda.gov/federalcommons/
In 1999, the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act was passed in order to force the development of federal electronic grant processing. A result of the legislation, the Federal Commons portal gives "grantees (state and local governments, universities, small businesses, etc.) full service grants processing across all functions in the grant life cycle." While providing only an entrance to various grant institutions and services, the Federal Commons helps to eliminate the maze-like trail that multi-grant projects sometimes must travel to get to grant proposal Web sites. Most physical sciences researchers will find relevant federal departments listed under the Science and Technology link. [TS]
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Earth and Sky [RealPlayer]
http://www.earthsky.com/
This companion web site to the Earth and Sky Radio Series offers recordings of the award winning daily radio show, plus oodles of supplementary science material. Visitors can search for specific science topics and retrieve relevant articles and past shows (and transcripts) on the topic. There is a great kids earth and sky section directed at younger children, plus a teacher's lounge with virtual text book, resources, and tips for using Earth and Sky in the classroom. This well organized, attractive, and content rich site is a pleasure to use. This site is also reviewed in the August 9, 2002 Scout Report. [REB]
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GCSE Bitesize Revision
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/
This site from the BBC gives support to students in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland who are studying for their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). The site is nicely organized, but those from outside the UK should realize that the word "revise" is used to mean what Americans would call review. This can be a bit confusing when using the site, as buttons that say revise actually lead to materials to review. That said, the site provides nice "bitesize" pages on various topics including sciences, arts, language, technology, and much more. Even though the site's material has been created by GCSE examiners and teachers and therefore reflects areas of the examination syllabus, it can still be useful to anyone interested in the topics. [REB]
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Public Education Acid Rain Lesson Plan [.pdf]
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/ard/lessons.html
Offered by The National Park Service Air Resources Division, this Web site includes a series of five 1-2 hour educational activities related to understanding acid rain and air quality for children grades six through eight. The very simply designed site includes lessons on: The pH scale; Understanding the difference between an acid and a base; Understanding what gases contribute to acid rain; How acid rain is measured and monitored in the US; and Understanding weather maps and the importance of storm tracking. Also included is a collection of figures to supplement the lesson plans. [REB]
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Exploring the Nanoworld [Quicktime]
http://www.mrsec.wisc.edu/edetc/index.html
From the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces at the University of Wisconsin-Madison comes this dynamic site. At its core, the site introduces visitors to the tools that allow us to "see" atoms, play with them, and create a variety of "nano-architectural wonders." The site offers a substantial amount of information that supports the user's understanding of how customization of materials can create everything from "atomic trampolines to DNA to ferrofluids to semiconductors that give off blue light!" With pages created for a range of audiences, from the general public and K-12 to higher education faculty, the site offers something for anyone interested in the topic. [REB]
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Material World Modules
http://www.materialsworldmodules.org/aboutmwm.htm
The Materials World Program is an educational program created at Northwestern University intended to teach kids about science, math, and social issues by letting them investigate the objects that surround them in their everyday lives. While traditional science teaching divides the sciences into various disciplines, each studied separately, this program shows students that science is more than a set of techniques as "students using MWM learn how principles of chemistry, physics, and mathematics relate to each other and how they directly apply to real problems and societal issues." A "module" consists of a presentation that includes a problem or question to be pursued by students, a problem solving stage, and a final project. Each module allows students to solve problems scientifically while observing how scientific inquiry has real world applications. The modules themselves must be ordered, but users can look at brief overviews, watch video summaries, and review the successes that teachers have had with this program. [CH]
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Education Module: Space Technology is Used to Observe and Measure Tectonic Motion of the Earth's Surface
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/index.htm
This educational resource, provided by the Southern California Integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) Network, provides instruction, exercises, and projects that illustrate how space technologies are used to predict and measure earthquakes. Using these resources, students can learn about plate tectonics, earthquakes, and satellite technologies. These resources are intended for secondary school or undergraduate students, but the explanations are simple enough that educators of younger children may be interested in using them. [CH]
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Chemistry: Kitchen Chemistry
http://www.owu.edu/~mggrote/pp/chemistry/kitchen/f_kitchen.html
This page, provided by Dr. Sherry Hemmingsen of Ohio Wesleyan University, provides five projects for children K-3. Using the materials available in any kitchen, kids can learn the basics of chemistry through activities such as Mapping Our Tastebuds, Cabbage Patch Spritzer, and Color Solutions from the Kitchen. [CH]
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Maps That Teach: US and World Geography
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/geography.htm
Created by Owl and Mouse Educational Software, this resource uses interactive maps to teach geography. The site provides both Map Puzzles and Interactive Maps. Map Puzzles are downloadable and must be run on Windows. They challenge users to piece together the States of the United States or the countries of the world's continents, depending on the puzzle used. Interactive Maps allow users to move their cursor over a basic regional map. As the cursor hits each country, its name appears. The page also provides resources for printing large maps using only a single printer and a discussion of how these resources can be used in the classroom. [CH]
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Earthguide
http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/
Earthguide is an educational resource for students and teachers developed by the California Space Institute at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California San Diego. Features include in-depth stories, brief topics, and news -- all related to a variety of oceanic and atmospheric science subjects. The section of links and resources is quite valuable, with a large number of links organized by topic, many with brief descriptions. [AL]
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Natural Resources Conservation Service
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
A division of the US Department of Agriculture, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has a mission to provide leadership and partner with private land owners to "help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment." Their home page is useful in that regard as it provides significant information on topics related to the 2002 Farm Bill, water quality and quantity, wildfires, conservation, and more. The site is easy to navigate, with top and side navigation bars that allow users to select information based on either the type of information or the category of user. [AL]
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Chemsoc Timeline
http://www.chemsoc.org/timeline/index.html
Chemsoc, the Web network for the United Kingdom's Royal Society of Chemistry, has prepared this site as "a linear based exploration of key events in the history of science with a particular emphasis on chemistry." This visually attractive site is full of important dates and events in chemical science; once the entire timeline has loaded, visitors can see the major advances in an overview format. By clicking on each date/ event, a second window appears with a brief explanation of the importance of the event and links for further information. Anyone with an interest in the history of science or chemistry will appreciate this well done look at the major events, ranging from the Big Bang to the sequencing of the human genome and beyond. A helpful date finder allows users to select a period of history to jump right to major events in chemistry of that time. [AL]
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Scientopica
http://www.scientopica.com/sci/
We have all searched the Internet looking for scientific information and come up with many hits that have nothing to do with science at all. "Scientopica is a conduit to the scientific information available on the world wide web." The site claims to "increase the efficiency of information acquisition by increasing the relevancy of results." Users can register to customize the display categories and provide a personalized news service. The site is simple to use, allowing users to search by keyword or browse directory categories provided. [AL]
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Year of Clean Water 2002
http://www.yearofcleanwater.org/
The Clean Water Act's 30th anniversary occurs on October 18, 2002. When Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments, more commonly known as the Clean Water Act, it sought to better protect and conserve this vital natural resource. Thirty years later, much has been accomplished, but more remains to be done. Congress, governors, and a host of national organizations seeking to both celebrate and boost this effort have declared 2002 "The Year of Clean Water." Through this site, the coalition offers opportunities for both adults and children to learn more about the need to protect our water supply, participate in year-long events at both the national and state level, and learn what more they can do. There is a Store section to this site where print and video material may be purchased. The Kid's Corner section provides online versions of some of these books to read in addition to kid-friendly Web links on water conservation and related topics. [DJS]
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Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
http://www.nesea.org/
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NSEA), a chapter of the American Solar Energy Society, is an organization for northeastern United States focused on "promoting the understanding, development, and adoption of energy conservation and non-polluting, renewable energy technologies." NSEA promotes the use of electricity produced through sustainable and non-polluting methods, as well as green transportation and building construction and design through advocacy and education. The NSEA Web site offers some useful tools for homeowners and teachers alike. These include Information About Sustainable Transportation, energy conservation tips, and selected articles from the Northeast Sun (published quarterly). Also available are resources and publications for educators; however, some things are not freely available on the Web and must be ordered from the NSEA. [DJS]
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Office of Coast Survey
http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/
The Office of Coast Survey (OCS) within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- founded in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson -- is responsible for producing nautical charts for all the waters of the US and its territories. The OCS home page offers anyone in need of nautical maps lots of well-maintained and timely resources. Historical charts (from the 1700s onward), information on wreck and other dangerous obstructions, OCS's Coast Pilot publications, and Print on Demand sale of the most up-to-date charts and maps all are available here. This is a very useful resource for both commercial or recreational mariners in need of nautical maps. [DJS]
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Visualize Olympic
http://www.nps.gov/olym/animate.htm
Part of the National Park Service's Olympic National Park site, this resource offers visual lessons about a geological and ecological treasure of Oregon. Glacial development and the life of the park's inhabitants past and present are included. These simple animations are useful teaching tools to illustrate topics such as glaciation and erosion, bentwood box cooking of Native Americans, and carbon and water cycles of the ecosystem. Some of these animation files are large, so viewing them would certainly be easier with a fast Internet connection. [DJS]
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Quarks
1. Theory: Quarks
http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/theory/quarks.html
2. The Particle Adventure
http://particleadventure.org/particleadventure/frameless/startstandard.html
3. What Makes a Quark
http://www.aip.org/radio/html/what_makes_a_quark.html
4. Quarks
http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Physics/Quarks/p00440c.html
5. Particle Physics
http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~e23wiz/RET/Particle_Physics.html
6. Calculate the Top Quark Mass
http://www-ed.fnal.gov/samplers/hsphys/activities/top_quark_stud.html
7. The Particle Physics Picture Index
http://hepweb.rl.ac.uk/ppUKpics/index/quark_events-1.htm
8. QuarkDance
http://quarkdance.org/
This Topic in Depth begins with a Web site from the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center called Theory: Quarks (1). The one-page offering contains a basic explanation of what quarks are, their masses, and how they're known to be real. Critical words within the page, such as flavor and hadron, are linked to a handy online glossary of terms. The second site is presented by the Particle Data Group of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Called The Particle Adventure (2), this extensive Web site provides visitors an interactive tour on quarks, neutrinos, antimatter, and much more. Users can choose from the numerous topics within the table of contents on the left, or simply click the right arrow at the top of the screen to navigate page by page through the well conceived site. Next, from the American Institute of Physics Science Report Radio show, an episode entitled What Makes a Quark? (3). The program, which has a person explaining the basics of quarks to another person, can be downloaded in various formats, making this a unique and interesting online source. The fourth site, provided by ScienceNet.org, presents a nontechnical lesson called Quarks (4). From the first page, which explains where quarks got their "funny name" to many other topics, the site gives basic descriptions and illustrations to help students better understand this difficult subject. Next, from Cornell Universities Floyd R. Newman Laboratory of Nuclear Studies, comes the Particle Physics (5) Web site. Visitors get to view a QuickTime movie of matter and antimatter meeting called annihilation. The rest of the page describes what happens in the animation and further explains quarks and other particles. The sixth site, offered by the Fermilab Education Office is a lesson called Calculate the Top Quark Mass (6). Students "use Einstein's famous equation and actual experimental data collected to determine the mass of the top quark; which is the most massive quark ever discovered." The lesson includes illustrations, an animation, and several thinking questions to help reinforce the learning. Next is the Particle Physics Picture Index (7), offered by the Particle Physics in the UK Web site. The page contains a picture of a quark starburst, the missing neutrino, looking deep into a proton, etc., as well as links to three other pages with similar items. The last site, called QuarkDance (8), is more of an amusement, but does contain links to quark related sites worth a visit. [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.
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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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