The mission of the Iowa Science
Teachers Section of the Iowa
Academy of Science is to advocate
for excellence in science education
by promoting professionalism,
influencing policy, and enhancing learning.

The mission of the Iowa Academy of Science is to further scientific research and its dissemination, education in the sciences, public understanding of science, and recognition of excellence in these endeavors.

• 100 Top Science Sites - A simple but informative Web site, 100 Top Science Sites gives exactly that, along with very brief descriptions. A nice alternative to normal search engines, visitors can choose to receive notification emails for when the list changes or visit the site's chat room.
• Bad Science - a very unique site that addresses common errors made in science teaching. Worth a look!
• Census Bureau - Dynamic Population Clocks
• Census Bureau - U.S. Population Projection
• Census Bureau - World Population Projection
• Collaborative Lesson Archive - The Collaborative Lesson Archive of the University of Illinois is intended to be "a forum for the creation, distribution, and archival of education curricula for all grade levels and subject areas." The main page contains links to lessons organized by individual grade levels from kindergarten to beyond the twelfth grade. Once chosen, users are presented with a list of subjects including geography, science, and math, among others, which then contain various lessons.
• Color Theory - Learn lots about color at this online color workshop.
• The Constants and Equations Page - The Institute of Physics, which was established to promote the advancement and dissemination of physics, sponsors the Constants and Equations Pages. The Web site is described as an on-going project to list together as many different constants and equations as possible. Visitors will find the resources within either the math, science, or astronomy categories.
• A Dictionary of Units of Measurement - A Dictionary of Units of Measurement was written by Russ Rowlett, the Director of the Center for Mathematics and Science Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This Web site provides information on everything from the Metric System to Viscosity Grades and many other measurement units in between.
• DirectoryScience.com
• Discovery School
• Earth & Sky - an award-winning daily science radio series heard by millions of listeners on over 950 commercial and public stations and their translators throughout the United States. It can also be heard in Canada, the South Pacific and on a variety of international networks, including Armed Forces Radio, World Radio Network and Voice of America. Each day, Deborah Byrd and Joel Block discuss popular science subjects that affect our everyday lives.
• Education Index - The Education Index Web site provides a guide to "the most useful education-related sites on the Web." The links can be browsed by subject such as astronomy, chemistry, geology, and physics (among many others), or by lifestage, from prenatal and infant all the way to college and continuing education.
• Einstein - From the American Museum of Natural History comes the online exhibit on the life and legacy of Albert Einstein. Students (who should probably be at least of high school age) can learn about Einstein?s revolutionary thinking; his work with light, time, energy, and gravity; his thoughts on peace and war, on being a global citizen, and his legacy according to the museum.
• Experimental Science Projects: An Introductory Level Guide - Organized into fourteen sections, this guide walks the user through the basics of hypothesis testing, from the inception of an idea through its experimental test. For each section, a brief summary is provided: Observations, Information Gathering, Title, Purpose, Hypothesis, Procedure, Materials, Data, Recording Observations, Results, Calculations, Questions, and Conclusions.
• Exploratorium: Sport Science - This Exploratorium website provides creative educational materials for introductory physics students and teachers. Users can learn about the science behind a homerun, find out how the physics of balance helps enthusiasts surf the waves, and discover the physics behind many other popular sports. The site is equipped with interviews, enticing images, and enthralling descriptions.
• ExploreScience.com - an online learning community dedicated to the teaching and learning of science
• Extension - Science, Engineering, & Technology (E-SET) - E-SET offers curriculum and kits for loan as well as training for science educators.
• Extreme Science - Have you ever wondered how tides are created, where the greatest earthquake happened, or how time is measured? All of these and many more questions are answered at this fantastic website created by scientist, Elizabeth Keller.
• Fact Monster: Science - Fact Monster, the online reference and fun fact Web site, has some new and old features that kids interested in science will enjoy. The Almanac Section contains a wealth of information on everything from the environment, stars and planets, and weather, to other life science subjects.
• The Flying Turtle Science and Technology Exploration Site - This award winning site explores energy and basic science principles in nature and human technology. The articles are carefully researched, accurate, easy to understand, and in addition to providing good basic explanations, the creative thought provoking approach helps to generate an interest in science and technology.
• Thomas S. Warren Museum of Fluorescence: About Fluorescence - The Warren Museum "was founded in 1999 to better share the wonders of fluorescence with the public and to serve as an educational facility for teachers." The interesting site provides a thorough description of what fluorescence and phosphorescence is, the various types of fluorescence, their uses, and much more.
• Frank Potter's Science Gems
• Global Warming and Climate Change Policy WWW Sites
• Global School Net - clearinghouse of information on the effective use of computers and the Internet. Services include courses for teachers, classroom projects, conferences, etc.
• How Stuff Works - Browse though the list of articles, organized by subject, or search for the topic that interests you most.
• i-mass.com - "i-mass.com is a comprehensive web site dedicated to the scientific discipline of mass spectrometry and the concept of mass. This easy to use and navigate site emphasizes the international nature of the field, features monthly articles and journal highlights, and contains essential links to journals, features and WWW tools on every i-mass.com page. The site contains career and conference information, historical perspectives and guides as well as links to mass spectrometry research laboratories, discussion groups, societies and manufacturers worldwide."
• Investigation Station - "A Place to Learn and Do Science"
• Jokes and Science - This is a collection of K-12 science jokes - organized by topic - studded with scientific information, science links, pictures and stamps. The jokes are short, not complicated or abusive and can serve as a science education tool through entertainment and curiosity.
• Lesson Plan Central -- a free lesson plans, WebQuests, worksheets, student link and clipart Web site -- has a great collection of science specific links. Categorized by subject and grade level, the listed sites are are briefly described, and any new site is labeled as such.
• The Mad Scientist Network - This marvelous site uses the web to unite hundreds of scientists in a forum where people can ask questions and learn more about the world around them. The accumulating body of information is maintained as a searchable resource on their site. The site claims to have the answers to over 12,000 questions!
• MapMachine - The National Geographic Society's newly redesigned "MapMachine" web site is a powerful resource for students and teachers that enables users to find and view nearly every place on Earth, with supplementary charts for population and climate. Users can browse antique maps or find country facts by browsing through the organization's vast repository; tap the site's database to locate places of interest in the news; examine areas of conflict in the Middle East and other global hot spots; and learn how to read many different kinds of maps, from topographical climate references to intimate, street-level guides marking major landmarks, environmentally protected areas, and other historically significant places around the world.
• Metric Conversion Factors - Brought to the Web by Washington State Department of Transportation, the Metric Conversion Factors site contains a wealth of helpful physical science and engineering information. As you might guess, all sorts of conversion factors are presented, such as for area, force, hard conversions for construction materials, length, mass, pavement, pipe, plate, power, pressure or stress, reinforcing steel, sheet metal, sieve, symbols, temperature, volume, and several others.
• The Mining Co. - they mine the net so you don't have to
• Museum of Ancient Inventions - Did you know the first battery was invented around 250 B.C.E.? Can you imagine what it looked like? This cool virtual museum of ancient inventions has photos of replicas of fascinating inventions and tells how these models were made.
• The National Academies of Science - The National Academies of Science was created in 1863 to advise the US government in scientific and technical matters. The Academy and its sister organizations "provide a public service by working outside the framework of government to ensure independent advice on matters of science, technology, and medicine."
• National Park Service: Nature & Science - This great Nature & Science website from the National Park Service (NPS) was recently redesigned, and offers visitors a wide variety of information about how the NPS uses science to protect natural resources.
• National Science Resources Center - packed with up-to-date information about NSRC programs, products, and activities.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Web Activities Using Scientific Data
• The New York Times Learning Network - each school day access a lesson plan based on the day's news
• National Institute of Standards and Technology
• NOVA On-line
• NSTA Webwatchers' Science Guides - The Webwatchers' Science Guides website -- provided by the National Science Teachers Association -- is a portal to educational resources on the Internet.
• Park Geology: Tour of National Parks - A great site from the National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division provides information on geologic features of our national parks. The site is aimed at a young audience (K-8), but is a pleasure to browse for anyone. Organizing the site by geologic features (e.g., Hot Springs, Oldest Rocks, and Volcanoes) allows readers to compare the geology of various national parks and explore maps, photos and other related links. - 04/02
• PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS is one of the world's most-cited multidisciplinary scientific serials. Since its establishment in 1915, it continues to publish cutting-edge research reports, commentaries, reviews, perspectives, colloquium papers, and actions of the Academy. Coverage in PNAS spans the biological, physical, and social sciences. PNAS is published biweekly in print, and weekly online in PNAS Early Edition.
• Science Center of Iowa - The Science Center of Iowa, located in Des Moines, is comprised of many educational science exhibits and programs for visitors of all ages.
• Science Fair Central - If your budding Marie Curie or Albert Einstein is having difficulty dreaming up a project for a science fair, stop by this site.
• Science Hobbyist
• Science in the Box - "Science in the Box is a scientific information portal on laundry detergents and household cleaning products from Procter & Gamble (P&G). This site delivers a wealth of product information to consumers, media, scientists and professionals on product innovation, R&D, human and environmental safety, sustainability."
• Science Lesson Plans - Presented by the private educational service Columbia Education Center (CEC), the Science Lesson Plans page gives teachers access to several hundred categorized lesson plans. The plans are divided into K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade levels, and cover all areas of science.
• Science Lesson Plans - Developed by the Information Institute of Syracuse, the Educator's Reference Desk offers a large assortment of science lessons plans for students of all ages.
• ScienceMan! - The ultimate science education source
• Science News for Kids - sponsored by the award-winning weekly newsmagazine Science News and its publisher, Science Service, is for students ages 9 to 13 and their teachers and parents
• Science News Online - There are selected full text articles from the magazine along with the weekly table of contents and article abstracts. You can find articles and information from older issues in the Archives. There are also special online features including Math Trek, Science Safari, Food for Thought and Timeline.
• Scientific American
• Scientific and Technical Information Network - The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) of the US Department of Defense maintains the Scientific and Technical Information Network Web site. The network provides public access to unclassified citations to and full-text versions of all unclassified documents recently added into the DTIC technical reports collection.
• Scientists, Inventors, and Explorers - A guide to K-12 science biography indexes by subject and academic level, science timelines and science on stamps
• SciTechResources.gov - SciTechResources "provides the scientist, engineer, and technologist with easy, one-stop access to key US Government web resources." Created by the National Technical Information Service, the database allows users to browse by various subjects or search by keyword. The database claims to contain descriptions of just those government Web sites that are key entry points to government science and technology resources such as software, databases, publications, and more.
• Simple Machines - At this website, EdHeads, a nonprofit, offers five interactive, animated modules to educate second- through sixth-graders about simple machines. By identifying the many machines located throughout a house, students can learn about fulcrums, wheel and axles, levers, pulleys, inclined planes, and much more.
• Simplified Science Animations - This terrific collection of science animations comes courtesy of Tom Diab, science teacher at Saline High School in Michigan.
• The Society for Amateur Scientists - The Society for Amateur Scientists created this website to present its goal "to create unique collaborations between world-class professionals and citizen scientists and to remove the roadblocks that prevent ordinary people from participating in extraordinary science."
• TeAch-nology - "The Web portal for teachers" - Teachnology, Incorporated was created as a response to the multitude of challenges faced by today's educators as they strive to meet the on-going demands of teaching and learning. The company was founded to provide opportunities for members of the educational community to easily access information relative to the field and to have the ability to interact with the world of technology in their quest to enhance their profession.
• Watts on Schools: Solar Energy Activities - This website, created by Watts on Schools, provides pdf files of an assortment of fun, collaborative solar energy activities.
• The Why Files - uncover the truth behind the headlines
• 4000 Years of Women in Science
• Who Wants to Win $1,000,000? - The Science Game - A science and math quiz game based on the TV show with a very similar name. The questions are real, the prize money, unfortunately, is not.
• Women in Science
• WorldAtlas.com - WorldAtlas.com was created by the maps company Graphic Maps in an "effort to aid students, teachers, travelers and parents with their geography and map questions." The information-rich site lets users explore countries of the world through a wide array of maps, descriptions, current times, flags, populations, land size, and links to other relevant sites. Other items of interest include geography quizzes; a very neat list of the highest, lowest, biggest, smallest, tallest, deepest, oldest, youngest, richest, and poorest places on earth; a geography message board; and more.
• Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography - Eric Weisstein, the Technical Internet Encyclopedia Developer at the technical software company Wolfram Research, Inc., authors the World of Scientific Biography site. This section of the larger World of Science site is continually growing and includes over 1000 biographical entries of notable scientists throughout history. Visitors can search by keyword or browse by branch of science, gender/minority status, historical period, nationality, prize winners, and alphabetical index.
• Yes I Can! Science - York University's YES I Can! website was developed "to encourage interest and understanding of Science in the formal education system, and to foster a culture of scientifically literate, life-long learners." Teachers and students can search for lesson plans, labs, activities, background information and much more through the website's easy to use DataEngine.
• The Yuckiest Site on the Internet - "The best place for science entertainment"

Some annotations courtesy of The NSDL Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005.