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While the interactivity and increasingly visual nature of science websites make them very educationally valuable, these same qualities frequently contribute to them being relatively inaccessible. Therefore, the sites here are both of high quality and, hopefully, reasonably user-friendly.
General Science Resources
MadSciNet: The 24-hour exploding laboratory
"MadSci Network represents a collective cranium of scientists providing answers to your questions. For good measure It provides a variety of oddities and other ends as well. to see what they do, or stop by the info desk for information and assistance. Locate information with the search engine, the random knowledge generator, or in the MadSci FAQs. Over 36,000 answers to previous questions are archived. If you still have a question? You can ask a scientist here.
Brains Rule!
This site promotes "learning about the brain and nervous system among children and adults using new and exciting teaching methods." Content for children includes interactive games, information about neuroscientists, and a form for posting questions. Also offers lesson plans for third through sixth grade teachers. A project from "Creighton University and several partner organizations." Could be more screen-reader friendly but, nonetheless, has much to offer.
Cool Science for Curious Kids
This site created "to help your child appreciate science"
offers interactive projects related to biology for children in kindergarten through third grade. "Some of these activities are entirely electronic....Others require you to
go to your kitchen or backyard." Includes tips for parents. From the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Online Documentaries
An excellent site providing access to a large number of professionally done documentaries is now available. Browse through a variety of programs by categories such as Anthropology, Environment, and Religion to find one you want to watch online free. Click the title and watch it; it's that simple. This isn't just somebody's attempt at filmmaking—this is a collection of interesting and sometimes well-known documentaries such as the Modern Marvels series, biographies on figures such as Aristotle, and the Planet Earth series. There is a variety of foreign documentaries as well for the multilingual viewer. Even if you cannot see the video, there is still much of use.
Smithsonian Education
This site is the gateway to Smithsonian Institution educational resources. Information is available for educators, families, and students.
Science Friday Kids' Connection
This site provides teaching materials to accompany the National Public Radio (NPR) show Science Friday. It includes program summaries and audio, classroom activities, discussion items, academic content standards, and related resources. Covers topics from all fields of science. Browsable and searchable. It is especially useful for the visually impaired child since it contains podcasts as well as archived radio broadcasts.
American Museum of Natural History
Resources for Learning is a collection of activities, articles, evidence and analysis and more, for educators, families, students and anyone interested in teaching or learning about science. Of special interest is the link to "Kids and Families."
National Institutes of Health – Health Information
This site from NIH is primarily geared to the adult audience although the link to "Child and Teen Health" is very useful. The contents of the site may be searched by alphabetic listing, medical conditions, regions of the anatomy as well as by the traditional search box.
Science News for Kids
Science News for Kids is a new Web site devoted to science news for children of ages 9 to 13. Its goal is to offer timely items of interest to kids, accompanied by suggestions for hands-on activities, books, articles, Web resources, and other useful materials. The site’s emphasis is on making the Web site appealing by offering kids opportunities to comment on the subject matter, ask questions of scientists featured in articles, try out mathematical puzzles, and submit their own work for possible Web publication. At the same time, it is interested in offering teachers creative ways of using science news in their classrooms.
National Geographic
This site, from the National Geographic Society, provides links for adventure and exploration, animals and nature, history and culture, geography, science news as well as material especially designed for kids, parents, students, and teachers. The site is searchable.
Kids' Games, Animals, Photos, Stories, and More -- National Geographic Kids
If you want to know how much hippos eat, what explorers Lewis and Clark packed in their first-aid kit, where Gaza is, or how fireworks work, this is the right place. Here are fact-filled features, perfect for reports, presentations, homework-or your curiosity.
The Wonders of the Seas
Short lessons with images of selected sea creatures including sponges, cnidarians, mollusks, echinoderms, arthropods, sperm whales, manatees, and sharks. From the Oceanic Research Group. The site features a number of visuals which, while adding to its educational value, do not prevent the visually impaired guest from benefiting from it as well.
Practical Uses of Math and Science
features more than 60 examples of how science and math can be
used in interesting settings and everyday life. Topics
include: clouds (why they float); social security benefits (algebra); Pythagorean theorem (cabinet corners); ice sheets and sea level; logarithms; matching birthdays (statistics); natural selection and a scavenger hunt; photons; traffic signals; probability); seasons (causes); volcanic clouds; and wind
chill (algebra). From The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
BBC - Wildlife Finder
Companion Website to a BBC program, The Life of Animals, hosted by Sir David Attenborough. This site provides a set of detailed fact sheets and shows pictures for a variety of mammals, from wild cats to dolphins. The site is unusually accessible for a science site. Contains a text only version.
Exploratorium: Hands-on Activities
This site by Exploratorium, contains instructions for over 500 simple experiments, all of which may be viewed on any type of Web browser, with even the slowest connection, and easily printed out. Experiments range from 'Build a Spectroscope' to "Math Explorer." Some experiments and their explanations may be more visual than others.
Units of Measurement
Americans probably use a greater variety of units of measurement than anyone else in the world. Caught in a slow-moving transition from customary to metric units, we employ a fascinating and sometimes frustrating mixture of units in talking about the same things. We measure the length of a race in meters, but the length of the long jump event in feet and inches. We speak of an engine's power in horsepower and its displacement in liters. In the same dispatch, we describe a hurricane's wind speed in knots and its central pressure in millibars. This dictionary, put together by Russ Rowlett, the Director of the Center for Mathematics and Science Education at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, will help you learn more about units of measurement.
The Vega Science Trust
The Vega Science Trust is an independent broadcaster of Informed Scientific Visual and Audio Media. Science programs include face to face interviews, interviews with Nobel Prize winners, Vega science classes, master classes, and much more.
The Why Files | The Science Behind the News
Hosted by The University of Wisconsin, this site attempts to explain the science behind the news. While some material is visual, there has been an effort to make the site as accessible as possible. As a result, it is of value to the visually impaired visitor. Updated twice monthly to reflect changes in the news.
Center for International Earth Science Information Network
"This is a great general source for Internet accessible information made available by the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network, an entity established by Congress to study global environmental change. This includes information prepared by CIESIN and also links to other sources. The site, which will be most useful for the more advanced student or specialist, is searchable by keyword.
EurekAlert! - Science News
From agriculture to technology, this site, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, provides science news from universities, journals, government agencies, and other research organizations; also features a calendar of science events.
Science Niche: Educational Resources for Science Teachers & Students
Targeted at the high-school student or teacher, this site includes sections on organic chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology,botany, zoology, physical sciences, earth sciences, medicine, and genetics as well as lesson plans, science experiments, and science news. While the portions of the site which are textual make it a worthwhile source, the visual nature of some areas detracts from its overall usefulness for the visually impaired visitor. Searchable.
Multi-disciplinary Science Sites
Some sites provide broad-based and thorough information on a number of scientific fields. The ones in this section are devoted to coverage of multiple areas of science.
The Internet Scout Report
This is one of the best sites for locating quality information on science, math, and engineering. Its team of professional librarians and content experts locate, research, and annotate resources for the reports. Their main goal is to provide academics, researchers, librarians, and the K-12 community with a fast, convenient way of staying informed of valuable online information without having them do sorting or searching themselves. Areas treated by each report include
Life Sciences
which covers Biology, Zoology, Ecology, Botany, and other Life Science topics;
Physical Sciences
which covers Geology, Chemistry, Astronomy, Physics, and other Physical Science topics and;
Math, Engineering, and Technology
covering Industrial Engineering, Calculus, Algebra, Geometry, Civil Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Environmental Engineering, Computer Sciences, and related topics.
Resources for Teaching Physics
The title of this site is a bit misleading in that, although it deals with physics, it covers much of value to students and teachers of other areas of science as well. There is information on the scientific vocabulary, developing scientific reading and writing skills, the scientific method, scientific reasoning, organizing and evaluating scientific data, as well as games and techniques for improving scientific problem-solving. From The Secondary Education Department at The California State University, Northridge.
Free Online Course Materials | MIT OpenCourseWare
This site "is a large-scale, Web-based publication of the educational materials from the MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] faculty's courses." It provides course materials (such as lecture notes, reading lists, and problems sets) for
1900 courses
at present in dozens of academic disciplines ranging from aeronautics to women's studies. A number of the classes are available in
Audio and Video.
Searchable and browsable.
The Internet Public Library: Science and Technology
Agriculture, chemistry, earth science, engineering, environmental sciences, life sciences, paleontology, and physics are only some of the major divisions of this excellent site. All sources are annotated. The site is very accessible and exceptionally easy to navigate. Browsable and searchable.
The National Science Digital Library
The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) was created by the National Science Foundation to provide organized access to high quality resources and tools that support innovations in teaching and learning at all levels of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. NSDL is the Nation's free online library for education and research in Science. Of special interest are the pages devoted to
Teachers
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Computational Science
Engineering
and
Math
Resources for Physics and Astronomy Education
Materials are either searchable or browsable and grouped by grade level, discipline, resource or data type, or some other designation.
Magazine Articles on Science & Technology
Magazine articles on research, scientific thinking, and laboratories. Topics include biology & life sciences, chemistry, engineering, environment & geology, mathematics, the paranormal & hoaxes, physics, psychology, and space & astronomy.
NEWTON's Ask A Scientist archive
Sponsored by the Department of Energy, the site provides an archive of questions and answers through NEWTON's Ask A Scientist service for K-12 students and educators. The following subjects are represented: astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, computer, general science, engineering, environmental sciences, mathematics, molecular biology, physics, weather, and zoology.
Sebastopol College
This college, in Victoria, Australia, hosts this site to present and organize a large number of sources in the sciences. You will find links to information on general science, the history of science, astronomy/space, biology, chemistry, environmental science, forensic science, geology/paleontology, physics, or weather/meteorology - users are taken to web pages where lists of appropriate URL links are provided.
Biology and Life Sciences
Biology Browser
An interactive portal designed "to connect life sciences researchers with free, useful resources and other like-minded scientists from all around the world." Includes annotated links to news and life science Web sites, a glossary for zoology, a zoological thesaurus, a forum for biologists and scientists to discuss findings, and more. Searchable.
Genetics Home Reference: A Guide to Understanding Genetic Conditions
This National Library of Medicine site provides "consumer information about genetic conditions and the genes responsible for those conditions." A searchable and browsable directory includes FAQs and links to related resources about specific genes and conditions. The site also offers a basic explanation of how genes work; a glossary; and information about genetic testing, gene therapy, and the Human Genome
Project.
Genetic Science Learning Center
Hosted by the University of Utah, this site, while highly interactive and visual, provides sufficient textual material to be of use to either the visually impaired student or teacher. Searchable, browsable, and featuring podcasts.
Online Biology Resources
Featuring a newsletter, access to biology tools and materials, a glossary, and annotated links to excellent online biology resources for the student or teacher. Searchable.
Biology and science education resources for teachers and tutors
An outstanding list of numerous links to a variety of information on many aspects of biology. Specific information is also provided for the beginning biology teacher with links to inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, problem-based learning, cooperative learning, classroom management, and first-year teaching.
The Biology Project
Hosted by the University of Arizona, this site is intended for high-school and college undergraduates, although sections of it would be appropriate for more advanced learners. A Spanish version is available.
MedlinePlus: Medical Dictionary
Features an especially powerful search capacity to help the visitor locate those complicated medical terms. You can also find a medical encyclopedia as well as links to information on drugs, medical supplements, and medical news. Also available in Spanish.
Biology Lessons
These lessons for teaching biology to prospective elementary school teachers were developed in a biology course for senior Liberal Studies majors at San Diego State University. The lessons can readily be adapted by elementary-school teachers. They require simple materials.
Biology
This About.com site is an accessible place to locate information on anatomy, genetics, neurology, and more. The site provides a RSS feed, a newsletter, and links to previous articles.
Biology Tutorials
This is an especially useful site since, with the exception of an occasional diagram, it is text based. Some of the topics covered include plants, the origins of life, human physiology and neurology, developmental biology, regulation of biological systems, genetics and evolution, and cell biology. Visitors have rated the site’s content high.
Resources for Microbiology Educators
Associate Professor Thomas M. Terry, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology of the University of Connecticut, hosts this site and says, "This page includes links to some courses I've taught using the Web, as well as links to documents and other resources that may help you with your own design of Web materials. I invite you to borrow freely whatever you can use." While a good deal of the materials for the courses here, Fundamentals of Microbiology and General Biology, are highly visual, there is still a good deal that is useful to the visually impaired student or teacher.
Microbiology Resources
An excellent, detailed list of annotated links on microbiology resources specifically designed for classroom teachers.
Chemistry
Chemistry Teaching Websites
"This website is designed to help chemistry teachers find useful information on the internet." The web master says that "This is not even the tip of the iceberg; there is much more information available, it is just a matter of finding it." In addition to links to material on measurement, lab safety, useful search engines, etc., sections of the site are specifically devoted to high-school and college teaching. There is also much here for the chemistry student.
American Chemical Society
Includes pages for chemistry professionals, educators, students at all levels, policy makers, and enthusiasts. Provides access to dozens of the print publications of the American Chemical Society, chemistry news, job listings, lesson plans, the "Molecule of the Week," an interactive periodic table, and more. Searchable. Although the site contains excellent material, some sections are only accessed with great difficulty and others may not be accessible at all.
Periodic table of the Elements
This is not only an excellent way for the visually impaired student or teacher to access the periodic table of elements but also a good source of additional information about chemistry. Elements are not only listed but the site contains additional descriptive information about each element. Searchable.
Taking a Closer Look at Molecular Modeling
A comprehensive page on molecular modeling with in-depth, informative links. An unusually large amount of the site is devoted to textual descriptions, and so it is especially appropriate for the visually-impaired visitor. Major sections of the site include: formal charges of ions, resonance structures, valence shell electron repulsion theory, bond and molecular polarity, and intermolecular forces.
Chemistry - Periodic Table, Chemistry Projects, and Chemistry Homework Help
You will find a glossary as well as links to information on general chemistry, tests and quizzes, chemistry problems, homework help, chemistry for kids, everyday chemistry, and, of special interest, a
Chemistry Encyclopedia
which is browsable, searchable, and very accessible as is most of the site.
Physics and Astronomy
Solar System
Examines the solar system and NASA explorations in it. Learn
about how the solar system formed, what we know about Mars,
and the likelihood of earth colliding with an asteroid or
comet. From The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Universe
explores questions that include: How do galaxies and stars
form? What powered the Big Bang? What is dark energy and how
is it pulling the universe apart? Is the universe expanding?
What happens at the edge of a black hole? Is there life beyond
earth? While the topics covered can be highly visual, the text makes the site valuable. From The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Physics and Astronomy Education
This is a comprehensive physics and astronomy online education, research and reference web site. In addition to providing high-quality content, it is a meeting place for professionals, students and other curious minds. This page is focused on education with material more geared to students than some other portions of the site.
Pedagogical Resources on the Web for Teaching Physics: Physics Education Resources
More appropriate for the more advanced high-school student or college student, the site, nonetheless, provides an excellent list of curricula, lesson plans, problems, software for teaching physics, and other resources. From the University of Maryland Physics Education Research Group.
Physics and Astronomy Links
The PhysLink.com is a comprehensive physics and astronomy online education, research and reference web site. In addition to providing high-quality content, PhysLink.com is a meeting place for professionals, students and other curious minds. Of special interest for younger students are likely to be the link to the "fun store" and "ask an expert." While the site could certainly be more screen-reader friendly, its high quality makes it worth the additional effort.
Because understanding mathematical calculations is an integral part of more advanced science, you may want to visit our page on
Math and Statistics.
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