7 (more) websites that make learning science fun

Science and Nature
This collection of cool games and activities comes from Smithsonian Education. Whether you are studying astronomy, geology, zoology, anatomy or physics, you will find an activity to include in your lessons. Since this all comes from the Smithsonian, you know you can rely on its quality and accuracy.

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ACS - Science for Kids
The American Chemical Society put together this collection of science related resources. If you are looking for experiments, lesson plans, activities or games, this site has them all. This resources aren't all about chemistry either. There is educational materials related to physics, geology, and anatomy as well.

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Science from Kids.Gov
This collection of free resources from the Federal Government combines the best from their various departments. You can learn about chemistry, astronomy, geology, life science and more. There are lesson plans, activities, videos and games to play for students of all ages.

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Zoomsci
This hige collection of engaging science activities comes from the PBS show Zoom. Chemistry, life science, physics, and geology are all represented in this extensive selection of educational resources. For even more, click on the "Parent/Teacher" section for lessons and hands on activities.

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Science Interactives
Annenberg Learner is a site that I have repeatedly recommended to teachers of all disciplines. Their educational interactives are some of the best resources you will find anywhere. Science teachers should make a point to check out their huge collection of science based learning activities. They are sorted by grade level or use their search bar.

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Inner Body
Inner Body provides detailed views of the inner working of the human body. Choose the body system you wish to explore and the site will show you detailed pictures and information about the systems different parts and how they work together. The site is a terrific resource for secondary and college level learners but probably a little too detailed for younger students.

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Sea and Sky
When studying the oceans or the heavens be sure to check out this website. You will find a great deal of educational material including reference guides, pictures, activities, news and games. Students studying the oceans or space will likely enjoy learning about these two unique places with the resources this site has to offer.

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EPA - Students for the Environment
This government sponsored site provides students and teachers with educational resources about the environment.Lesson plans, games, and project ideas are just a few of the things found on this site. Students can also take quizzes, calculate air quality and learn how their actions impact the environment.

9 Wonderful Weather Websites for kids

Tree House Weather for Kids
Tree House Weather Kids is a site from University of Illinois Extension that is designed to help kids 5th through 8th grades get a better understanding of weather. The site's videos and interactive learning activities are meant to support the learning of weather topics in the classroom.

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Edheads Weather
Edheads weather section is a place where students can learn to predict and report the weather. Each activity is divided into three levels with the difficulty increasing as the student progresses. Teachers should do a test run on the devices that the students will use to make sure it runs correctly.

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Weather Watch
Scholastic has two very cool weather websites. The first, called Weather Watch, has multiple interactive experiences that helps students observe,  analyze, investigate and gather data on weather information.

Interactive Weather Maker

Their second website is the Interactive Weather Maker allows you to control the weather by changing humidity and two different global temperatures. This simple site show how these factors can influence weather in their region.

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Discovery Kids Weather
Discovery Kids Weather has information on basic weather phenomenon such as seasons, rain, fog and rainbows. There is a separate section on extreme weather such as tornadoes and hurricanes. This site is primarily an information site for reports or projects.

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Weather from Science Kids
Weather from Science Kids has a nice selection of resources to help make learning about weather more fun. There are lessons, weather experiments, games, quizzes, videos, images, and project ideas.

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NOAA Weather for Kids
NOAA - Weather for Kids contains a collection of links to weather related activities. There are games, information, and educational resources to help students better understand the science of weather.

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Web Weather for Kids
Web Weather for Kids is another great site with various learning activities including games and interesting weather stories. The site also has real world weather experiments that can be performed from home or in the classroom.

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Weather Wizkids

Weather Wizkids has the largest collection of weather related activities among the sites listed. They too have games, and experiments but Weather Wizkids offers so much more. They provide jokes, flashcards, images, and other resources including a feature that allows kids to see their local forecast.

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7 math based websites to discover (again)

It seems that there are new and exciting educational resources popping up every week and that's great but we sometimes forget about the great websites we used to visit. Below you'll find a small sample of math resources that may be new to you and a few that you may have forgotten about.

1-Johnnie's Math Page
Johnnie's Math Page is rich with math content for students, teachers and parents. The site has a clean layout and is easy to navigate. Johnnie's Math Page has games, activities, puzzles and worksheets galore and the site's range of topics apply to preschoolers on up to middle school.

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2- Math is Fun
Math is Fun has been around since 2000 so the site is hardly new. Visitors will find a wide array of resources such as worksheets, quizzes, games, activities and a math dictionary. While the site's appearance make it look like it is built for younger students, they do have content that applies to secondary learners. If you haven't been to this site recently, perhaps it is time to check it out again.

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3- Math Fact Cafe

Another website that has been around since 2000 is the Math Fact Cafe. This slick looking site is a powerful worksheet generator for elementary math teachers and parents. The site offers pre-made worksheets or you can create your own by clicking a few boxes to set your parameters and presto, a new worksheet. You can also practice math facts with their flashcards and there are even games available.

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4- Mr. Nussbaum's Math Lab

Mr. Nussbaum's Math Lab is a teacher created website containing a huge amount of fun and educational content. The site offers math based games, videos printables, and activities called "workshops." When exploring this site visitors have 25 categories to choose from so there is a lot to see and do. Mr. Nussbaum's Math Lab has a target audience of K-8 students and teachers.

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AAA Math
AAA Math is a site with thousands of interactive math lessons for elementary and middle school students. Each lesson provides immediate feedback for the student and each lesson set also contains a quiz so students can test their progress. To navigate the site you simply select the math topic or grade. AAA Math makes an excellent resource for math students.

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Math-Aids

Math-Aids is a worksheet generator that provides free printable worksheets for over 77 math topics for grades K-12. You choose your topic and are presented with previews of each worksheet. Every selection also give you the option of printing an answer key. Math-Aids also has a selection of math videos by going to their educational videos page.

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Math Goodies

Math Goodies offers a wide range of resources for math students and teachers. Visitors can find interactive lessons, a worksheet generator, games, puzzles, calculators and more. Navigation is done by using their search bar or by clicking one of the categories just below their search bar. Math Goodies has been around since 1998 and if you haven't been here recently, it may be time to check it out again.

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5 Seriously Amazing Science Education Websites

I present part two of  sites that have been paid for by your federal tax dollars. Here are five very cool science based sites that will make great additions to any science classroom.

Jefferson Lab
Jefferson Lab is a site with a collection of teacher and student resources. Look around and you'll discover hands on activities, science based games and puzzles, cool videos and a teacher's section. This site is a joint project between the  U.S. Department of Energy and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

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NOAA Education Resources
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA) offers this portal to NOAA sponsored educational materials for teaching concepts and processes related to ocean, coastal, climate, weather, and Great Lake resources. Here you can find hundreds of educational resources centered around weather, ocean life, and climate.

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Exploratorium

Exploratorium Online is a digital library collection for lifelong learning from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The site contains hundreds of interactive learning activities and even more educational videos. You can browse their extensive collection by topic or activity. There is so much to see and do, be sure you block a chunk of time before you begin exploring.

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NASA Space Place

The NASA Space Place has been around for 15 years but it is still one of the best educational science websites around. There are hundreds of learning activities and educational games all centered around space and technology. You will find hands-on projects that kids can do with ordinary materials. Activities include interactive games, puzzles, animations and interactive demonstrations of science and technology concepts. Even though this site may not be new to you, it is likely new to your students.

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Seriously Amazing

Seriously Amazing not only inspired the title of my blog post, it is the name of an incredible website by the Smithsonian. It is an interactive learning web page where anyone can learn more about art, science, history and other cultures. The page is a mosaic of questions and pictures and you can explore the page by simply clicking one of the many choices. Seriously Amazing is a terrific website and it will engage curious learners for long periods of time.

The Why Files - The Science behind the news

The Why Files is a website that helps students understand science through current events or maybe it helps kids understand current events through science. Either way, the site provides a variety of opportunities for students to learn about science in interesting ways. The home page looks like a newspaper and contains a few news stories from around the world. Each story explores is explored from a science perspective and includes pictures, diagrams, and charts to help students understand the topic. In addition to news, the site contains a classroom activities pages with discussion questions and quizzes from stories found on the web page. There is also an interactive section where students can learn about science based concepts through games and activities. Due to its focus on current events, the Why Files is just as useful to social studies teachers who may want to use it for current events and infuse some cross curricular science content.

Show Kids the Fun - Great Alternatives to TV and Video Games

Show Kids the Fun is a site that contains hundreds of fun and educational activities, crafts, and games for children of all ages and interests. The activities shared on this site come with a description as well as list of materials and can be done at home, in school, or any community center or church. The site  also has party ideas and themes and you can submit your own ideas for activities to be shared on the site. Show Kids the Fun offers great alternatives to TV or videos games and is a terrific site for parents, teachers, or for anyone who works with children.

Have Fun with History - educational videos on American history and more

Have Fun with History is a website for people who love learning about the past. The site contains an extensive library of educational videos on American history topics. You can search either the "History Videos" or the "History Subjects" sections to get to their video collection. There is a third section, titled "History Activities" which has a small selection of fun puzzles and games for kids to enjoy. Have Fun with History's video selection is really impressive and their wide range of social studies topics means that teachers should have no problem finding material that will be useful in the classroom.

Succeeding With Science

Succeeding with Science is a website built around fun and interactive educational games, activities, and videos to help students learn and love science. The student activities are sorted by age range from 4-7 years up to 16+ and there is also a teachers section. Each activity come with PDF lesson plans and support materials as well. Science teachers at all levels should find this site to be useful way to support their curriculum.