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Prepared
as a PT3 Grant Project |
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by |
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Dr.
Beth McCulloch Vinson |
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Athens
State University |
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Athens,
AL |
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Summer
2001 |
BIOLOGY SITES
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The Cell
Visualization Project represents a new approach to understanding the
internal structure of biological cells.
Using advanced computer imaging techniques, real cells may be
reconstructed in 3D from physical measurements. The computer reconstructions created through the Cell
Visualization Project will permit cells to be explored interactively for
education and research. |
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This mega-site provides
various links to science research papers and interactive sites. |
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Explore the heart. Discover the complexities of its
development and structure. Follow the
blood through the blood vessels.
Wander through the web-like body systems. Learn how to have a healthy heart and how to monitor your
heart's health. Look back at the
history of heart science. |
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Get a virtual tour of 10 systems of the body. Student and teacher resources are available. |
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The
purpose of this lab activity is to help you learn the anatomy of a frog and
give you a better understanding of the anatomy of vertebrate animals in general,
including humans. This program
provides still and motion visuals of preserved and pithed frogs, in addition
to text. A pithed frog has had its
central nervous system destroyed (its spinal cord has been severed). It is technically dead, but some of its
organs continue to function for a brief period. Visuals of pithed frogs are found in the section on
"Internal Organs." |
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Microbial
ecology is the study of microbes in the environment. To discover the many worlds of hidden
microbes, touch an environment in the map of the zoo. |
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Virtual
Cell is a collection of still images, texts, and movies covering the
structure and functioning of a typical plant cell. |
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This
award-winning interactive program is part of the "Whole Frog"
project. You can interactively
dissect a (digitized) frog named Fluffy, make movies, and play the Virtual
Frog Builder Game. The interactive
Web pages are available in a number of languages. |
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The
Visible Human Project is the creation of complete, anatomically
detailed, three-dimensional representations of the normal male and female
human bodies. Acquisition of
transverse CT, MR, and cryosection images of representative male and female
cadavers has been completed. The male
was sectioned at one-millimeter intervals, the female at one-third of a
millimeter intervals. |
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GEOGRAPHY SITES |
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Relive the excitement of Virtual Antarctica through the gallery
of images and dispatches, or surf into this award-winning Website to
learn more about the vast white continent at the bottom of the world. |
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Belize, the small
Caribbean/Central American country with the longest barrier reef in the
Northern Hemisphere; Belize, with over 60% of its land still covered by
tropical forests; Belize, the center of the once powerful Mayan
civilization. Four guided tours of
Belize are portrayed rich with information and beautiful photography. Explore Belize’s rich Mayan history;
wander through a sample of our protected areas - marine and terrestrial; visit
our 6 districts and their major towns; or tour the entire site. |
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Traveling
virtually, K-12 classrooms investigate the Galápagos Islands' ecology to understand
how wildlife adapts and evolves. This
online space allows students to collaborate with the travelers and share
their knowledge with the world. |
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The staff of National
Geographic hopes that this “site helps you explore and enjoy the world
and all that is in it.” |
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Join TerraQuest
for an exciting event in Yosemite National Park — climbing three thousand
feet of solid rock, straight up the face of El Capitan. We were "on the wall" for
HighSights '96 as noted adventurer Erik Weihenmayer made his inspirational
ascent. Presented in association with
the American Foundation for the Blind. |
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HISTORY SITES
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In
Earth History Resources, you will find many graphic images designed for use in
the development of either an on-line Internet or interactive multimedia
project related to Earth History.
These images consist of photographs of dioramas, fossils and models,
and computer generated images and drawings. |
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This
is an interactive
online study of Greek mythology, which offers an interdisciplinary curriculum
and encourages history research and reinforcement of concepts through drama
and creative writing. It is highly
interactive and lots of fun. |
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The
Petrified Forest was formed when a huge volcano erupted around 3 million
years ago. The eruptions, and ash
fall that followed, lasted for many thousand years! Combined with rain, this colossal geological event buried and
preserved a gigantic forest that once stood there. The ash fall of Mount Saint Helens eruption in 1980, for
example, lasted only 9 hours! These
petrified trees are the biggest fossils in the world. Some over 150 feet long! |
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Today,
archaeological evidence reveals some of the mysteries that surrounded the
history of the Wonders for centuries.
For their builders, the Seven Wonders were a celebration of religion,
mythology, art, power, and science.
For us, they reflect the ability of humans to change the surrounding
landscape by building massive yet beautiful structures, one of which stood
the test of time to this very day. |
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INTERACTIVE
AND SUBSCRIPTION SITES: |
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The
Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Modeling Group seeks to understand the
important interactions between chemical processes and climate change. |
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Focus On Antarctica is an
exciting virtual field trip to Antarctica for grades 4 – 8. We have two units available: food webs
(life science) and weather/climate change (earth science). |
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TIES brings together technology and education to create
comprehensive solutions for school administrators, educators and students. |
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This is a site featuring real heroes,
people who stick their necks out for the common good. The nonprofit Giraffe Heroes Project
fosters active citizenship by telling the stories of these
"Giraffes" in the media, on podiums and in the K-12 Giraffe Heroes
Program for schools. |
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GLOBE is a worldwide hands-on, primary and
secondary school-based science and education program. |
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The International Wolf Center supports the
survival of the wolf around the world by teaching about its life, its
association with other species and its dynamic relationship to humans. |
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After
discovering the wreck of the RMS Titanic, world-famous explorer and
oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard received letters from students around the
world who wanted to go with him on his next expedition. Dr. Ballard founded the JASON Project to
bring the thrill of discovery to millions of students worldwide. |
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Join
students and teachers in more than 4,800 schools as they use the Journey
North online project to track wildlife migration and seasonal change. Participants from Largo, Florida, to
Anchorage, Alaska, mark the arrival of spring in their corner of the world by
posting their findings on sunrise and sunset, daily temperatures, and the first
appearances of everything from monarch butterflies to manatees. |
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This offers a year-long subscription for schools that
includes multiple, online instructional software titles for students in grades
1-6 that make learning reading, math, science, and social studies concepts
fun. |
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The
Program for Research on Oxidants: PHotochemistry, Emissions, and Transport, PROPHET,
was established at the University of Michigan Biological Station in response
to the urgent need to improve the quantitative understanding of the
photochemical and transport processes that determining ambient distributions
of oxidants and aerosols and that control the oxidation of atmospheric
constituents. |
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A
unique graphical interface to the Internet with truly interactive
imagery. Blue-Skies provides an
extremely user-friendly interface so that users with a minimal computer
background can easily obtain the Internet information graphically. Blue-Skies features the graphics protocol
named Interactive Image Format. |
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MATHEMATICS SITES: |
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Calculators
and Hundreds Boards |
Learning about Number Relationships and
Properties of Numbers Using Calculators and Hundred Boards: Building on students' intuitive
understandings of patterns and number relationships, teachers can further the
development of number concepts and logical reasoning. In this two-part e-example virtual 100 boards
and calculators furnish a visual way of highlighting and displaying various
patterns and relationships among numbers.
(NCTM)
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Rotations; translations, or slides; and reflections, or
flips, are geometric transformations that change an object's position or orientation
but not its shape or size. The
interactive figures in this four-part example allow a user to manipulate a
shape and observe its behavior under a particular transformation or
composition of transformations. (NCTM)
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Using
the World Wide Web: Data
sets available on the Internet are valuable resources for studying real data
to address questions that interest students.
Teachers and students can download data sets from the World Wide Web,
collaborate in online data-collection projects, and search electronic
libraries and data files. This
example describes activities in which students can use census data available
on the Web to examine questions about population. (NCTM)
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Using
the World Wide Web: Data sets available on the Internet are valuable resources for
studying real data to address questions that interest students. Teachers and students can download data
sets from the World Wide Web, collaborate in online data-collection projects,
and search electronic libraries and data files. This example describes activities in which students can use census
data available on the Web to examine questions about population.
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Spreadsheets and graphing software are tools for
organizing, representing, and comparing data. This activity illustrates how weather data can be collected and
examined using these tools. In the
first part, Collecting and Examining Weather Data, students organize and then
examine data that has been collected over a period of time in a spreadsheet.
In the second part, Representing and Interpreting Data, students use the
graphing functions of a spreadsheet to help them interpret data. Working on activities like these, students
learn to set up a simple spreadsheet and use it in posing and solving
problems, examining data, and investigating patterns, as described in the
Representation Standard. (NCTM)
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This
example includes a software simulation of two runners along a track. Students can control the speeds and
starting points of the runners, watch the race, and examine a graph of the
time-versus-distance relationship.
The computer simulation uses a context familiar to students, and the
technology allows them to analyze the relationships more deeply because of
the ease of manipulating the environment and observing the changes that
occur.
(NCTM) |
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Making
Connections among Number, Geometry, Measurement, and Data Concepts: Estimation
activities encourage students to make connections among the mathematics
concepts they are learning and the skills they are developing. In this multipart video example, the
decisions the teacher makes and the class discussions contribute to students'
opportunities to connect their understandings of number, measurement,
geometry, and data in order to make estimates. (NCTM) |
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Mathematical
games can foster mathematical communication as students explain and justify
their moves to one another. In
addition, games can motivate students and engage them in thinking about and
applying concepts and skills. This
link contains an interactive version of a game that can be used to support
students' learning about fractions. (NCTM) |
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Developing Geometry Concepts Using Computer Programming
Environments: Computer programming environments can be used
to help children understand geometric concepts. The interactive tool in this i-Math investigation illustrates
how LOGO can be used to foster creative problem solving and encourage young
students to estimate length and angle measures. (NCTM)
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Investigate
the Elimination of Medicine from the Body: This three-part example illustrates the
use of iteration, recursion, and algebra to model and analyze the changing
amount of medicine in an athlete's body. (NCTM)
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Regression
Line with a Visual Model: This example allows students to explore three methods for
measuring how well a linear model fits a set of data points. The Data Analysis and Probability Standard
calls for students to explore how residuals (the difference between a
predicted and observed value) may be used to measure the "goodness of
fit" of a linear model. In this
example, two of the methods use residuals and the third uses the shortest
distance between a data point and the line given by the model.
(NCTM)
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This two-part example illustrates how students can learn
about the length, perimeter, area, and volume of similar objects using
dynamic figures. In the first part,
Side Length and Area of Similar Figures, the user can manipulate the side
lengths of one of two similar rectangles and the scale factor to learn about
how the side lengths, perimeters, and areas of the two rectangles are
related. In the second part, Side
Length, Volume, and Surface Area of Similar Solids, the user can manipulate
the scale factor that links two three-dimensional rectangular prisms and
learn about the relationships among edge lengths, surface areas, and volumes.
(NCTM)
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This activity explores the development of a
mathematical model for the decay of light passing through water. The goal of this investigation is a rich
exploration of exponential models in context. Throughout the activity, movie clips are available to see this
activity in action in the classroom.
(NCTM)
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Representational
Relationships:
Technology allows the linking of multiple representations of
mathematical situations and the exploration of the relationships that
emerge. This example presents a
series of explorations based on two linked representations of linear
functions. (NCTM)
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Using interactive software, students can compare and
contrast properties of measures of center; specifically these tasks
illustrate how changes in data values influence the mean and median. When students change the data values, the
interactive figure immediately displays the mean and median of the new data
set. (NCTM)
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Using
Dynamic Sketches of an Area Model: Students can learn
to visualize the effects of multiplying a fixed positive number by positive
numbers greater than 1 and less than 1 with this tool. Using interactive figures, students can
investigate how changing the height of a rectangle with a fixed width changes
its area. As discussed in the Number
Standard, understanding multiplication by fractions and decimals can be
challenging for middle-grades students if experiences with multiplication by
whole numbers have led them to believe that "multiplication makes
bigger." In these dynamic
figures, the rectangle represents the familiar area model of multiplication;
changing the rectangle's height can help students see the effect of
multiplying a fixed positive number by numbers greater than 1 and less than
1. (NCTM)
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Creating, Describing, and Analyzing Patterns to Recognize
Relationships and Make Predictions: This three-part e-example highlights different aspects of students'
understanding and use of patterns as they analyze relationships and make
predictions. The example includes an
interactive figure for creating, comparing, and viewing multiple repetitions
of patterns. (NCTM)
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The Pythagorean relationship, a2 + b2
= c2 (where a and b are the lengths of the
legs of a right triangle and c is the hypotenuse), can be demonstrated
in many ways, including with visual "proofs" that require little or
no symbolism or explanation. The
activity in this example presents one dynamic version of a demonstration of
this relationship. Visual and dynamic
demonstrations can help students analyze and explain mathematical
relationships, as described in the Geometry Standard. The interactive figure
in this activity can help students understand the Pythagorean relationship
and gives them experience with transformations that preserve area but not
shape. (NCTM) |
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In
this two-part example, users can drag a slider on an interactive graph to
modify a rate of change (cost per minute for phone use) and learn how
modifications in that rate affect the linear graph displaying accumulation
(the total cost of calls). In the
first part, Constant Cost per Minute, the cost per minute for phone use
remains constant over time. In the
second part, Changing Cost per Minute, the cost per minute for phone use
changes after the first sixty minutes of calls. (NCTM) |
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Inscribed Figures Using Interactive Diagrams: This example illustrates
how students, using dynamic and interactive geometric figures, can understand
connections between algebra and geometry, as described in the Connections
Standard. They can develop an
understanding of how to justify geometric relationships in a technological
environment, as described in the Geometry Standard. (NCTM) |
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Dynamic
geometry software provides an environment in which students can explore
geometric relationships and make and test conjectures. In this example, properties of rectangles
and parallelograms are examined. The
emphasis is on identifying what distinguishes a rectangle from a more general
parallelogram. Such tasks and the
software can help teachers address the Geometry Standard. (NCTM) |
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Developing Geometry Understandings and Spatial Skills through
Puzzle-like Problems with Tangrams:
Describing figures
and visualizing what they look like when they are transformed through
rotations or flips or are put together or taken apart in different ways are
important aspects of geometry in the lower grades. This two-part tangram e-example demonstrates the potential for
high-quality experiences provided by computer "shape" environments
for students as they learn concepts.
(NCTM)
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Investigating the Concept of Triangle and Properties of Polygons: This two-part e-example describes activities using interactive
geoboards to help students identify simple geometric shapes, describe their
properties, and develop spatial sense.
A virtual geoboard is available for constructing triangles and
polygons. (NCTM)
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This
example illustrates how using a dynamic geometrical representation can help
students develop an understanding of vectors and their properties, as
described in the Number and Operations Standard. Students manipulate a velocity vector to control the movement
of an object in a game-like setting.
In the first part, Components of a Vector, students will develop an
understanding that vectors are composed of both magnitude and direction. In the second part, Sums of Vectors and
Their Properties, students extend their knowledge of number systems to the
system of vectors. (NCTM) |
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MUSEUM
SITES: |
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Access
Excellence: The National Health
Museum
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This is an excellent site for health and bioscience
teachers and students. |
Detroit Institute of
the Arts
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This is the sixth largest fine arts museum in the
United States with holdings of over 60,000 works, which include paintings,
sculpture, and graphic and decorative arts. |
Field Museum
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The
Field Museum of Natural History is an educational institution concerned with the
diversity and relationships in nature and among cultures. |
Henry
Ford Museum
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This site features Greenfield Village, studies of
Colonial Life, early automobiles, and inventors. |
Louvre Museum
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A medieval fortress, the palace of the kings of France,
and a museum for the last two centuries, the architecture of the Louvre
Palace bears witness to more than 800 years of history. |
Metropolitan
Museum of Art
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View more than 3,500 works of art in the virtual
collection and a timeline of art history |
Smithsonian
Institution
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The
Institution is as an independent trust instrumentality of the United States
holding more than 140 million artifacts and specimens in its trust for
"the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The Institution is also a center for research dedicated to
public education, national service, and scholarship in the arts, sciences,
and history. |
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NASA SITES |
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Aerospace Team Online brings you
into flight simulators and wind tunnels to see NASA employees doing
aerodynamic design research. You will hear from the engineers, technicians,
mechanics and designers working to make tomorrow's planes safer, more
efficient, quieter, and faster. We'll
look over their shoulders as these folks operate flight simulations, prepare
models for wind tunnel tests, run tests, analyze data, compute fluid dynamic
models and more. The project will
focus on research and tests being done at Ames Research Center, Moffett Field,
California. |
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Deployed on April 25, 1990, the Hubble Telescope is a giant
observatory aboard a spacecraft. It
can make observations of the universe using visible, near ultraviolet, and
near-infrared light spectra above the filtering effect of earth's
atmosphere. Because of its ability to
capture faint light in fine detail and the precision of its observations the
Hubble Space Telescope is rapidly expanding astronomers understanding of the
cosmos. |
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The Gerard P. Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) is a national
facility operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to
support research in infrared astronomy.
The observation platform is a highly modified C-141A jet transport
aircraft with a range of 6000 nautical miles, capable of conducting research
operations to 45000 feet (14 km). |
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NeurOn
(Neurolab Online) is a project that invites classrooms around the world to
join NASA personnel as they prepare for the Neurolab mission, STS-90. NeurOn uses the Internet and Email to help
break barriers between NASA and the classroom. The Neurolab mission will conduct brain research to study
neurological and behavioral changes in space. The NeurOn project focuses on the people of the project, their
efforts, their successes, and their challenges, as revealed through informal
biographies, journals, and Web chats.
Hands-on activities will further help students to experience the
mission in their classroom. |
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Galileo
consists of two principal parts: an orbiter and an atmospheric probe. The probe was released from the orbiter
148 days before arrival at Jupiter and entered Jupiter's atmosphere to study
the temperature, pressure, and composition of the cloud layers and relay its
data back to the orbiter. The Galileo
probe arrived at Jupiter on December 7, 1995. Preliminary details about what the Probe discovered is
available from the Galileo Probe home pages. |
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Meet the men and women of NASA who make
the space shuttle fly and learn about their diverse and exciting
careers. Peek behind the scenes as
these folks train astronauts, prepare the shuttle for human space exploration
missions, and make the International Space Station a reality. |
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SCIENCE SITES |
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The mission of the University of California Museum of
Paleontology is to investigate and promote the understanding of the history of
life and the diversity of the Earth's biota through research and education. |
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Exploratorium
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Housed within the walls of
San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, the Exploratorium is a collage of over
650 science, art, and human perception exhibits. The Exploratorium is a leader in the movement to promote the
museum as an educational center. |
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This science museum has many interactive science pages available
for both teachers and students to use. |
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This
science and industry museum has virtual exhibits available online. Many graphics are also available of the
permanent collections. |
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The
Natural History Museum is the United Kingdom's national museum of natural
history, and a centre of scientific excellence in taxonomy and
biodiversity. The Museum's mission is
to maintain and develop its collections and use them to promote the
discovery, understanding, responsible use and enjoyment of the natural world. |
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Renowned dinosaur museum offers public and school
programs, hours, resources and a fossil encyclopedia. |
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The climate cooled, continents drifted apart and new
flora and fauna flourished. Witness
the end of the Age of Dinosaurs and explore the natural world of over 65
million years ago. |
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ZOO SITES |
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Zoo Views offers a virtual tour of the zoo with animal
cams and online exhibits providing learning experiences about the animals,
plants, people, and research at the zoo. |
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San Diego Zoo |
Animal cams, baby animal videos, and photos of the zoo
are just part of the online experience. |
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Since 1895, WCS has worked from our Bronx Zoo headquarters to
save wildlife and wild lands throughout the world. They uniquely combine the resources of wildlife parks in New
York with field projects around the globe to inspire care for nature, provide
leadership in environmental education, and help sustain our planet's biological
diversity. |
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Do you have suggestions for sites to include in this list? If so, e-mail them to vinsonb@athens.edu and write “Web Inclusion” in
the Subject Line. |
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Did you find a link that is not working? If so, e-mail vinsonb@athens.edu and write “Link not Working” in the Subject Line. |
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