Science Reading Suggestions
K-12 | Teaching AidThis annually updated list contains the short-list finalists for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books.
Welcome to the dog days of summer! It's great that the kids are home from school, but wouldn't it be even better if you could find a way to keep them learning, having fun, and out of trouble all at the same time?
Science NetLinks is here to help. We suggest books to capture the attention of readers of every age. We offer computer games and activities to fill rainy afternoons or days when going outside just isn't an option. And we propose hands-on activities that kids will find fun and that will teach them about the science that surrounds them in the everyday world.
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Tools
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This annually updated list contains the short-list finalists for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. -
Lunar Cycle 1: Calendar
K-5 | Interactive
This tool includes printable calendars where you can record your observations of the moon. In addition, it provides illustrations of the phases of the moon (a full lunar cycle) that can be printed and cut out for a hands-on activity where you can place the phases of the moon in the correct order on a calendar. -
Lunar Cycle 2: The Challenge
K-5 | Interactive
This activity allows you to "drag" pictures of different phases of the moon to their correct places in lunar cycles. -
Nowhere to Hide
K-12 | Interactive
This interactive is based on the classic story of evolution by natural selection—the story of the peppered moths in England during the Industrial Revolution. -
All Systems Are Go!
3-8 | Interactive
In this online activity, a fictional character named Arnold is missing a number of body parts. It's your job to complete each body system so Arnold can function. -
Marble Mania
3-5 | Interactive
This is an interactive activity in which the randomness and probability of marbles being pulled out of a "bag" are calculated automatically and for trials up to 500. -
Zap!
3-8 | Interactive
Test your reaction time with this interactive game! Take control of a hungry frog and catch a fly as soon as you see or hear it. -
Break It Down
3-8 | Interactive
This resource is an interactive in which you need to manipulate a system made up of ramps, switches, and gears to roll marbles through the system to eventually hit a lever on a flagpole. -
A Touch of Class
3-8 | Interactive
This is an interactive activity in which students classify various plants and animals, including organisms such as a frog, jellyfish, venus flytrap, bat, human, and seaweed. -
Power Up!
3-8 | Interactive
This interactive challenges students to think about the positive and negative consequences of various types of power. -
Animated guide: Hurricanes
3-8 | Website
Animated guides: Hurricanes is one of three animated guides to the world’s most devastating phenomena found on the BBC website. -
Antibiotic Attack
3-8 | Interactive
This interactive activity helps students look at the pros and cons of using antibiotics to treat illness. -
Gravity Launch
3-12 | Interactive
Gravity Launch is an interactive activity that allows you to virtually launch a rocket into space to see how the force of gravity can pull an object toward the earth and moon. -
Gravity Launch App
3-12 | Interactive
Gravity Launch is an app where you try to get a rocket to its destination to learn about gravity. -
GeoHunter
6-8 | Interactive
This interactive provides you with data about the geological structure of the planet Mercury. -
Make a Mission
6-12 | Interactive
In this interactive, you should build a spacecraft in order to explore the planet Mercury—just as the NASA team did when they planned and built the real MESSENGER spacecraft! -
SCI: Skin Cancer Investigation
6-12 | Interactive
This interactive gives students the opportunity to learn about skin cancer diagnosis and prevention. -
Planet Size Comparison
6-12 | Interactive
In this animation, you can find out how the dimensions for each planet as well as how they compare in size. -
You and Your Skin
6-12 | Interactive
This interactive provides an introduction to the basic structure of the skin, information about how it protects us, and how to care for the skin. -
From Cell to DNA
9-12 | Interactive
This animation takes you through a tour of a typical human cell, moving from larger to smaller cell structures (i.e., from nucleus to chromosomes to DNA strands and their bases). -
The Macaque Genome: An Interactive Poster
9-12 | Interactive
This resource was designed as an accompaniment to a special section of Science, in which five research papers detailed sequencing of the macaque genome. -
Oil Refining: A Closer Look
9-12 | Video
This resource contains a video and an interactive explaining how petroleum was formed and how it is processed.
Collections
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Science Apps
K-12 | Interactive
Science NetLinks reviews STEM-related apps for both the iPad and the Android.
Afterschool Resources
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Geyser Riser
3-7 | Hands-On
In this experiment, your group will create pressure in a bottle to reenact one of the special conditions under which a geyser erupts. A geyser is a hot spring that shoots a column of hot water into the air. Your group will make a model geyser using liquid soap, a bottle, and Alka-Seltzer® tablets.
AAAS Resources
Science NetLinks Hands-on Resources
These five resources from Science NetLinks offer kids the opportunity to learn fun science concepts by conducting their very own science experiments. The activities don't require a previous understanding of scientific theories by the supervising adult, can be done with materials found around the house, and are adaptable into however much time is available for them and for a large or small number of children.
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Color Burst
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Floating Eggs
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How Strong Is Your Magnet?
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Making Bubbles
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Static Electricity
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Kinetic City: Mission to Vearth
Ages: 8-11
Kinetic City: Mission to Vearth is a web-based science program for children in grades three through five. Produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and funded by the National Science Foundation, the program turns standards-based science content into a game that kids can play either in class or after school.
Science Update Podcasts
Ages: 11-18
Science Update shows are now available as weekly podcasts. The Science Update Podcast is located on the Science Update website, a daily, 60-second radio feature covering the latest discoveries in science, technology, and medicine.
Other Resources
Exploratorium After School
Ages: 5-11
The San Francisco-based children's museum offers nicely produced video demonstrations of inquiry activities at the museum. Among the highlights are science "snacks."
Invention at Play
Ages: 5-11
This site, which is part of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, challenges students to explore, question, invent, and collaborate to make their own discoveries.
Wildfire Simulator
Ages: 11-18
Wildfire Simulator is a fire-growth computer model that lets users see how certain conditions, such as wind speed and direction, affect the spread of a wildland fire. In addition, it shows users how to use a fireline -- alone or in conjunction with a backfire -- to control a fire.
Becoming Human
Ages: 14-18
Teenagers will experience an interactive documentary that tells the story of our origins and is divided into five sections: Prologue, Evidence, Anatomy, Lineages, and Culture.
