Reflection and Refraction

Ever wonder why light acts the way it does? Try exploring these links about the laws of light!

Ever wonder how Fun House Mirrors work? Click here to learn about how convex and concave surfaces refract light and change your image!

Ever notice how when you close one eye what you see changes? To learn how the phenomenon of parallax causes this, explore how one odd looking alien would see our world in Alien Eyes!

What is light?  What are lenses?  How do lasers work?  What if I want to pursue a career in this stuff?  Well, Optical Research Associates has just the site for you!

Need must a review on reflection and refraction?  Check MySchoolHouse's site out and take their short multiple choice quiz!

Educational Websites About Light!

From Radio Waves to Gamma Rays, NASA's website on the Electromagnetic Spectrum lets you learn about it all! Don't worry, visible light is one of the many waves you can learn about here!

Do you LOVE doing experiments?  Ever wonder how magicians seem to be able to float in air?  Well, with a big enough mirror you can to!  For a list of online and real-life experiments that you can do with light (and maybe mom or dad's help), visit Exploratorium's "Snacks" on light!

If you think you're ready to save Earth, try applying what you know about light in Alien Attack! THIS SITE IS MANDATORY FOR ALL STUDENTS!!




Or, try another rescue mission with Operation Optics!
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Now Explore these links about Light in Color!

Made from Dots. Many printed color pictures are not solid color at all, but rather a sea of dots in three or four different colors. You will explore how the process works in this activity.

Colored Shadows (Requires Java.) Funny things happen when colored lights cast shadows. You will use a simulation of such lights to see how this works.
Stellar Spectra. Astronomers can look at starlight and tell what the star is made of. You will look at light, separated into a spectrum, and figure out the elements from the spectral lines you see.

All in the Family! (Heredity!)

Check out National Geographic Kid videos.  Browse their animal videos and see if you can identify traits that were inherited vs. traits that were learned! 

Students only have teacher permission to view the short clip on fainting goats.  All other YouTube access is expressly prohibited here at school.  Internet use at home (especially when browsing YouTube) should be done with parent supervision.  Mrs. Perry will monitor internet use here at school, but it is the responsibility of parents to monitor internet use at home.

Other links (to take your learning even further!):
 Check out the American Museum of Natural History: OLOGY - The Gene Scene!

• Play at being a MAD scientist at the Mighty Mutation Maker!
• Want to take your learning to the next level?  Watch this video: What is DNA?

Fossils & Megalodon

Current Events are due March 1st!

Here are some sites that include information about Megalodon:

Wikipedia's Megalodon Entry (Remember, when doing academic research, Wikipedia is NOT a reliable source - but it is a great starting point when doing informal research!)

Biology of Sharks and Rays: Reconstructing Megalodon!

Fossil Mysteries: Megalodon

BBC's Megalodon: Monster of the Deep

Enchanted Learning: Megalodon

Article: Megalodon

Interested in everything that has to do with fossils?  Try out these amazing sites!

 

Go on a Dino Trek and take on one of many exciting missions!  Where will YOU choose to go discover new fossils?

Dinosaur Dig - Dig for dinos and learn about fossils!

Fossil Mysteries - explore fossil clues and be a palentologist!

Discovering Fossils - Curious how fossils form?  Find out here!

Life Has a History! - Level 1 is geared towards K - 4th grade and Level 2 is geared towards 5th grade and up.  You can explore either, but if level two is too difficult to understand, you may want to go back to level 1.

National Geographic's Dino Death Trap: National Geographic does it again - learn about this mass dino grave in China!  Everything from dinosaur mummies to recreating how dinosaur muscles would have fit on their skeletons.  Science doesn't get any cooler than this!

palentOLogy: the BIG DIG -   Find out all about fossils (and other "Ologies" besides palentology) at this exciting site!

Explorations Through Time - includes many interactive modules that explore the history of life on Earth, while focusing on the processes of science! 

Canadian Museum of Nature - More fossil sites, movies, and fun then you can possibly imagine!  Scroll down the page for all the sites and activities.
 
Walking with Beasts - Fossils form in a variety of ways. But environmental conditions have to be perfect for bones, teeth and even fur or stomach contents to survive buried deep in sediment for millions of years.  From "buring bodies," to "making fossils," this site has it all!  You can even access fact files on specific prehistoric animals at this site.

OZ Fossils - The story of how life evolved on Earth is hidden in its fossils. In Australia scientists are exposing secrets that lie hidden in our ancient rock. Explore with us at least some of the amazing Oz-Fossils!

More Fossil Websites

More Fun Fossil Facts from Science Kids!

Interested in an interactive website showing how fossils are made?  Check this site out!

neoK12 has a bunch of great short videos all about fossils!

Wow!  There's a National Fossil Day!

The World of Fossils - many educational resources.

Fossils

Check out this fossil slideshow at StudyJams.

Learn All About Electricity!

Build some background knowledge about electricity!  Visit BBC's Circuits and Conductors to start your learning. 
Then visit  Changing Circuits to continue your new knowledge of circuits!

Students, see if you can figure out what materials and insulators and conductors here!

Now, apply your scientific knowledge to these new BBC science games - Electrical Circuits and Electrical Conductors.
Now, explore these other interactive websites!
Learn all about electrical safety, static electricity and even fruity electricity by visiting the "Atoms" Family and checking out Frankenstein's Lightning Laboratory!




Now try out the Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits!





Start Here: Build your own electric circuit online.

More Advanced: Now try your hand at making your very own complex electric circuit online!








Learn more at "Tech Topics: Electricity, Heat & Motion." You can see how electrons move, explore all aspects of electricity and let your imagination run wild in the final project, where you can build your own electronic being!









But wait! There's more! Battle Dr. Volt and save the world in Silicon Spies!






Now that you're really an expert, build your own circuit world!!


BBC's Schools are at it again!  Try making your own circuit with Pod's Mission!

More Electricity Websites!

Mrs. Perry's been doing some more late night research online!  She's found some more websites to enhance your learning of circuits and electricity!  Check them out today!

First, click here for a short video on how a basic circuit works.

Then, check out Learning Circuits.  This is especially useful if you missed a class due to band, strings, or being absent.  You can play by yourself, or with up to three people.


Then, check out Electric Circuits and learn some more.  Try using what you know about electricity to get their ray gun to work!

Elvis the Electro_Bot needs your help repairing his spaceship from a meteor impact.  You will learn about electricity as you repair his fried circuits!

Louie the Lightbulb has lots of information to share with you about electricity at Electric Universe.  Learn about electrical safety and explore his interactive games.

Finally, try taking this online quiz and see how much you know about electricity.