The Scientific Toolbox

The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology has a number of research projects that anyone can become involved in:

Project FeederWatch - “Put up a bird feeder. Count the birds that visit. Send your data to scientists.” Check out their web site for more information.

House Finch Disease Survey - If you have house finches or goldfinches in your yard, the scientists at Cornell need your help in tracking the spread of disease in the finch population. Check out the web site for details.

Project Pigeon Watch - This project involves counting pigeons and observing courtship behavior. Help scientists figure out “why are there so many colors of pigeons?”"

And more…check out their web site for additional research projects.

They also have an Educator’s Guide to Bird Study with “fun activity ideas and support materials to learn about birds and conduct inquiry-based research”

Over the course of the next 5 days, the winners of the 2003 Nobel Prizes will be announced. Each year, the Nobel Foundation awards prizes in medicine/physiology, physics, chemistry, economics and literature, as well as the Nobel Peace Prize.

Vist the Nobel e-museum to learn about the “750 Prize Winners to date, the Nobel Organization, Alfred Nobel, and Nobel events, as well as educational material and games. Nobel e-Museum consists of more than 9,000 static documents, several databases and a number of multimedia productions with Nobel Prize connection.”

Their educational material, for most Nobel categories: medicine, chemistry, physics, literature, and peace (sorry, no economics-related games), includes demonstrations of scientific concepts and games related to Nobel-award winning ideas:

Here is another neat “web pick” from the Discover Magazine web site…

The Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing at Stanford University brings us “How Everyday Things Are Made.” This site describes (through movies and diagrams) how everything is made…from crayons, to jellybeans, airplanes, glass bottles, denim fabric, etc. The site was designed to introduce people to the “world of manufacturing.”

You can also follow links to:

Scientists at the University of of Loughborough in Leicestershire, England have found out why you often find broken cookies in packages of store-bought cookies…

Here are a couple of links for sites related to introductory biology:

1) The Online Biology Book: This “book”, hosted by the Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale, Arizona, contains 58 chapters on topics covered in most introductory biology courses and is a great reference!!

2) “Froguts!” Try your hand at dissecting a virtual frog! This company sells “virtual dissection” software for use in the classroom. Their website has demos of a few of the modules: dissect and owl pellet and reconstruct a rodent’s skeleton, identify the parts of a squid, or dissect a frog.

[Note: I found these both of these links on the Discover Magazine Web Picks site].

Have you ever heard of Fast Plants? They are a great way to help students discover the scientific process. These plants can be adapted for use with students in kindergarten all the way up through college. They have even been used by NASA on the space shuttle. However, I think that the Fast Plants website says it best:

“Exploration, discovery, and the scientific process come alive when your students grow Fast Plants in the classroom. These petite, hardy, attractive members of the mustard family whiz through an ultra-short life cycle in about 35-45 days. At their peak, the tallest plants only reach a height of 30 cm (about 12 inches); most plants are even shorter.”

“Easy to care for, affordable, and irresistible, Fast Plants are an invaluable tool for learning about how real science is done. The thrill of growing a real, living plant is irresistible. Fast Plants change visibly every single day, right in front of your students’ eyes! In two short weeks, the tiny seeds will sprout, grow, and bloom. In just over a month, students can plant seeds, tend plants, pollinate flowers, and harvest new seeds. Dare your students to resist asking questions!”

Check out their website to find out more. They have answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ), teacher resources, background resources, growing instructions, student resources, ordering information, etc.