Science Websites for Home

1. Weather Wiz Kids 
This website is designed to teach kids all about the different types of weather. If you are struggling with how to explain a weather concept to children then you should check out this site. With the crazy weather we have been experiencing recently, this site could be extremely beneficial.

2. NASA
Another great website for children is this webpage created by NASA. I would recommend this site for older children or younger children with their parents simply because there is so much information on this page. The creators thought of everything Earth related when they created this site such as weather and space.

3. American Museum of Natural History
Just like the NASA webpage, this site is almost overwhelming there are so many resources on it. I was attracted to this page because it explores the different ologies that sometimes confuse people, but there is so much more here to be found. Each topics on the site contains activities, games, information, and so much more for children.

4. Smithsonian Institute 
This webpage, created by the Smithsonian Natural Museum of History, takes children deep down underwater to explore strange and exotic underwater topics. While exploring this site I learned more about the ribbon worm, but there are hundreds more topics that children can read about. This site is more text heavy than the others so parents and teachers may need to explore this site on their own first before involving children in the exploration process.

5. Engineer Girl 
Sorry boys, but this webpage is definitely geared more towards girls. There is a serious problem with the number of people in this world who believe that girls are not good at math and science and that they cannot do the same things as boys. This site says differently though. Created by the National Academy of Science this webpage is designed to teach girls all about the world of engineering.

6. Energy Kids
Energy consumption is an everyday thing here in the US, and this site is designed to teach kids all about energy consumption. In addition, the creators included ways to conserve energy so this site would be a nice companion for Earth Day.

7. Female Scientist Biographies  
I'm not trying to be gender biased with this list, but the biographies on this page are all female scientist. These people could serve as great role models for your daughters or female students. This list however could also be a stepping point for more research that includes male scientists as well.

8. Kids Health
This website is definitely geared more towards health than science, but it is still a really great webpage to use when children are learning about life sciences and their bodies. Young children especially cannot understand life science more beyond themselves. I recently completed a lesson for my science methods course about the heart, and this page has some great resources that could have been used alongside that lesson.

9. Science Kids
This New Zealand webpage contains science experiments, games, information, projects, lessons, and more on every science topic imaginable. I can definitely see myself using this site as a future teacher, and I hope you can find some useful tools here for your family and classroom.

10. Exploring Natural Science 
I created this blog as a way of helping parents teach their children science topics. As a result I almost didn't put this site on this list. I changed my mind however because it contains many science lesson plans that some parents may find interesting and helpful when working with their children. Parents might also want to pass this site along to their child's teachers and caregivers as a simple way of integrating science into everyday life. This site is also really great because teaching standards accompany each lesson.

"Good Reads" Science Books for Children

1. Gabby and Her Grandma Go Green By Monica Wellington 

This book shows the relationship between Gabby and her grandma. Throughout the book the two work on green projects together such as sewing reusable bags and recycling bottles at the grocery store. The author provides children with lots of "go green" tips they can use in their own lives, and the storyline between Gabby and her grandma emphasizes the importance of family as well.

2. Compost! Growing Gardens from Your Garden By Linda Glasser 

The beautiful illustrations in this book help teach children about the world of composting. The author walks children through a typical compost cycle and all the responsibilities that come from composting through the eyes of a little girl. 

3. How Groundhog's Garden Grew By Lynne Cherry 

After reading Compost! parents, teachers, and caregivers can use this book to teach children about how gardening requires patience. This book includes information on the life cycle of plants and how exciting it is to grow vegetables yourself instead of relying on someone else for food. 

4. The Great Kapok Tree By Lynne Cherry 

One day a man exhausts himself trying to cut down the Kapok Tree. While he is sleeping the residents of the tree inform him of the importance of trees. This book is a great choice for Earth day and rainforest conservation. 

5. Jack and the Beanstalk By Stephen Kellogg

This is another great book to use in a gardening series. Although this book is a timeless classic, teachers and parents can add a scientific twist to the book by teaching children about growing beans just like Jack does in the story. Many children who have heard the story before may be surprised to learn about the scientific nature of the story.

6. Weighing the Elephant By Ting-xing Ye and Suzane Langlois

While this book on its own helps teach children about weight, parents and teachers could also easily create a lesson out of the book by only reading the first 18 pages. After finishing the first half, children can then brainstorm ways to determine Huan-Huan's weight. Then, after some discussion, children can finish the book to see how the story ends. 

7. 11 Experiments That Failed, by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter 

How often do children see science experiments that fail? In school, children are frequently led to success when it comes to science. This book however explores the other side where scientists fail and learn from their mistakes. A great read for the budding chemist. 

8. Older Than the Stars By Karen Fox 

Karen Fox did a great job of appealing to all ages with this book. Fox takes readers on a journey through the Big Bang Theory. Although this is can be a complex topic, Fox found a way to help children understand these ideas on their level. 

9. Volcanoes By Franklyn Branley 

All children love the topic of volcanoes. But how much do they really know about them? This book takes children behind the scenes and helps them understand the science of volcanoes. Readers will learn about what makes a volcano erupt. 

10. Gravity is a Mystery By Franklyn Branley 

Everyone has thrown a ball at some point in their life. Adults usually know that gravity is the reason the ball falls to the ground, but we shouldn't take it for granted that children understand this concept. Franklyn Branley uses a scientist and a dog to help teach children about gravity and why it exists. 

Roller Coaster WebQuest

One of our assignments for my science methods course is to make a WebQuest on zunal.com. We received very little instruction on this assignment giving us the freedom to do almost anything we wanted. I decided after a lot of exploration that I wanted to make a WebQuest on roller coasters. This topic was difficult because there was only so much I could do with 3rd and 4th graders, but it was a lot of fun because it gave me the opportunity to introduce students to a more complex topic they will learn in middle and high school. I also think that this topic will engage students because it is something they are interested in. My WebQuest can be found here, http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=186952 if you would like to check it out. I would love to hear your feedback either here on my blog or on the actual WebQuest site since I do not have any experience creating or using WebQuests with students.