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The University of Texas Marine Science Institute The University
of Texas Marine Science Institute has a web site with pictures of
the institute and its surroundings, weather and tide information,
stories about recent work and events, and other items of interest.
http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu
Helen Ross Russell, Ten-Minute Field Trips In six topical
chapters, this book presents more than 200 short field trips that
can be taken within the immediate environs of a school. The book
includes classroom activities to precede the field trip, suggestions
for teacher preparation, and a list of possible trips. The material
is appropriate for grades K-8 and for all settings--urban, suburban,
or rural. This book will be valuable for teachers who are new to
the idea of short, localized field trips.
Washington, D.C.: National Science Teachers Association, 1998.
176 pp, $21.95 (10% discount for NSTA members)
Schoolyard Ecology Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS)
publishes Schoolyard Ecology for grades 3 to 6. This teachers'
guide emphasizes the schoolyard as a small ecosystem and integrates
mathematics and science skills. The activities also wed inquiry-based
learning with stewardship of the natural world.
Contact the Lawrence Hall of Science University of California Berkeley,
Berkeley, CA 94720-5200 or call (510) 642-7771
Science Scope, January 1999 Two articles in the January
1999 issue of Science Scope (published by the National Science
Teachers Association) could help in developing long-term projects
on birds. Jean L. Pottle has an article on crows with materials
and activities that cut across disciplines. "Beak Adaptations" by
Frank W. Guerrierie uses scissors, slotted spoons, staple removers,
chopsticks, and other common items to simulate beaks and help students
understand how these appendages are adapted for bird's ultimate
uses. This project is similar to one used at the SCIMAST 1999 Winter
Meeting.
Wilma Prudhum Greene (1998). Museums and Learning: A Guide for
Family Visits Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education
and Smithsonian Office of Education. As its subtitle indicates this
pamphlet is intended to help parents get the most out of family
trips to museums, zoos, botanical gardens, and other informal science
settings. Teachers will also find useful tips in the text and many
resources in the Bibliography and Resources. A single copy costs
50 cents and can be ordered from
Media and Information Services of the Office of Educational Research
and Improvement
Department of Education
555 New Jersey Ave., NW,
Washington DC 20208-5570
Alternatively, the entire text can be downloaded from the web site
at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Museum/index.html
Secret Forest Experience Curriculum Available on the
web or in print, the Secret Forest Experience Curriculum includes
an educator's web site and printed curriculum for middle school
teachers, and a four-page magazine and supporting web site for elementary
school children. The curriculum emphasizes field studies, hands-on
activities, and learning community connections to deepen students'
understanding of forest ecosystems and connect them with others
involved in this field of study. This material is presented by Forest
Service Employees for Environmental Ethics; contact them at
PO Box 11615
Eugene, OR 97403
http://www.fseee.org/stay-informed/our-online-library/secret-forest
Virtual Field Trips on the Web Many sites on the web claim to
offer virtual field trips to natural areas or to institutions like
museums. The site at http://college.hmco.com/geology/resources/geologylink/index.html
covers natural areas from around the world. In addition, it has
many informative links. Unfortunately, even high school students
will find most of the material difficult. Teachers, however, could
use many of these pages to plan classroom discussions or, in certain
cases, to preview and plan an actual field trip. The site includes
field trips to the Avery Island Salt Domes in Louisiana, the Albuquerque
area and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, and Enchanted Rock, the
Permian Reef, and Big Bend National Park in Texas. The site also
has interesting links from the Oklahoma Geological Survey page,
but Arkansas is not covered.
Digital Field Trip to the Wetlands Tasa Graphic Arts
offers a CD-ROM titled Digital Field Trip to the Wetlands. Single
users pay $99; a network license (one CD for ten machines) is $549;
and a lab pack (five CDs for five machines), $249. Schools that
have the money to invest in this CD-ROM could use it as an introduction
to actual field trips. The material could also introduce students
to an environment that is not immediately accessible in their home
area. The CD-ROM includes student materials and workbook files that
a teacher can modify.
Tasa Graphic Arts
9301 Indian School Rd. NE, Suite 208
Albuquerque NM 87112-2861
(800) 293-2725 or (505) 293-2727
The company has a 30-day review period for educational institutions
only.
"Inch by Inch, Row by Row: A Garden Overview for Teachers and Parents"
The web page "Inch by Inch, Row by Row: A Garden Overview for
Teachers and Parents" presents an overview of why and how a class
or entire school might plant an educational garden. A single class
can use a garden for a specific purpose or it can be used by the
entire school for many purposes. Not only science and mathematics,
but also art, history, language arts, and other subjects can be
the focus of the garden, which can be an integrated experience from
the time the children enter the school until they leave it. Access
the web site at http://www.mnh.si.edu/archives/garden/seasons/garden_overview.html.
The Los Padillas School in Albuquerque maintains a garden using
the community resources and traditions of the area.
Bat Conservation International (BCI) Bats are an important component
of Southwestern ecology. Bat Conservation International (BCI) maintains
a web site at http://www.batcon.org/.
The organization has a book, Educator's Activity Book about Bats,
that incorporates field work into classroom study about these
creatures. In addition, BCI offers a kit called Discover Bats!
The kit includes a handbook, video, and opportunities for computer-aided
research. Lessons are divided into three difficulty levels: beginner,
intermediate, and advanced.
Call BCI for information at 1-800-538-BATS.
Science Centers on the Web Most of us will probably never need
to know about the hands-on science center in Vaxjo, Sweden, but
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~mwm/sci.html
does attempt to present all known web pages of child-centered science
centers and museums. This page would be useful for families planning
vacations, but teachers can use it to check out the offerings, costs,
and other data on local institutions. Much of the information and
techniques from linked web pages might also be useful in the hometown
classroom. Many centers are reviewed with reports on the experiences
and impression of adults and children (at least one of the adults
is always an engineer). Not all centers in the Southwest are on
this page, but a fair sampling is presented and several are reviewed.
Science-Rich Resources in the Southwest SCIMAST maintains
an online database of regional science-rich resourses at http://www.sedl.orgscimast/srr.html
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