Wolfram Alpha
 | With the goal of making "all systematic knowledge computable," Wolfram Alpha has produced an amazing search engine capable of plotting complex mathematical equations, comparing two stocks, and interpreting a string of base pairs and finding matches to the human genome. Start with the Examples to see what it can do-then try your own queries.
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Creative Glossary
 | A glossary that provides information specifically about creative terms from the arts, crafts, design, fashion, culinary/gardening, performance art, story art, and the trades.
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Info Visual
 | Intended for educational purposes, this site uses images to explain objects, listing component parts in English, Spanish, and French. Videos and animations are also featured.
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The Animal Detector
 | Very cool blog kept by a family who set up an automated device to video the animals that come at night to feed in their backyard. Features a grey fox, raccoons, possum, various birds, cats and even a human!
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AccessMyLibrary
 | Free access to 30 million magazine, journal and newspaper articles from top publications available at your library. All you need is your library card to get the full text.
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Museum of Online Museums
 | Includes links to online collections and exhibits covering a vast array of interests and subject. Also has links to brick-and-mortar museums with an interesting online presence.
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SledDoggin
 | Learn about dog sledding from informative articles and blog postings from mushers.
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Visual Dictionary
 | This site uses images to explain objects, listing all their component parts in English and French. Detailed views show all relevant details. Some animations are included.
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UNICEF Voices of Youth
 | Not “your dad’s UNICEF,” this site focuses on the serious problems faced by youth in different parts of the world from the perspective of a young person. There are fun, interactive games that help you explore those problems. You’ll need the free Flash player.
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A Dancer’s Journal: Learning to Perform the Dances of Martha Graham
 | April is National Dance Month! Explore the life of a new member of the Martha Graham Dance Company as she prepares for her roles in upcoming performances. A teacher’s guide and lesson plans are also available. You’ll need the free Flash player to enjoy this extremely rich multimedia experience.
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Instructables: Step-by-Step Collaboration
 | Find out how to make millions of cool things such as a pinball machine table and a 3-D scanner! You can also add your cool projects to the site.
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Poisson Rouge
 | There are lots of things to play with and see on this highly interactive site or playroom for little and big ones alike. You'll need the free Flash Player.
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Learning to Love you More
 | Learning to Love You More is both a web site and series of non-web presentations comprised of work made by the general public in response to assignments given by artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher. Participants accept an assignment, complete it by following the simple but specific instructions, send in the required report (photograph, text, video, etc), and see their work posted on-line.
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Ingenious
 | How have technological discoveries affected our notions of who we are? Which does science inspire more--creative solutions to age-old problems or new weapons and methods of gaining or retaining power? Can science really provide us with answers to complex questions? This site, sponsored by the National Museum of Science and Industry, provides thought-provoking viewpoints on timely science-related issues and encourages participation in discussion about them. Drawing on photographic and knowledge resources of a broad collection of museums, site visitors can create their own collections, as well as contribute to online conversations.
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Bet the Farm
 | How hard is it to make money as a farmer? This interactive lets you make decisions about crops, fertilizers, and sales. Like a real farmer, you're at the mercy of influences like weather and world events. If you do manage to make a profit over the course of the year, the game will figure your hourly wage based on the time expected to grow the crops you've chosen. You'll need the free Flash player.
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Tall Buildings
 | The Museum of Modern Art takes visitors inside the skyscrapers around the world to see the floor plans and architectural sketches. Particularly interesting are details of solutions to design issues like green technologies, circulation, and incorporating buildings into public space. The dynamic interface is as compelling as the content. You'll need the free Flash player.
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Simple Machines
 | You might never have thought of the lid on your toilet as a machine, but this site shows how simple mechanical devices dominate our everyday life. By inspecting items in a home, garage, and tool shed, visitors discover levers, gears, axles, inclined planes and other simple mechanics. Which simple principle is behind the lid of your toilet? You'll need the free Flash player.
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Lakota Winter Counts Online Exhibit
 | The Lakota marked the passage of time by drawing pictures of memorable events on calendars known as winter counts. This beautiful online exhibit from the Smithsonian. is rich with a database of Smithsonian winter count images, a documentary about Lakota history and culture, video interviews with Lakota people, and a Teachers’ Guide. You’ll need the free Flash player to enter the Flash site. A non-Flash site is also available.
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Grasse’s Museum: International Perfume Museum
 | This intriguing museum gives an in-depth view into perfume, from detailed descriptions and images of which raw materials are used in perfume to videos of techniques used to make it. The site also offers a gallery of historical perfume advertising, a virtual visit to a perfume factory, and a history of perfume illustrated with ancient perfume bottles. In French, Spanish, and English. You’ll need the free Flash Player and the Quicktime Plug-in.
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My House, My Shack
 | Around the world, the barriers are increasing between rich and poor. In South Africa, you can see it in black and white. See the legacy of South Africa's apartheid in this stunning interactive by Sue Johnson and Thiago deMello, and sixbillion.org. The free Flash player is required.
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Population Reference Bureau: Educators
 | Tools for teaching about population issues and their implications. Free lesson plans and resource and discussion guides are available. This site is also available in Spanish and French.
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Beyond the Fire: Teen Experiences of War
 | Find out what is the human cost of war on teens at this engaging site. Teenage war refugees from seven war zones tell their stories and struggles. From ITVS, the Independent Television Service. Free Flash plugin required.
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Nationmaster.com
 | Which is the richest country in the world? How about the most murderous? Here you’ll find tons of statistics on the nations of the world. You can also generate cool maps and graphs from all the data available.
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www.nycsubway.org
 | NOT New York City’s official rapid transit site, this site offers everything else! Here you’ll find loads of historical information about New York City’s 150-year-old rapid transit system, from historical maps and articles to a gallery of old tokens.
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Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena
 | Here you'll find some of the Exploratorium's most familiar illusions and many others. Brought to us by Michael Bach, President of the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision.
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BBC Gardening: Virtual Garden
 | Whether you’re looking to design a new garden from scratch, or simply want to take a fresh approach to re-designing an existing garden, the virtual garden offers a user-friendly source of inspiration. Free Shockwave plugin required.
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MIT's OpenCourseWare
 | MIT for free, for you, for me? Yes! This site features lecture notes, reading lists, and problems sets for hundreds of courses in many academic disciplines at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Soundscape FM: Phonographic Migrations #03
 | A collaborative sound work in the form of an FM radio broadcast, combined with a user-uploadable database filled with field recordings taken from all over the world. Local radio becomes an interface to the global as listeners can hear sounds from diverse sources such as an Amazonian rainforest, a Baltic ice-flow, or a Vietnamese street market, as well as combinations of sounds from the various sources.
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Tales of Future Past
 | A funny, and sometimes enlightening, look at what futurists from the past predicted our world would be like today.
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The Scribbler
 | Another fun and amazing interactive doodad from Ze Frank. Make a simple line drawing online, then use The Scribbler to turn it into a different kind of masterpiece. A must visit!
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The New Americans
 | Follow a diverse group of immigrants and refugees as they leave their home and families behind and learn what it means to be new Americans in the 21st century. Watch video clips, listen to music and take a quiz that will challenge your idea of what it means to be "American." Companion site to the independent film shown on PBS.
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COSI's Virtual Knee Surgery
 | Perform a virtual knee replacement! In this guided virtual surgery you will use tools such as the scalpel and bone saw. You can also view photos from a real knee surgery. (This site uses Flash.)
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Changing the Face of Medicine
 | This site celebrates some of the United States’ extraordinary women physicians. Students can post their own stories of memorable woman physicians, and the resources section offers standards-based lesson plans for grades K–12 that explore health and medicine topics. Students can also explore interactive activities such as the "Circulation Station," where visitors guide a red blood cell through the body and then learn about a woman physician who helped infants with a congenital heart condition. (This site uses Flash and QuickTime.)
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What’s That Stuff?
 | What exactly is in your toothpaste? What about that paper you’re writing on or the bug spray you use in summer? This site puts science into everyday life, with informative descriptions of the chemistry behind the products we use on a regular basis.
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SciDev.Net
 | ponsored by Nature and Science magazines, this site reports on and discusses "those aspects of modern science and technology that are relevant to sustainable development and the social and economic needs of developing countries."
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Ask Asia: A K-12 resource of the Asia Society
 | This beautiful resource features lesson plans, a large collection of country and regional maps and timelines, full-text articles on a broad range of Asia-related themes, an origami lesson, a Japanese onomatopoeia game, student-produced art, and more.
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ProtoZone Interactives
 | A fun collection of web-sized drawing interactives that are are excerpts from larger software programs designed by Al Jarnow.
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Animated Engine
 | These pages are an attempt to share the magic of mechanical engines through animated examples.
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Virtually Lost
 | Are you lost? Well, then you've found the right place. This website visually explores being lost in hope of finding what we're all searching for.
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In Search of the Ways of Knowing Trail
 | Your jeep breaks down on your way to the remote village of Epulu in central Africa. You along with four youths from different local cultures are forced to walk through the Ituri Forest to get there. Together you'll have to navigate the forest by foot to arrive at Epulu. In the process you'll learn about plants, animals, and survival. You'll need the free Flash Player.
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Understanding Prejudice
 | This informative site offers educational resources for teachers, special features, and interactive quizzes to help you understand prejudice. The ultimate goal of the site is to help reduce the level of intolerance and bias in contemporary society.
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Playing With Time
 | At the "Playing With Time Web site, unseen worlds of change will be revealed. You will see time sped up and slowed down, and behold the beauty of change. Time will be in your hands to witness, replay, and even create." From the Science Museum of Minnesota. Various plug-ins required.
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Burarra Gathering
 | Go fishing and crab hunting with the Burarra people of Australia! You'll also learn how to navigate using stars and how to read animal tracks in this wonderful interactive adventure. Brought to us by Questacon, Australia's National Science and Technology Center. You'll need the free Flash Player.
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Race - The Power of an Illusion
 | Explore the concept of race in society, science and history through excellent interactive games and articles. This site is the online companion to the documentary by California Newsreel PBS. You'll need the free Flash Player.
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A Journey Into The Mind of A Talking Parrot
 | Anastounding audio study of a talking parakeet with a vocabulary of over 800 words and how he used them for conversational language. Brought to you by a budgie speech trainer and researcher.
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Musictheory.net
 | What are ties and dots and how in the world do these relate to music? Find out at this great Web site developed by a musician/college student. You will need the free Flash Player.
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Lightness Demonstrations
 | Interactive exhibits that elucidate why optical illusions related to lightness perception work. The animations require the free Flash Player plug in, though a non-Flash version is also available.
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Thinkexist
 | A great collection of inspiring quotes from great thinkers and artists.
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Backyard Jungle
 | Kid-friendly online community where users around the world can load photos, drawings, and descriptions about the natural surroundings where they live and view what others have loaded.
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GeographyIQ
 | Planning a trip? Preparing a school homework assignment? Perhaps you're interested in current events or are just curious about exploring the world around you. GeographyIQ is an online world atlas packed with geographic, economic, political, historical and cultural information."
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Children’s Books of the Early Soviet Era
 | Beautiful children’s book covers and illustrations from the early Post-revolution era in Russia.
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Museum of Online Museums
| You will find links from their "archives to online collections and exhibits covering a vast array of interests and obsessions."
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Look at Me
 | This site is a collection of found photos. Some were found on the street, others were bought cheap at a flea market. They’re interesting and mysterious.
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New York City: After the Fall
 | This site combines audio, text, sound, and motion beautifully. It is a thoughtful presentation about the psychological aftermath of September 11th in New York City.
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SETI Institute
 | The mission of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute is to explore, understand, and explain the origin, nature, and prevalence of life in the universe. Find out more about this important field of study.
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Game Theory
 | Brush up on your knowledge of game theory with online games, quizzes, book reviews and lecture notes.
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Switcheroo Zoo
 | "Create crazy animals that could never exist at this surrealistic virtual zoo!"
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GPS Drawing
 | This site is an online gallery of large-scale drawings made as a result of people recording their tracks on a GPS. It's weird, interesting, and worth a look.
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Online Audio Recordings
 | Listen to lectures and speeches made at UC Berkeley by influential minds such as Margaret Mead, Michel Foucault, James Baldwin, Noam Chomsky, and more. Poetry readings by some famous poets are also available. You will need the free RealPlayer to listen.
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Fonetiks.org: the Online Language Laboratory
 | Want to learn to speak Thai or Brazilian Portuguese? This online language laboratory can help. It features easy to use audio tutorials on some of the world's major languages. You will need the free Flash Player to listen.
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American Folklore
 | This folklore site contains retellings of American folktales, Native American myths and legends, Tall Tales, weather folklore and ghost stories from each and every one of the 50 United States.
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Paper Online
 | At this site you will find out everything you ever wanted to know about paper!
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Computing the Date of Easter
 | Did you know that there's a place where astronomy and culture meet? This US Naval Observatory site gives an algorithm that can be used to calculate the date of Easter in accordance with the ecclesiastical rules. Click here for Passover and Rosh Hashana calendar date calculations.
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X-rays for Kids
 | Beautiful x-ray images show you the insides of plants, animals, and other miscellaneous things. You'll also find out how x-ray machines work.
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Wireframe at Vectorlounge
 | You control the movements of this amazing online skeleton puppet! You'll the Flash Player to play.
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TCUP - The Collective Unconsciousness Project
 | This is a site about dreams -- yours and those of others. You can navigate the sleepy unconscious of strangers in a dreamlike interface, or you can add your own tale to the mix. Requires Flash Player.
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ISketch.net
 | It's pictionary online! Enter a room where the game is being played, and try to guess what your teammates are drawing. Fireworks and points if you get the answer. Requires Flash Player.
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Knots Gallery
 | Have you ever wanted to learn to tie fancy knots? The nice animations on this page will show you how!
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DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
 | This site explains the meaning, history, and description of the holiday along with lovely images.
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360 Degrees
 | This very interactive site gives a personal perspective to U.S. criminal justice system.
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Collected Visions Museum
 | This amazing site lets you create photo essays using your own photos or by using photos from their image database. You will also find stories others have contributed that range from touching to hilarious.
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Cultures on the Edge
 | Explore various cultures around the world through articles and photos at this stunningly designed site.
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Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
 | Through articles, audio interviews, and documentary essays you will learn how this humanitarian group of medical professionals is helpingpeople in need of healthcare worldwide.
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The Stem Cell Debate
 | Watch an animated presentation that explains the science of stem cell research and watch videos that delineate the issues, the science, and the politics involved in this debate. You will need the Flash Player and QuickTime Player for the interactive portions of this site.
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Typographic
 | What's a font? What are jaggies? See why tracking is so important to being able to read things online. You will need the Shockwave Player for some portions of this interactive and educational site.
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Make Your Own Kite!
 | Learn how to make your own simple kite! You can also find out how kites fly, and read stories from around the world that explain the origins of kites!
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The I Ching on the Net
 | This site hosts an extensive set of links on the ancient Chinese divination manual/book of wisdom, "I Ching," or "Book of Changes."
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The Telegarden
 | Does survival in this day and age really favor those who work together? Explore this concept as you and other visitors to this site tend a living garden with the help of a remote industrial robot.
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Burma: Grace Under Pressure
 | Beautiful photos, text, and voice-overs tell the stories of those struggling to survive in Burma. You will need the free Flash Player to view this clean, elegantly designed site.
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theory.org.uk
 | As they say on their site, "Social theory for fans of popular culture. Popular culture for fans of social theory." This spoof store features trading cards of such personalities as Bell Hooks and Anthony Giddens. You can also "buy" a Michel Foucault action figure!
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Color Matters
 | Can color suppress your appetite, raise your blood pressure, or help you save on energy consumption? Find out at this site that explores color from an interdisciplinary perspective.
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Indivisible: Stories of American Community
 | Looking for America? You can find at least a part of it here at this site that explores community life in America through documentary style photography and interviews.
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The Encyclopedia Mythica
 | This is an encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, legends, and more. It contains over 5700 definitions of gods and goddesses, supernatural beings, legendary creatures and monsters from all over the world.
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Pluralism and Unity
 | Can members of diverse cultural or social backgrounds live together in a common civilization while maintaining their diversity? This question is as relevant today as it was when William James first spoke about Pluralism at the end of the nineteenth century. Learn the history of Pluralistic thought by looking at images and hearing actual speeches given by Margret Sanger, Booker T. Washington, Charlie Chaplin, and others.
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Your Expedition
 | This site will inspire you to follow your dreams as you join two women who are living theirs. Join Ann Bancroft (USA) and Liv Arnesen (Norway) in their quest to be the first women to ski and sail across Antarctica. They'll travel 2400 miles in 100 days with 250 pound sleds in temperatures of 30 degrees below zero. You can watch pre trip video interviews as well as videos from the field.
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Serengeti - The National Park's Official Site
 | Take a virtual journey to the Serengeti National Park of Tanzania, and discover stunning photos and videos of wildlife, and panoramic landscapes. You can also learn about the different groups of people who live in the park, and even learn a few words of Swahili.
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Visit a Refugee Camp
 | Take a virtual visit to a refugee camp to see how relief workers provide refugees with basic needs such as shelter, water, food, sanitation, and health care. You can also read the personal stories of refugees and relief workers.
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Cultures
 | Learn about cultures of the past and present, from the East to the West. A Shockwave version of this site is available for those who have the Shockwave Player.
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SandlotScience.com
 | Check out this library of cool exhibits on opticalillusions!
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This Nation
 | Visit this site to combat ignorance about the United States government! There is an online textbook, a library of historical documents and rulings, pictures of past presidents, a glossary, and a current event section. You can also submit questions about politics and the government to "Professor Mott," or browse the archive of past questions.
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Transparent Language: the Internet Language Community
 | Learn to say common phrases in over thirty different languages! This site features English translations and audio clips of about two dozen phrases from each language to help you learn the correct pronunciation. There are also sections on the history of the languages, statistics on their use, and basic grammar information.
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Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
 | This is the site for learning about spices of the world. You can access information for over one hundred spices through a variety of different index formats including geographic, morphologic, botanic, and one that covers spice mixtures. The chemical constituents and history are given along with photos of each spice.
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Click Here!
 | Visit this amazing online exhibition of "anti banners!" "The idea behind this exhibition was to convert the dying banner-ad into an art form and fill it with sense and beauty. It was not supposed to sell anything but an idea..." Another must visit is the related interactive music/art site, Soulbath.com .
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The Official Web Page of Alcatraz Island
 | Take an online tour of Alcatraz Island at this site by the National Park Service. Learn about the previous military presence, the penitentiary, the incarceration of Hopi Indians by the military during the 1800s, the Indian occupation during the '60s and the women who first swam from the island to the shore of San Francisco. QuickTime Player Virtual Reality panoramas of Alcatraz can also be viewed.
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How Stuff Works
 | If you've ever wondered how car engines, computers, cell phones, or light sabers work, then this is the site for you! Visit this site to read great articles that answer these questions and hundreds more.
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Remarkable Careers in Oceanography: Women Exploring the Oceans
 | This great site explores the career of oceanography. Successful female oceanographers share their histories, scientific projects, and love of scientific research. You can also watch video interviews, look at photos, and e-mail the scientists.
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Sodaplay
 | At this site you can play with "Sodaconstructor," a computer program that animates and edits two-dimensional models made out of masses and springs. You can play the ready-made models or build your own.
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The Evolution of Alphabets
 | On this page you will find educational animations that show the evolution of many different alphabets from their root alphabets.
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Flags of the World
 | his site contains everything you ever wanted to know about flags and flag design. Questions about flags of the world, flag-making arts, formerly used flag designs, proposed flag designs, and flag identification can be answered here. If you know a flag by its design, but not by its country, try the "flag detective."
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The Acronym Finder
 | As the world fills up with more and more acronyms, how can anyone know what they stand for? This site rides to the rescue, turning any acronym back into plain English.
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The Beggar's hand: The plight of poverty
 | Another great site from the students of the ThinkQuest project, this one explores the worldwide problem of poverty, and asks hard questions about our collective responsibility.
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NewYork Carver
 | Learn about the beautiful and vanishing art of Gothic stone carving. Take a virtual tour of Gothic architecture around the world
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Yellowstone Online
 | Find out about Yellowstone National Park, from maps and schedules to an interactive online tour.
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Native Access to Engineering
 | Though aimed primarily at native american students, this site offers some excellent engineering resources and puzzles.
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Opt Technology
 | The Web is becoming more than a source of information: more and more, it is home to some strange and beautiful hybrid art. This site is both thought-provoking and strange. Requires the QuickTime Player.
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Dogsled.Com
 | Find out about the strange and fascinating history of the Iditarod dogsled race. This site includes race reports, video clips, and chat forums.
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Dim Sum: A Connection to Chinese-American Culture
 | Created by a high school group from Newton, Massachusetts, this well-designed site presents information and lessons designed to foster better understanding of Chinese-American culture. Lessons include science, the arts, language, history, and more.
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Oregon State Travel Adviser
 | Did you know that web accessible cameras are proliferating at an amazing rate? Want to see one vision of what travel may be like in the near future? This site has cameras that let you view most of the Oregon highway system from the web. Sinister or useful...you decide.
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The Book Arts Web
 | This site is dedicated to the art of bookmaking, and to artists using the book as an art form.
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Close to Home: Moyers on Addiction
 | A companion to a PBS television special of the same name, this is an excellent resource on the many facets of addiction, including the science behind addiction, downloadable education guides for parents and teachers, and an online discussion forum.
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Brain Candy
 | This site collects an ever-growing resource of puns, word games, limericks, misunderstood song lyrics, and even insults! It's not much to look at graphically, but there is plenty to read.
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Alexander Chislenko home page
 | An interesting collection of essays and links.You may not agree with everything he says, but the material is interesting. Check out the "Great Thinkers" section.
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Grand Illusion
 | "Optical illusions, scientific toys, visual effects, and even a little magic" make this site well worth the visit. The explanations are clear and concise.
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The Underwater Caves of El Jacinto
 | Follow "Cavediver-Aquanauts" as they work their way through 35 miles of passages!
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Researchpaper.com
 | A great resource for those needing inspiration. The site has tips and ideas to help with your writing. The site even includes a chat room so you can talk to other students.
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El Sur del Sur
 | An extensive site that contains EVERYTHING you want to know about Argentina, from the government to its fishing industry. The information is in both Spanish and English.
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IdeaList
 | An interactive clearinghouse filled with information about nonprofit and community organizations. This site includes a listing of 8,000 non-profit web sites. This listing alone makes this a cool site.
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The Great Globe Gallery
 | Many, many globes for you to check out. There are 83 different globes included on this page. The page is a bit heavy on the graphic side, so you may need to be patient when connecting.
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Santa Claus of Greenland Foundation
 | We couldn't resist including at least one holiday site. After searching for Santa and finding lots of virtual, simulated, and cyber Santas in Internet malls, we decided that Santa lives in Greenland! As the site proclaims... "The mythical figure of Santa Claus is symbolic of the ideals that we strive to teach our children, the ability to give, to listen, and to care without expecting anything in return."
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Laserium Home Page
 | Information on where to visit a Laserium in your neck of the woods. Check out the "Inside Laserium" section and learn all about light, lasers and how Laserium works.
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