Reference Shelf
Key: E = Elementary (K-5), I = Intermediate (6-8), HS = High School (9-12), C = College, G = General Public
Ask an Expert
- Ask an Expert Sites. from Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education, Stevens Institue of Technology.
- Suitable for all grades the Ask an Expert Page provides links to
experts in a number of different categories. One of the greatest
values of the World Wide Web is the people that are part of the
Internet community. This site offers a quick one-step process for
finding experts in any field.
URL: http://www.k12science.org/askanexpert.html - Ask Dr. Universe. from Washington State University.
- A very curious cat answers your questions.
URL: http://www.wsu.edu/druniverse/ - Ask Doctor Global Change. from US Global Change Research Information Office. (HS, C, G)
- "Dr. Global Change" is a Reference Service that assists
researchers, students, educators, resource managers, decision-makers,
and the general public in finding information and data relevant to
global environmental change. This site features a searchable database
of previously asked questions, and allows users to submit original
queries. Help is available in the areas of climate variability and
change, atmospheric composition, global carbon cycle, global water
cycle, changes in ecosystems, and human dimensions of global change.
This site also contains links to some of the best web sites on
global change data and information.
URL: http://gcrio.custhelp.com/ - MadSciNet: The Mad ScientistsNetwork. from Washington University Medical School
- MadSci Network represents a collective cranium of scientists
providing answers to your questions. For good measure we provide a
variety of oddities and other ends as well.
URL: http://www.madsci.org/
Kids' Reference
- Ask Jeeves for Kids.
- Ask Jeeves for Kids is a fast, easy and kid-friendly way for kids to
find answers to their questions online. Designed to be a fun
destination site focused on learning and "edutainment," Ask
Jeeves for Kids uses natural-language technology that allows kids to
ask questions, such as "Why is the sky blue?" or
"What's it like to live in space?" in the same way they
would ask a parent, friend or teacher. The service combines human
editorial judgment with filtering technology to enable kids to find
both relevant and appropriate answers on the Web.
URL: http://www.ajkids.com/ - Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition. from Information Please
- URL: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia.html
- Fact Monster. from Information Please (E, I)
- Information Please has been providing authoritative answers to all
kinds of factual questions since 1938 - first as a popular radio quiz
show, then starting in 1947 as an annual almanac, and since 1998 on
the Internet. Fact Monster is the Internet version designed for
kids.
URL: http://www.factmonster.com/?link=tmplnav- Fact Monster: Almanac - Chemical Elements. from Information Please
- URL: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0001826.html
- Fact Monster: Almanac - Energy and the Environment. from Information Please
- URL: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769046.html
- Fact Monster: Almanac - Weather. from Information Please
- URL: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0772916.html
- The Reader's Digest Children's Atlas of the Universe. Robert Burnham. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Children's Books, 2000. 128pp. Library ISBN 1-57584-379-X. (I)
- Beautiful illustrations and a strong layout create an eye-catching,
informative reference. This atlas visits the planets in our solar
system as well as asteroids, comets, and meteors before proceeding
to the stars and galaxies of deep space. Suggested activities for
the reader encourage hands-on exploration of the concepts presented.
Glossary, Index, Universe Fact File (includes facts on our solar
system and other celestial objects, astrological and technological
events, timeline of astronomy, and universal records).
Source: NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 for 2001 (http://www.nsta.org/ostbc01) - Weather Watch (12 Volumes). Bethel, CT: Grolier Educational, 2000. 576pp. ISBN 0-7172-9458-7. (E, I)
- Weather never ceases to fascinate, delight, and occasionally make
life difficult. Weather Watch, a month-by-month guide to the world's
weather, is a 12-volume reference set focusing on weather and
climate. There is one volume for each month of the year. Each volume
provides a factual and interesting comparison of climates in
countries and cities around the world. Hundreds of photographs, maps,
charts, graphs, and satellite images illustrate world temperature,
precipitation, winds, and ocean currents. Students will find these
books ideal for researching meteorology and geography, and educators
will find them useful in explaining weather phenomena in
easy-to-understand terms. Well researched, well written, and
accurate, these volumes would be an invaluable resource for every
school.
Source: NSTA recommends (http://www.nsta.org/recommends/product.asp?id=11945) - World Almanac for Kids. from World Almanac Education Group
- URL: http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/explore/index.html
- Yahooligans! Reference. from Yahoo!
- URL: http://www.yahooligans.com/reference/index.html
Ready Reference Titles
Biography
- Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography. from Wolfram Research
- This resource has been assembled over more than a decade by internet
encyclopedist Eric W. Weisstein with assistance from the internet
community.
URL: http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/ - InfoPlease -- Biographies -- Notable Scientists.
- Search more than 30,000 biographies in Infoplease's almanacs,
dictionary, and encyclopedia. Biographies also searchable by
category.
URL: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/scibio8.html
Directories
- Global Change Master Directory. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (HS, C)
- This directory provides descriptions of Earth science data sets and
services relevant to global change research. The GCMD database
includes descriptions of data sets covering agriculture, the
atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and oceans, snow and ice, geology
and geophysics, paleoclimatology, and human dimensions of global
change.
URL: http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/ - The National Environmental Directory.
- National Environmental Directory, a directory of more than 13,000
organizations in the United States concerned with environmental
issues and environmental education. This directory is the most
complete and most comprehensive environmental directory in the United
States.
URL: http://www.environmentaldirectory.net/ - Visible Earth: A Searchable Directory of Images, Visualizations, and Animations of the Earth. (G)
- Provides a consistently updated, central point of access to the
superset of NASA's Earth science-related images, animations, and data
visualizations. These images are considered to be public domain and,
as such, are freely available to the interested public-at-large, the
media, scientists, and educators for re-use and/or re-publication.
Credit and caption information is already provided in the metadata
for all the materials within the Visible Earth. At the very minimum,
credit must be given to NASA for use of these materials.
URL: http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/
Encyclopedias and Almanacs
- Bartleby.
- The preeminent Internet publisher of literature, reference, and
verse, providing students, researchers, and the intellectually
curious with unlimited access to books and information on the web,
free of charge.
URL: http://www.bartleby.com/ - World Fact Book 2003 - Climate.
- Includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout
the year.
URL: http://www.bartleby.com/151/fields/10.html - Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment. (HS, C, G)
- This encyclopedia is a one-stop source of information on a range of
atmospheric issues, including air quality, acid rain, global warming
and ozone depletion.
URL: http://www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/aric/eae/ - InfoPlease.com. from Information Please (I, HS, C, G)
- URL: http://www.infoplease.com/
- InfoPlease: Almanac - Chemical Elements. from Information Please
- URL: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001826.html
- InfoPlease: Almanac - Environment. from Information Please
- URL: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873828.html
- InfoPlease: Almanac - Weather. from Information Please
- URL: http://www.infoplease.com/weather.html
- Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition. from Information Please
- URL: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia.html
Virtual Reference Shelves
- Alexa > Subjects > Reference. from Alexa Internet
- Founded in April 1996, Alexa Internet grew out of a vision of Web
navigation that is intelligent and constantly improving with the
participation of its users. Browse subject categories or search this
web site. Click on "site info" to see related links
(people who visit this page also visit).
URL: http://www.alexa.com/browse/categories?catid=10 - Ask Jeeves.
- Provides authoritative and fast ways to find relevant answers to
everyday questions.
URL: http://www.ask.com/ - Atmospheric Chemisty Air Quality Glossary 2003 Version. from Sam Houston State University.
- URL: http://www.shsu.edu/~chemistry/Glossary/glos.html
- Internet Public Library. from The University of Michigan
- The Internet Public Library (IPL), is a public service organization
and learning/teaching environment at the University of Michigan
School of Information. Activities include: providing library services
to Internet users; finding, evaluating, selecting, organizing,
describing, and creating information resources; and direct assistance
to individuals.
URL: http://www.ipl.org/ - iTools.
- Quick access to selected Internet tools: search, language, research,
financial, map, and networking.
URL: http://www.itools.com/ - The LibrarySpot. from StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc.
- LibrarySpot.com is a free virtual library resource center for
educators and students, librarians and their patrons, families,
businesses and just about anyone exploring the Web for valuable
research information. LibrarySpot.com was created to break through
the information overload of the Web and bring the best library and
reference sites together with insightful editorial in one
user-friendly spot. Sites featured on LibrarySpot.com are
hand-selected and reviewed by our editorial team for their
exceptional quality, content and utility.
URL: http://www.libraryspot.com/ - Martindale's 'The Reference Desk'.
- URL: http://www.martindalecenter.com/
- National Geographic Map Machine. from National Geographic Society and ESRI.
- URL: http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/index.html
- Refdesk.com.
- Refdesk is about indexing quality Internet sites and assisting
visitors in navigating these sites.
URL: http://www.refdesk.com/ - Search for Earth Science Data Sets by Parameters. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (C)
- URL: http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/Data/portals/gcmd/param_search/ATMOSPHERE.html
Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society