Ask Web Links
February 2012: In Your Dreams
Find out what other kids think about dreams at PBS Kids It’s My Life:
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/emotions/dreams/article2.html
How much do different animals sleep?
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chasleep.html
Australian Aboriginal culture believes that dreams are a whole separate world. Learn more at:
http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/dustEchoesFlash.htm
January 2012: Crazy for Color
Crazy for Color
Explore more color at the Exploratorium:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/staff_picks/color/
Try mixing light colors:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/mix_n_match/
See the Universe's cosmic colors:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/cosmic-colors/en/
Body Talk Beneath the Sea
See a program about the amazing color-changing cuttlefish:
http://video.pbs.org/video/1150618835
November/December 2011: Robots Like Us
Scoops
Hear the vegetable orchestra play:
www.vegetableorchestra.org/sound.php
Team Robot
To find a team or group building robots near you, check out any of these organizations:
FIRST Lego League
http://usfirst.org/whatsgoingon
Vex Robotics
http//www.vexrobotics.com/competition
RoboCup Soccer
(the international robot soccer league)
http://rcj.robocup.org/
BotBall
http://www.botball.org/
BEST Robotics (in Texas and surrounding states)
http://www.bestinc.org
Robo-One (Japan), a league specializing in humanoid robots
http://www.robo-one.com
Robo-Games (mostly for older kids)
http://robogames.net
Robot Events lists events going on in many different leagues:
http://robotevents.com
Robot Relatives
See automatons in action:
http://www.fi.edu/learn/sci-tech/automaton/automaton.php?cts=instrumentation
Anatomy of a Robot
See more of what’s inside Pleo the robot dinosaur:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Pleo-Teardown/597/1
Robot Zoo
See robot animals in action!
Robot gecko:
http://web.mit.edu/sangbae/www/videos/Stickybot_IEEE.mov
Robot rat:
http://www.brl.ac.uk/projects/neuro/video/Video2/scratchbot2.wmv
Robot sandfish lizard:
http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/32116.php?from=184971
Robot hummingbird:
http://www.avinc.com/nano
Robot inchworm:
http://arl.mae.cuhk.edu.hk/en/node/678
Robotic fish:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6076315483090528628
If you like to make stuff, check out Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Maker Show:
http://sylviashow.com/episodes
October 2011: The Fungus Among Us
Scoops
Join the Khan team or see how the search is going:
http://exploration.nationalgeographic.com
Check out more fungi at the Children's University:
http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/science/microorganisms/whatarefungi.asp
See some more mushrooms that glow like the ones on our cover:
http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/?p=1154
September 2011: What's in a Face?
Scoops
See sunspots flare:
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/gallery/assets/movies/304prom_erupt_Mar2011_zm_best.mov
Hear a Koala bellow:
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/brutish-koala-bellows-attract-mates-not-ward-off-rivals.htm
Reading Faces
Explore the mind and expressions at the Exploratorium:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/mind
July/August 2011: Seeing Stars
This Month's Contest
Get a Sky Map of the stars above your house tonight:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/
Explore more mysteries of space:
http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/en/kids/
See an animation of a black hole:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/Videos/general/blackhole.mov
Follow the Voyagers’ journey and see what’s on their gold record:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/voyager/index.shtml
Have more questions about black holes? Check out
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4836 and
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/black_holes.html
Help count the stars from your own computer:
http://www.windows2universe.org/citizen_science/starcount
Join the hunt for other planets from your own computer:
http://www.planethunters.org/
Scoops
Hear sleeping bears snore:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/02/the-secrets-of-bear-hibernation.html?ref=hp
May/June 2011: Wild or Mild?
Scoops
Hear the newly discovered Koro language:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101005-lost-language-india-science/
Tale of the Dog
Read more about Brian Hare and his experiments with how dogs think:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/innovators/hare.html
Wild Lives
Black Pine Animal Sanctuary:
http://www.blackpineanimalpark.com/
There are many animal sanctuaries around the country; to find one in your area, search online for "exotic animal sanctuary" or "exotic animal rescue" and your state.
For help with an injured or straying wild animal
Find a wildlife rehabilitator in your area (searchable by city or zip code):
www.wildliferehabber.org
Your local police department (311) can direct you to the animal control officer. They will know what's best to do with any wild animal you might encounter.
National Audubon Society (for help with birds):
http://www.audubon.org/
April 2011: Can Your Trust Your Senses?
Scoops
How does a cat drink?
http://www.npr.org/2010/11/11/131241860/pet-physics-the-uncanny-lapping-of-cats
Hear the pyramid that chirps like a bird:
http://www.ocasa.org/sounds/qqcaca.mp3
Do You See with Your Eyes or Your Brain?
See balls roll uphill and more amazing illusions:
http://gcoe.mims.meiji.ac.jp/jpn/movie/impossible_motions2/index.html
Gorilla? What Gorilla?
Can you spot the gorilla? See the original experiment:
http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html
March 2011: Who Needs Wind?
Scoops
Meet some of Mr. Blobby's friends at the Census of Marine Life:
http://www.coml.org
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
See a video documentary about William Kamkwamba and his windmill:
http://missingpiecesvideo.com/kamkwamba/movingwindmillsFINALsubtitle.mov
Learn how to build an electric motor:
http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/activities/activity-detail/activities/build-an-electric-motor/
Follow the Rough Science challenge to generate electricity:
http://www.pbs.org/weta/roughscience/series1/challenges/generator/
Jersey Atlantic Wind Farm
See pictures of the Jersey Atlantic Wind Farm being built:
http://www.acua.com/acua/windfarmconstructionphotos.aspx#
February 2011: Secret Life of Forests
Scoops
See Icarus the crow work hard for his dinner:
http://language.psy.auckland.ac.nz/crows/files/taylor_movies2.mpg.
Visit dancing robots at the RoboCup:
http://rcj.robocup.org/videos.html
Don't believe it? See a shirt being sprayed on:
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_21-9-2010-13-23-53
What Good is a Forest Fire?
Learn more about forest fires and fire safety:
Smokey the Bear:
http://www.smokeybear.com/kids/default.asp?js=1
National Park Service:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/fireecology.htm
January 2011: Just the Right Size
See a zebra fish embryo growing:
http://www.hhmi.org/news/popups/keller_mov3_pop.html
November/December 2010: A Peek Behind the Scenes
Baby Mammoth
Explore a 3D model of Lyuba:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/content/waking-the-baby-mammoth-3630
Learn more about mammoths and mastodons:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/mammoths/allaboutmammoths.asp
Lyuba’s exhibit, “Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age”
will be coming to these museums:
October 16, 2010 - January 9, 2011 Liberty Science Center, NJ
March 4 - October 9, 2011 The Anchorage Museum, AK
November 25, 2011 - April 15, 2012 Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO
May 26 - September 3, 2012 U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL
October 13, 2012 - January 13, 2013 Museum of Science, Boston, MA
February 15 - May 27, 2013 Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO
July 4 - October 6, 2013 San Diego Natural History Museum, CA
Raise the Bridge
Learn more about Chicago's movable bridges at:
http://chicagoloopbridges.com
Visit inside a Chicago bridge lift for yourself, at the Chicago Bridge Museum (located inside a bridge):
http://bridgehousemuseum.org/visit/bridgelifts/
Watch videos of the bridge going up:
http://chicagoloopbridges.com/tour/Videos/lake2010V.html
http://chicagoloopbridges.com/text%20pages/rackandpinion2010.html
A Day at the Aquarium
To go on your own behind-the-scenes tour at the Shedd aquarium:
http://www.sheddaquarium.org/hours.html
Or check with your own local aquarium!
Need more fish facts?
http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/faq/
Design your own research submarine (ROV) online:
http://www.mysticaquarium.org/fun-and-learning/games
October 2010: Secrets of Alchemy
See how a fireworks show is put together:
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/fireworks/index.html
Learn how to make crazy putty in your kitchen:
http://cdn.makezine.com/make/2010/07/SSAMMS_EP02_CrazyPutty.m4v
The Comic Book Periodic Table of the Elements:
http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/
September 2010: In Other Words
Scoops
See meat ants at work:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16861-killer-ants-could-take-a-bite-out-of-cane-toad-problem.html
Follow Plastiki's voyage:
http://www.theplastiki.com
Conversation with an Ape
Learn more about Kanzi and his family:
www.greatapetrust.org
July/August 2010: Born to Build
Scoops
See the difference in barefoot running:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8483401.stm
See more stone-age symbols:
http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/2748/27481201.jpg
Which Nest is Best?
Build an oriole nest:
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/oriole/BuildNest.html
May/June 2010: Try, Try Again
Scoops
See flying fists of fruit-fly fury: http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13308
Watch an octopus with shells: http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-news/2009/tool-use-in-veined-octopus/
Wings for One
See the Puffin: https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-01/nasas-puffin-aircraft-stealthy-one-man-vtol-aircraft
See Jetman: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/flight-of-the-jet-man-3757/Overview/99#tab-Overview
See the Martin Jetpack: http://www.martinjetpack.com/video-gallery.aspx
See the Condor: http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/ima/maccready_video.html
April 2010: Lost & Found
Make-a-mummy game!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/launch_gms_mummy_maker.shtml
Lost sounds
Hear a Parasaurolophus: www.nmnaturalhistory.org/sci_parasaur.html
Hear the first recorded voice: www.firstsounds.org/sounds/scott.php
Hear a rebel yell: http://www.26nc.org/History/Rebel-Yell/rebel-yell.html
Hear a short talk with Rawls, and his recreation of a big group Rebel Yell:
http://hfb.vfhblogs.org/2009/06/the-authentic-rebel-yell/
See a live coelacanth:
www.arkive.org/coelacanth/latimeria-chalumnae/video-00.html
Grow your own Wollemi pine:
www.wollemipine.com
March 2010: Can We Save Them?
Find out more about endangered species and what you can do to help at:
The World Wildlife Federation: http://gis.wwfus.org/wildfinder/
US Wildlife service: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/kids/index.html
Adopt an Animal!
Ask at your local zoo or aquarium, or:
World Wildlife Federation: http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_category.cfm
National Zoo, Washington: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Support/AdoptSpecies/
Brookfield Zoo, Chicago: http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/ecomv2/adoption/adopf08.asp
Houston Zoo, Houston: http://www.houstonzoo.org/adopt/
San Diego Zoo: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/adopt/animal.html
Frogs!
Explore the world of frogs at: www.exploratorium.edu/frogs
Learn more about the Amphibian Ark: http://www.amphibianark.org/
Watch a documentary about the Amphibian Ark, “A Thin Green Line”
:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/frogs-the-thin-green-line/video-full-episode/4882/
Help scientsts track frogs and other wildlife:
Wildlife Watch: http://www.nwf.org/WildlifeWatch/
Make a certified native habitat in your backyard:
National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat program: http://www.nwf.org/kidsgardenforwildlife/
or (for grownups) : http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat
Bats!
Build a Bat House: http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/bathouse.cfm
Bat House instructions to print out: http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/bathouses/SingleChamberBHPlans.pdf
February 2010: Do You See What I See?
Learn more about telescopes:
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/telescope.html
Play with lenses:
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/magnify/index.html
How does a magnifying glass magnify?
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/microscopy/simplemagnification/index.html
More about reflections:
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/reflection/index.html
More about refraction (How does light passing through glass or water bend and make rainbows?):
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/refraction/index.html
Find out how to make your own Galileo telescope:
https://www.galileoscope.org/gs/
Learn more about light and optics at:
http://www.opticsforkids.org/gallery/
January 2010: In the Ice
Hear cats purr like a baby:
http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/cmvcr/Domestic%20cats.html
See more about science in the Antarctic:
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/frequently_asked_questions.htm
Explore the North and South poles:
http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/
November/December 2009: Searching for Pirates
See more artifacts from the Queen Anne's Revenge and read Wendy's reports at:
http://www.qaronline.org/
Locate artifacts on a map of the Queen Anne's Revenge dive at:
http://www.qaronline.org/QARinteractiveSiteMap.htm
October 2009: Boo!
See the amazing Vegetable Car:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/racing_car
Learn more about fear at:
The California Science Center Goosebumps site,
http://www.fearexhibit.org/brain
September 2009: Eureka!
See Snowball the Cockatoo dance:
http://www.birdloversonly.org/snowball2.html
See an animation of how the Antikythera gears might have worked:
http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/whatsnew/column/antikytheraI-0400/kyth5.html
See a Lego model of the Antikythera:
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/12/lego_antikythera_mechanism.html
Learn more about the Antikythera at:
http://www.nature.com/nature/videoarchive/antikythera/
July/August 2009: Contintents Crack Up!
Listen to the sound of a real queen ant and a caterpillar faker:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40606/title/Caterpillar_noise_tricks_ants_into_service_#ant_sounds
Play the Pangaea game:
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/pangaea/Pangaea_game.html
