Science Resources

The GSSM Outreach staff have curated a collection of over 150 free web resources for science classroom teachers, their students and students’ families. Many of the websites are arranged by subject area, grade level, or topic to help you find the particular resource you are searching for to create lesson plans or at-home activities.

MULTIMEDIA

ACT Academy
Grades K – 12. Online resource library organized by grade, subject, standard and textbook (includes videos, assessments, homework and lesson plans). 

BetterLesson
Grades K – 12. Searchable lesson plans and resources for all content areas. Search by grade level, topic and content standard.

Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education: BLUE Resources
Grades 9 – 12. Biology. The RCN-UBE Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education - Data Initiative (BLUE Data) is a community of biodiversity, data, and education specialists who are working together to identify core biodiversity data competencies for undergraduates, develop strategies for integrating these competencies into the introductory biology curriculum, and build capacity for sustained development and implementation of biodiversity and data literacy education.

HHMI BioInteractive
Grades 9 – 12. Biology. BioInteractive resources primarily focus on core concepts and processes in biology for high school and undergraduate students. They also provide interdisciplinary resources with connections to biology in earth and environmental science, chemistry, and math and statistics. The stories anchor a variety of classroom resources based on peer-reviewed science. From data-rich activities and case studies to high-quality videos and interactive media, the resources are designed to connect students to big ideas in biology, promote engagement with science practices, and instill awe and wonder about the living world. In addition, the BioInteractive website provides educators with planning tools to build resource playlists and storylines, and professional learning materials and opportunities to deepen their scientific and pedagogical expertise. The resources and tools reflect current knowledge of how students learn and evidence-based strategies for supporting engagement and inclusion.

Jim Allison: Breakthrough (90-minute movie)
Grades 9 – 16. Breakthrough spotlights many different careers in the scientific field that can inspire your students. “This film will inspire your students and foster discussion not only about the science behind immunotherapy against cancer, but also about the process of science as a human endeavor and how dreaming big and working hard pays off in the end.” Maia Larios-Saiz, Ph.D, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Biology University of St. Thomas
Lessons and Labs: The film is divided up into 3 classroom-period-friendly segments that can be watched separately and have a set of companion activities.
Part 1: Intro to Cancer. Introduction to cancer, Dr. Jim Allison, and the beginning of his quest to find a cure.
Part 2: Immune System. Demonstrates the persistence of Dr. Allixon’s breakthrough discovery about the immune system.
Part 3: From Discovery to Rollout. Spotlights the trials and tribulations it takes to get this breakthrough discovery to patients.

BSCS: Educator Resource Center
Grades 1 – 12. Biology. A wide variety of materials with a focus on inquiry-based science learning including videos, lesson plans, interactive activities, science units, and teacher handbook.

California Academy of Science
Grades K – 12. Searchable lesson plans and resources consisting of mainly full period lesson plans and short activities. 

Cartoons Time – YouTube Resources for Elementary Education
Grades K – 6. A channel of animated videos addressing math, science, social studies, and language arts topics for young students. Features diverse characters in videos ranging from 3 to 6 minutes. 

Celestia
Grades K – 16.Earth and Space Science. The space simulation that lets you explore our universe in three dimensions. Celestia doesn't confine you to the surface of the Earth. You can travel throughout the solar system, to any of over 100,000 stars, or even beyond the galaxy. The exponential zoom feature lets you explore space across a huge range of scales, from galaxy clusters down to spacecraft only a few meters across. A 'point-and-goto' interface makes it simple to navigate through the universe to the object you want to visit. Celestia comes with a large catalog of stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and spacecraft. If that's not enough, you can download dozens of easy to install add-ons with more objects. Celestia simulates many different types of celestial objects. From planets and moons to star clusters and galaxies, you can visit every object in the expandable database and view it from any point in space and time. The position and movement of solar system objects is calculated accurately in real time at any rate desired. When used as a planetarium, Celestia shows accurate positions of solar system objects in the sky. You can switch labels and other supporting features on and off with hotkeys, or zoom in and out on an object of interest, for example Jupiter’s system of moons.

cK-12
Grades K – 12. Searchable resources (flexbooks, adaptive practice, simulations, videos, PLEX, study guides, etc). Tens of thousands of customizable free STEM resources for students, parents, teachers, schools, and districts.  cK-12 easily integrates with Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, Clever and many other LMS platforms.

ClassHook
Grades K – 12. ClassHook has curated thousands of educational video clips (between 1 – 5 minutes) and made them suitable for classroom use so you can share them with your students. Using ClassHook, you can save hours of time each week searching for engaging content. All you need to know is a keyword or topic, and you'll be able to find the perfect clip for your next lesson. The videos on ClassHook are age-appropriate, aligned to educational standards, and accompanied with questions and tools to facilitate discussions. The clips on ClassHook not only teach students important concepts but also make learning enjoyable and more relevant in today's digital age. Students will recognize lessons and concepts taught in the classroom in the media they watch every day. Using films and TV shows in the classroom reinforces learning in a fun way, which dramatically increases student engagement, understanding, and retention of important concepts.

Concord Consortium
Grades K – 12. Searchable curriculum units, activities, interactives, videos, and lessons. 

Curriki
Grades K – 12. Library of open teaching and learning resources, educator-vetted, openly licensed, online educational materials for use, reuse, adaptation, and sharing. 

Data Nuggets
Grades K – 16. Classroom activities, co-designed by scientists and teachers. When using Data Nuggets students are provided with the details of authentic science research projects, and then get to work through an activity that gives them practice looking for patterns and developing explanations about natural phenomena using the scientific data from the study. The goals of the Data Nuggets project are to (1) help scientists increase the broader impacts of their research by sharing their “science story” and data with the public, and (2) to engage students in the practices of science through an innovative approach that combines scientific content from authentic research with key concepts in quantitative reasoning. Each Data Nugget comes with 3 versions of the student activity and a Teacher Guide.

DNA Interactive
Grades 9 – 12. Biology. Register to join an online teaching community and create personalized web pages and use the Lesson Builder tool. Download 15 lesson plans for use in your classroom. Plans include objectives, national education standards, student worksheets, and more!

DNA Learning Center: Biology Animations
Grades 5 – 12. Biology. DNALC animations feature stunning visualizations of cellular and molecular processes. Journey inside a cell as you follow proteins in Cell Signals. Zoom along a three-dimensional rendering of 650,000 nucleotides of human chromosome in Chromosome 11 Flyover. Processes like DNA translation, transcription, replication, and more are explained in interactive animations.

Earth Exploration Toolbook!
Grades 6 – 16. Earth Science. Developed by teams of scientists and educators, the Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) is a collection of online Earth system science activities. Each activity, or chapter, introduces one or more scientific data sets and analysis tools that enables users to explore some aspect of the Earth system. Within the context of a case study, each chapter guides users through a step-by-step process in which they access data and use analysis tools to explore real issues and questions in Earth system science. In the course of completing a chapter, users produce and analyze maps, graphs, images, or other data products. The ultimate goal of each activity is to build users' skills and confidence so they can use data to conduct their own investigations of the Earth system. Earth Exploration Toolbook chapters are written to the teacher, generally at the secondary and college level. However, chapters can be used by other educators, students, citizens, and policy makers to guide their own learning, adapt to their own purposes, and enable them to answer their own Earth system science questions based on valid scientific data.

Edmentum
Grades K – 12. Some searchable resources for teachers. Other resources may be available for a limited time period.

Educational Innovations
Grades K – 16. Shop science materials by grade bands or by science content topic. Free supplemental resources, downloadable lesson plans or ideas, videos, educator comments, or view how the product can be used to support the Next Generation Science Standards so you can make the most of your science materials.

Edutopia
Grades K – 12. An educators’ guide to open educational resources with information about online repositories, curriculum-sharing websites, and sources for lesson plans and activities. 

Excel Easy
Grades 4 – 16+. This resource is Excel beginner friendly, even though many advanced topics are included. You can use Excel to enter all sorts of data and perform financial, mathematical, or statistical calculations and is a great tool for organizing data and lists. This free site is not only well organized and user friendly, it also offers a free tutorial on how to use Excel and includes an overview of all chapters and over 300 examples.

Exploratorium: Tools for Teaching and Learning
Grades K – 12. Unique resources for teachers, families, and students. 

Frontiers for Young Minds: Scientific Articles
Grades 3 – 9. This open-access journal features scientific research summarized in kid-friendly language. The journal editors work with 8-15 year olds, aided by a Science Mentor, to review the articles to make sure the information presented is clear for young readers. Each article also includes a glossary of key terms. Topics include astronomy, biodiversity, earth science, health science, neuroscience, and math. Each article even links back to the abstract of the original scientific paper. This is a great way to introduce young students to real-world, cutting-edge research.

FUTURE U
Grades 6 – 12. Boeing and Discovery Education have partnered to provide resources for educators, including virtual field trips and lesson plans.  

GBH Distance Learning Center – For Educators
Grades PreK – 16. A curated selection from extensive PBS LearningMedia and early childhood education libraries to offer you the best digital learning resources for use at home featuring assignable, self-paced, and self-contained activities to help provide students with high-quality, standards-aligned material to keep them engaged and learning. These resources cover a range of commonly-taught topics and subjects, and have been selected for their ease of use in a variety of household settings by minimizing the need for logging in, hands-on guidance, or group work.

GenerationGENIUS
Grades K – 8. Generation Genius is a K-8 teaching resource that brings school science standards to life through fun and educational videos paired with lesson plans, activities, quizzes, reading material and more. The videos are produced in partnership with the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), and aligned to standards in all 50 states. Each science video is accompanied with additional resources (lesson plans, vocabulary, paper and online quizzes, reading material, DIY activities, discussion questions, teacher guides, and exit tickets). All of these additional materials are freely available, but a yearly subscription fee is charged for viewing the videos.

Current Free Gizmos
Grades K – 12. Sign up for an account and you get 20-40 Free Gizmos to teach with and access teacher guides, lesson plans and more for the free Gizmos. The free Gizmos change each semester.

Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet
Grades K – 16. Earth and Space Science. NASA's reviewed listings of the best available student and educators resources (including graphics, videos, interactives, apps, images, articles, lesson plans and much more) related to global climate change, including NASA resources.

HHMI BioInteractive
Grades 8 – 12. Biology. From data-rich activities and case studies to high-quality videos and interactive media, the resources are designed to connect students to big ideas in biology, promote engagement with science practices, and instill awe and wonder about the living world. The BioInteractive website also provides teachers with planning tools to build resource playlists and storylines, and professional learning materials and opportunities to deepen their scientific and pedagogical expertise.  

Hippocampus
Grades 6 – 12. A core academic web site that delivers multimedia content--videos, animations, and simulations--on general education subjects to middle-school and high-school teachers and college professors, and their students.  

Illinois Open Educational Resources
Grades 1 – 12. IOER provides open, standards-aligned lessons plans, educational and career content.   

Into the Outdoors
Grades K – 12. Teachers and students have access to over 100 STEM based science videos and companion lesson activities aligned to state and national standards. There is also a quarterly newsletter, which you can subscribe to on the website.

The Kid Should See This
Grades PreK – 12. Videos for curious minds of all ages—great for gifted students! A Webby award-winning collection of over 4,500 kid-friendly videos, curated for teachers and parents who want to share smarter, more meaningful media in the classroom and at home. TKSST champions smart STEAM, history, and culture-focused content by museums, organizations, and creators who celebrate curiosity, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, kindness, and other essential themes for all ages.

LabXchange
Grades 9 – 16. An online community for learning, sharing, and collaboration. Science educators can create online and hybrid classes. The platform lets instructors select vetted content from Harvard, OpenStax, Khan Academy and other sources, remix it with private materials, build collaboration and share ideas with a small group of learners. The content-type offered on the LabXchange library includes text, video, image, simulation, pathway, narrative, document, interactive, assignment, case study, textbook, and cluster. Resource searches can be refined by subject area, content type, background knowledge, video duration, content source, and popular tags.

Learn.Genetics
Grades 6 - 12. Biology. Here you'll find a wealth of resources and information aimed at helping educators bring genetics, bioscience and health alive in the classroom.

Legends of Learning
Grades K – 8. Over 2000 fun, curriculum aligned, science and math games and simulations across 350+ learning objectives. Games and simulations for the classroom are specifically designed from national and state standards to support your lesson plans. The first missions are Mathematics, Life Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, and Physical Sciences.

Mensa for Kids
Grades 3 – 12. These lessons may be given to students for individual, self-guided work, or they may be taught in a classroom or homeschool setting. These plans are designed to enrich academic learning with extension for gifted children built in and include a variety of questions and extension opportunities. 

Merlot
Grades 9 – 12. Tens of thousands of discipline-specific learning materials, learning exercises, and Content Builder webpages, together with associated comments, and bookmark collections, all intended to enhance the teaching experience of using a learning material.  

NASA for Educators
Grades K – 16. Earth and Space Science. This site provides a wide variety of aeronautics and space resource for education.

NASA Science: Share the Science
Grades K – 16. Earth and Space Science. NASA Science is a current online magazine of scientific research, events, and information for students and teachers.

NASA Space Place
Grades K – 8. Earth and Space Science Multiple Earth, space, and technology focused resources for teachers and students in elementary and middle school. Materials include online simulations, hands-on activities, and more. 

National Geographic Education
Grades K – 12. Bring National Geographic resources into your classroom with Student Experiences, Classroom Resources, Professional Development and more. 

Nova Labs
Grades 6 – 12. A digital platform that engages students in games and interactives that foster authentic scientific exploration. From predicting solar storms and constructing renewable energy systems to tracking cloud movement and designing RNA molecules, NOVA Labs participants can conduct investigations by visualizing, analyzing, and sharing the same data that scientists use. Each Lab is unique, and focuses on a different area of active research. But all of them illustrate key concepts with engaging and informative videos and guide participants as they answer scientific questions or design solutions to current problems. Over time, new Labs covering a wide range of topics will challenge users to learn about science by actually doing it, to think like scientists, and even to contribute to real-world investigations. For additional resources (videos, materials for educators, and additional ideas) check out Educator Guides .

The New York Times: Science & Math
Grades 6 - 12. The New York Times provides current real-world resources for teaching science and math. The resources are organized in categories such as: Lesson of the day; Math; Guest Lesson; Science; What's Going on in this Graph?; Mentor Texts and others.

OER Commons  
Grades K – 12. A public digital library of open educational resources that you may freely use and reuse at no cost, and without needing to ask permission. From a single point of access in OER Commons, you can search, browse, and evaluate resources in OER Commons' growing collection of over 50,000 high-quality OER. Here are some curated collections to start exploring: full university courses; interactive mini-lessons and simulations; adaptations of existing open work; open textbooks; and lesson plans, worksheets and activities. 

OpenSciEd
Grades 6 – 8. OpenSciEd lessons include many multimedia resources. OpenSciEd was launched to improve the supply of and address demand for high quality, open-source, full-course science instructional materials, while at the same time supporting the implementation of middle school science instructional units. The goals of OpenSciEd are to ensure any science teacher, anywhere, can access and download freely available, high quality, locally adaptable full-course materials. OpenSciEd aims to create a set of exemplary science instructional materials that are designed to be used with low-cost, standard laboratory equipment and materials amenable to large-scale deployment.

PBS Learning Media
Grades PreK – 12. Searchable and well-organized teaching resources including videos, lesson plans, and interactive tools. Large number of multimedia resources searchable by grade level, content areas and specific topics by key word search. Available instructional guides for utilizing include Google Classroom Integration , Class Rostering Without Google Classroom , Shareable Content Folders , and Advanced Search and Browse Features .

Phenomenal GRC Lessons
Grades K – 12. This site contains a collection of vetted, three-dimensional lessons for all grade levels as well as tools for developing your own three-dimensional lessons using a phenomenon. These lessons are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards and state standards developed from the Framework for K-12 Science Education. The lessons were developed by teachers across districts and states utilizing local phenomena.

The Physics Classroom
Grades 6 – 12. Physics. The Physics Classroom is an online, free to use physics website developed primarily for beginning physics students and their teachers. The website features a variety of sections intended to support both teachers and students in the tasks of learning and teaching physics. 

Planting Science
PlantingScience is an online resource to teachers and schools. The program provides volunteer scientists, resources, and activities to support innovation in teaching, learning, and mentoring. Open education resources are shared for student-centered plant investigations that integrate scientific practices and big ideas in biology that meet the guidelines in the Next Generation Science Standards and other 21st century education standards. We are a learning community where scientists provide online mentorship to student teams as they design and think through their own inquiry projects. The program is collaborative engagement in science education that crosses traditional learning settings: K-12 and higher education; learning in and out of class; hands-on and technology-enhanced.

Powers of Ten
Grades 6 – 12. Powers of Ten is a nine-minute video that takes us on an adventure in magnitudes. Starting at a picnic by the lakeside in Chicago, this famous film transports us to the outer edges of the universe. Every ten seconds we view the starting point from ten times farther out until our own galaxy is visible only as a speck of light among many others. Returning to Earth with breathtaking speed, we move inward- into the hand of the sleeping picnicker- with ten times more magnification every ten seconds. Our journey ends inside a proton of a carbon atom within a DNA molecule in a white blood cell.

Prepmagic
Grades K – 12. Prepmagic provides customizable interactive digital content that helps registered users to teach and learn science and math; create and use lessons; create and use tests; and also prepare for standardized exams.

Science Journal for Kids and Teens: Scientific Articles
Grades 6 – 12. This open-access resource features scientific research translated in kid-friendly language, with a glossary of key terms and citations to primary research papers. Editors adapt selected papers and send the drafts to be approved by the authors of the original research. Unlike some other articles geared towards students, this publication provides opportunities for data analysis by including easily interpretable graphs. Most articles are geared towards middle and high school and are centered around biology themes, but the database is searchable by reading level, scientific field, and even type of scientific figure or technique. Each article features several questions to check understanding and teacher keys are available by registering with a school email address.

Science Net Links
Grades K – 12. Science lessons and tools for science teachers. Resources are well-organized and searchable. 

Science-U @ Home
Grade K – 8. Fun activities for grown-ups and kids to explore science together. Activities can be filtered by difficulty, how messy they are, how long they take, and whether they should happen indoors or outside. Activities emphasize asking questions and seeing what happens. All of the science is explained in the How it Works section so you can help your student/child make new discoveries!

Scientific American
Grades K – 8. Science activities for students that can be completed in less than 1-hour using common household items. 

Smithsonian
Grades K – 8. An interactive platform of some STEM resources to support distance learning needs for students. It includes standards-aligned educational games, simulations, videos, eBooks, and hands-on lessons that require simple materials found at home. Some resources require technology. Others can be printed out and used in low-tech environments.  

Smithsonian Learning Lab
Grades K – 12. An interactive platform of millions of authentic digital resources. 

SoftSchools
Grades K – 12. Science games, interactives and printable, auto generated science worksheets organized by grades and topics.

Steve Spangler
Grades PreK – 12. Online science experiment library and a great resource for awesome science materials with videos and activity sheets demonstrating how to use many of the materials they sell. 

StudyJams!
Grades 3 – 8. Science and math resources organized by content area and topic (featuring short videos, quizzes, and educational songs). 

Super Science Resources from UEN
Grades 7 – 12. A collection of web resources to help educators teach science. This site includes links to web sites, videos, lesson plans, student interactives, and more. 

TeachEngineering
Grades K – 12. A digital library of STEM standards-aligned engineering curricula (units, lessons, activities, labs, challenges and informal learning “sprinkles”) for science and math educators.  

Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science
Grades 6 – 12. Biology. This site provides middle and high school science teachers with the content knowledge and teaching tools they need to effectively cover their state’s evolution standards. TIES materials, available on the TIES website, include presentation slides, hands-on activities, guided readings, an exam review, the corresponding exam, student response sheets, rubrics, answer keys, and online resources with recommended readings.

TeacherTube
Grades K – 12. An online community for sharing instructional videos. It is a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

Teach.Genetics
Grades 6 – 12. Biology. A wealth of resources and information aimed at helping educators bring genetics, bioscience and health alive in the classroom. A companion to the popular Learn.Genetics website, Teach.Genetics offers additional tools and resources to support your curriculum.

Texas Instruments
Grades 6 – 12. Texas Instruments has prepared a number of resources to support both teachers and students in remote learning. 

UEN: Sci-ber Text
Grades 3 – 9. An online textbook based on the Utah State Board of Education curriculum for learning science. Sci-ber text includes scientific information, activities and labs. Many of these activities can be done at home.  

UEN: Utah Curriculum Resources - Elementary
Grades K – 6. Hundreds of lesson plans that support elementary science standards. 

UEN: Utah Curriculum Resources
Grades 6 – 12. Hundreds of curriculum resources including lesson plans, activities, student handouts, and materials. Lessons are sorted by grade level and the lesson titles are indicative of the content. 

UEN: Weather Resources
Grades K – 12. UEN gathered Internet resources and online games to help students learn about weather. In addition, the Online Cloud Guide provides excellent illustrations of the different cloud types. 

Understanding Evolution
Grades K – 16. Biology. An educational website that provides resources for teaching the science and history of evolutionary biology. This site is here to help you understand what evolution is, how it works, how it factors into your life, how research in evolutionary biology is performed, and how ideas in this area have changed over time.

Understanding Science: How Science Really Works
Grades K – 16. A resource that communicates what science is and how it really works — and that helps K-16 teachers reinforce the nature and process of science throughout their science teaching. Understanding Science provides a variety of resources at different levels for students, teachers, and the general public. Take the site tour for an overview of the many available resources.

USGS: Multimedia Gallery
Grades K – 12. Earth Science. The USGS Multimedia Gallery is a one-stop collection of videos, photography, and audio. All items in this gallery are considered public domain unless otherwise noted.

ndsuvirtualcell
Grades 7 – 16. Biology. We invite you to explore our virtual cell and the processes contained within it by taking a guided virtual tour. Inside you will be introduced to many of the basic functions going on within the cell as well as the intracellular locations where these events occur--many of which can be seen in more detail by exploring our animation collection.

Virtual Cell Animation Collection: Molecular and Cellular Biology Learning Center
Grades 7 – 16. Biology. This collection has been developed to introduce students to new concepts. By walking through the still images and movie included for each topic, viewers are in control of choosing the learning style that best fits their needs.

Virtual Field Trips
Grades 9 – 16. IVFTs are topic based educationally rich experiences that are captured during real expeditions with scientists doing current research. These iVFTs are being used in high school and college classrooms to supplement topics such as early life, microorganisms, biodiversity, and ancient civilizations.

Water Science School
Grades 3 – 9. Earth Science. Welcome to the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Water Science School. We offer information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.

Wonderopolis
Grades K – 12. With multi-disciplinary content that purposefully aligns to Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the STEM Educational Quality Framework, and Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, Wonderopolis has earned a place in K-12 curriculum and in classrooms worldwide. Teachers can use the daily Wonder to jumpstart their students' critical thinking, or dip into the ever-growing collection of Wonders for content that relates to specific themes and student interests.

Zooniverse
Grades K – 12. Zooniverse is the world’s largest platform for people-powered research driven by volunteers. Students can support researchers around the world by assisting in data collection and review for projects of all disciplines, including climate science, medicine, and physics. 

Games, Interactives and Simulations

BioDigital
​Grades 6 – 16. Biology. Visualize the human body for your educational needs - all in interactive 3D. The 3D model library is now organized into clinical specialties, such as Cardiology, Dermatology, Nephrology, and Oncology & Hematology. This organizational system is designed to make it easier for educators and students alike to locate models of interest, as well as to give a "home" to topics that are not specific to one system, like cancer, pediatrics, and rheumatology. We've also introduced a new Cross Sections & Micro Anatomy category, where you'll find a comprehensive set of gross- and tissue-level anatomical cross sections. Use Explore to find relevant models more quickly: Search within categories. In addition to searching across the entire 3D model library ("All Models"), you can search within each category, providing you with fewer total results to sort through and a higher rate of relevant results. For example, if you're looking for an infectious disease that affects the lungs, you can go to Infectious Diseases and search "lung." Refine your results with filters. Two new filters ("Type" and "Level of Detail") will help you narrow down your results as you browse or search within All Models or a specific category like Orthopedics. Use one at a time or combine them to further refine your results.

Biology Simulations
Grades 6 – 16. Biology. This website helps students learn about biology and practice data analysis skills. The simulations all have random components, so there will likely be some variation to quantitative results each time the activities are run. In addition, many are designed to be used for inquiry opportunities. The available resources can be modified to work with different groups. While teachers are welcome to use the prepared worksheets, they should feel free to make adjustments or design their own to create a lesson that works for their situation.

Celestia
Grades K – 16. Earth and Space Science. The space simulation that lets you explore our universe in three dimensions. Celestia doesn't confine you to the surface of the Earth. You can travel throughout the solar system, to any of over 100,000 stars, or even beyond the galaxy. The exponential zoom feature lets you explore space across a huge range of scales, from galaxy clusters down to spacecraft only a few meters across. A 'point-and-goto' interface makes it simple to navigate through the universe to the object you want to visit. Celestia comes with a large catalog of stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and spacecraft. If that's not enough, you can download dozens of easy to install add-ons with more objects. Celestia simulates many different types of celestial objects. From planets and moons to star clusters and galaxies, you can visit every object in the expandable database and view it from any point in space and time. The position and movement of solar system objects is calculated accurately in real time at any rate desired. When used as a planetarium, Celestia shows accurate positions of solar system objects in the sky. You can switch labels and other supporting features on and off with hotkeys, or zoom in and out on an object of interest, for example Jupiter’s system of moons.

cK-12 Exploration Series: Chemistry Simulations
Grades 6 - 16. Chemistry. Over 20 Chemistry simulations. These simulations can be filtered by national science standards, concepts, or keywords. Topical coverage is broad ranging from density, states of matter, solubility, physical and chemical changes to balancing equations and atomic mass. Each simulation begins with a question that is not easy to answer. Next is a video with additional questions. Following the video the user is placed in a interactive sandbox style environment. View the SIM Instruction Tutorial located on this webpage for more information about the simulations. A student worksheet is also included with most of the simulations.

cK-12 Exploration Series: Physics Simulations
Grades 6 - 16. Physics. Over 100 Physics simulations. These simulations can be filtered by national science standards, concepts, or keywords. Topical coverage is broad from motion and mechanics to electricity and magnetism, sound and light to modern physics. Each simulation begins with a question that is not easy to answer. Next is a video with additional questions. Following the video the user is placed in a interactive sandbox style environment. View the SIM Instruction Tutorial located on this webpage for more information about the simulations. A student worksheet is also included with most of the simulations.

Desmos
Grades K – 12. Suite of math software tools, including graphing, scientific, four function, and matrix calculators; geometry tools; math classroom activities; a getting-to-know-you activity; and very useful starter screens. 

Geogebra
Grades K - 12. Dynamic mathematical software (geometry, algebra spreadsheets, graphing, statistics, and calculus in one easy package) free for students and teachers. Includes an authoring tool to create interactive learning resources as web pages. This open source software can typically be installed in less than 2 minutes.

Legends of Learning
Grades K – 8. Over 2000 fun, curriculum aligned, science and math games and simulations across 350+ learning objectives. Games and simulations for the classroom are specifically designed from national and state standards to support your lesson plans. The first missions are Mathematics, Life Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, and Physical Sciences.

NetLogo
Grades 6 – 12. A programmable modeling environment for simulating natural and social phenomena and for modeling complex systems developing over time. Modelers can give instructions to numerous “agents” all operating independently which makes it possible to explore the connection between the micro-level behavior of individuals and the macro-level patterns that emerge from their interaction.  

Nova Labs
Grades 6 – 12. A digital platform that engages students in games and interactives that foster authentic scientific exploration. From predicting solar storms and constructing renewable energy systems to tracking cloud movement and designing RNA molecules, NOVA Labs participants can conduct investigations by visualizing, analyzing, and sharing the same data that scientists use. Each Lab is unique, and focuses on a different area of active research. But all of them illustrate key concepts with engaging and informative videos and guide participants as they answer scientific questions or design solutions to current problems. Over time, new Labs covering a wide range of topics will challenge users to learn about science by actually doing it, to think like scientists, and even to contribute to real-world investigations. For additional resources (videos, materials for educators, and additional ideas) check out Educator Guides .

PhET
Grades 1 - 12. Interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations that can be run online or downloaded to your computer. The simulations are extensively tested and evaluated to ensure educational effectiveness. The simulations can be searched by grade band, topic, or activity title.

Shodor
​Grades 3 – 12. Don't be misled by the simplicity of Shodor's webpage--this is a very popular set of interactive online materials (interactive models, simulations, and educational tools) for math and science education.

SimBucket
Grades 6 – 12. Over 50 HTML5 simulations and some interesting science videos.

Calculators & Software Tools

EasyUnitConverter.com
Measurement & calculations are fundamental part of our life. Unit converter allows you to check all types of metric conversion of measurement units: length, weight, height, area, temperature, time, pressure, speed, force, volume, data storage, fuel consumption, energy, degree, number converter, etc and also you can check online calculators basic & advanced math calculations like percentage, mortgage, fraction, interest rate, loan, tax, GST, tip, love, work, algebra, finance calculator and health calculator, etc. Every unit converter & calculator has a detailed explanation with an example. You can calculate & convert one system unit to another. Every individual unit conversion & calculator has an example to know how system units are calculated to each other with a metric conversion table.

Degrees to Radians
Degrees to Radians converter for converting an anglular measurement from degree units to radian units and back. Also shows complementary and supplementary angles (if appropriate) for the given angle.

Four Function Calculator
Welcome to the Desmos four function calculato r. Get started with the how-to videot, then dive deeper with the additional resources provided.

Demos Graphing Calculator
Welcome to the Desmos graphing calculator! Graph functions, plot data, evaluate equations, explore transformations, and much more. Get started with the how-to video, then dive deeper with the additional resources provided.

Desmos Matrix Calculator
Welcome to the Desmos matrix calculator. Get started with the video and learn more about this tool with the additional tips.

Desmos Scientific Calculator
Welcome to the Desmos scientific calculator . Get started with the how-to video, then dive deeper with the provided resources.

Excel Easy
Grades 4 – 16+. If you're an Excel beginner, this is a good place to start. You can use Excel to enter all sorts of data and perform financial, mathematical, or statistical calculations and is a great tool for organizing data and lists. This free site is not only well organized and user friendly, it also offers a free tutorial on how to use Excel and includes an overview of all chapters and over 300 examples.

Online Calculator
Large online calculator. Use for work, school or personal calculations. Commands for the online calculator you can enter not only the mouse, but with a digital computer keyboard. Site also has detailed instructions for using the calculator.

Slope Calculator
Slope calculator for graphing two points on a coordinate plane and showing the slope intercept equation. Interactively change slope, intercepts, rise over run or more for reverse calculations!

Web2.0calc
Web 2.0 Calc provides users with several math tools. First, users can access a scientific calculator when loading the website or by clicking the “Home” button. Another tool is the Formulary that lets users input data into a formula, and the website will calculate the answer based on the given variables.

Stopwatches & Timers

Online-Stopwatch
This tool is a web-based stopwatch teachers can use for timed exams and other assignments. The stopwatch can be increased in size to full-screen and can be set to count up or down.

Online Stopwatch – with lap times, sound alerts & results export
Online Stopwatch, with start alerts, lap times and sounds. Save details of your timings in a text file.

Online Timer with Alarm
Create your timers with optional alarms and start/pause/stop them simultaneously or sequentially. They are perfect for everyday activities such as taking quizzes, giving speeches, or timing experiments. There is also an option to add additional timers.

Reference Materials

AAAS Project 2061 Science Assessment
Science Assessment (Bank of multiple choice test items)
Grades 6 – 12. The items are different from most multiple choice science test items in that they assess students’ conceptual understanding, not just facts and definitions; test for common misconceptions and alternative ideas students have along with their correct ideas: and are precisely aligned to the science ideas they are intended to test. The test questions and explanations are an excellent resource for science teachers.

Ambitious Science Teaching
Grades K – 16. Great teaching can be learned. This web site provides a vision of ambitious science instruction for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms. Ambitious teaching deliberately aims to support students of all backgrounds to deeply understand science ideas, participate in the activities of the discipline, and solve authentic problems. Ambitious Science Teaching feature 4 core sets of teaching practices that support these goals. These core sets make up the Ambitious Science Teaching Framework. The framework has been based on classroom research from the past 30 years—research that has asked, “What kinds of talk, tasks, and tools do students need in order to fully engage in meaningful forms of science learning?”

Ask Dr. Universe
Grades K – 8. Dr. Wendy Sue Universe is a very smart cat who investigates tough questions from curious elementary and middle school students. Based out of Washington State University, Dr. Universe teams up with professors, researchers, and experts in the field, to tackle big questions like: What is fire? Why does soda fizz? Why is the ocean salty? Why is liquid nitrogen so cold? Parents and educators can help children submit questions to Dr. Universe. She gets a lot of questions and does her best to answer as many as possible via e-mail. She posts one big question each week on the website and sends it out in the Cat Mail e-newsletter.

Discus
Grades PreK – 12. Discus – South Carolina’s Virtual Library is the “information place” for all South Carolinians. Discus, which stands for Digital Information for South Carolina Users, provides free access to an electronic library that’s available 24/7. Discus is a collection of subscription databases with an array of resources ranging from books and magazines to maps and videos. This collection of databases provides high-quality publications in an easy to navigate format for students and teachers alike. Discus allows students to safely search for up-to-date information without sifting through advertisements and non-educational results found in search engines such as Google. In-depth information about accessing Dicus is on the Discus website.

Encyclopedia Britannica
Grades K – 12. Online encyclopedia – this is the full-size encyclopedia—not an edited/reduced edition! 

Excel Easy
Grades 4 – 16+. If you're an Excel beginner, this is a good place to start. You can use Excel to enter all sorts of data and perform financial, mathematical, or statistical calculations and is a great tool for organizing data and lists. This free site is not only well organized and user friendly, it also offers a free tutorial on how to use Excel and includes an overview of all chapters and over 300 examples.

Fact Monster
Grades K – 8. From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, Fact Monster has the info kids are seeking. The site is COPPA and kidSAFE-certified, so you can rest assured it's a safe place for kids to grow and explore. 

Family-friendly Guides to South Carolina Academic Standards
Grades K – 8. The information on this site can help you become familiar with what your child is learning at school and it includes activities to reinforce and support your child's learning, selected book titles for additional reading, and Web site addresses for extended learning. Peruse the academic standards for each grade level by clicking on the corresponding icons at the top of this webpage.

Field Guide to the Southern Piedmont
Grades K – 12. The Field Guide to the Southern Piedmont is an identification guide to more than 700 common or distinctive organisms living in the region. The field guide e-book is available to download to a digital device by clicking on the cover page below. It was designed for use on a tablet, but it will work on any electronic device. For optimal performance, download the PDF and open it within an e-book app on your tablet or smart phone, or save it to your computer. Once downloaded, the field guide will be accessible for use anywhere, regardless of internet connection.

Frontiers for Young Minds: Scientific Articles
Grades 3 – 9. This open-access journal features scientific research summarized in kid-friendly language. The journal editors work with 8-15 year olds, aided by a Science Mentor, to review the articles to make sure the information presented is clear for young readers. Each article also includes a glossary of key terms. Topics include astronomy, biodiversity, earth science, health science, neuroscience, and math. Each article even links back to the abstract of the original scientific paper. This is a great way to introduce young students to real-world, cutting-edge research.

Google Scholar
Grades 9 – 16. A popular web search engine that links the entire content of scholarly material to a large publishing format and disciplines. It contains aggregate peer-reviewed academic journals, books, dissertations, theses, conference papers, technical reports, patents, and court opinions. Hence, they use Google Scholar as their primary source of reference. In addition, they can access the digital or physical copies of the journals.

iNaturalist: Connect with Nature
Grades 3 – 16. Biology. A social network for sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature. The primary goal is to connect people to nature, and the secondary goal is to generate scientifically valuable biodiversity data from these personal encounters. iNaturalist helps you identify plants and animals with visually similar suggestions and verification by dedicated contributors. Get connected with a community of over a million scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! By recording and sharing your observations, you'll create research-quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature.

I nfoplease: An Online Encyclopedia
Grades 1 – 12. A reference and learning site, combining the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas and several almanacs loaded with statistics, facts, and historical records. The editors regularly update and refine this enormous body of information—as well as adding new discoveries and identifying trends—to bring you reliable and authoritative information. 

LROC Lunar QuickMap
Grades 3 – 12. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a robotic spacecraft, is orbiting the Moon at an altitude of 50-200 km. LRO's primary objective is to make fundamental scientific discoveries about the Moon. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC, is a system of three cameras mounted on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) that capture high resolution black and white images and moderate resolution multi-spectral images of the lunar surface.

NSTA – Safety for Hands-On Science Home Instruction
Grades K – 12. Safety considerations for students conducting science experiments at home. Information for teachers & parents. Includes example safety acknowledgement forms that can be adapted. 

NSTA: The Integral Role of Laboratory Investigations in Science Instruction
Grades K – 16. NSTA document on the importance of laboratory investigations in science education for grades K - 16 students. The document also includes recommendations for integration of labs at different grade band levels, class sizes, support for teachers, support for science labs, assessments and additional resources.

Next Generation Science Standards
Grades K – 12. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provides information on the Next Generation Science Standards. Within the site is the Next Generation Science Resource Library which includes information for districts and parents, tools to evaluate lesson and instructional materials, and sample bundles for unit design.

Next Generation Science Storylines
Grades K – 12. This site contains sample storylines demonstrating sense-making of a phenomenon. The tools used in the development of storylines are provided so that teachers may begin developing their own units following a storyline.

NGSS @ NSTA: STEM Starts Here
Grades K – 12. NSTA site for resources specifically related to the NGSS. Educators may find vetted sample lessons, tools for planning curriculum and professional learning opportunities.

OpenStax
Grades 9 – 16. OpenStax publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed college textbooks that are free online and low cost in print. 

Periodic Table of Nottingham
Grades 1 – 12. Chemistry. Interactive Periodic Table of Elements: Click on the element in the periodic table and view information about the element, interesting facts, and a video of the element! 

Phenomena for NGSS
Grades K – 16. Phenomena for NGSS provides sample phenomena that teachers could use to create student engagement in the sciences.

Phenomenal GRC Lessons
Grades K – 12. This site contains a collection of vetted, three-dimensional lessons for all grade levels as well as tools for developing your own three-dimensional lessons using a phenomenon. These lessons are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards and state standards developed from the Framework for K-12 Science Education. The lessons were developed by teachers across districts and states utilizing local phenomena.

ResearchGate
Grades 9 – 16. A professional network for scientists and researchers. Over 17 million members from all over the world use it to share, discover, and discuss research. ResearchGate enables users to share their publications, access millions more, and publish your data; connect and collaborate with colleagues, peers, co-authors, and specialists; get stats and find out who's been reading and citing your work; ask questions, get answers, and solve research problems; find the right job using our research-focused job board; and share updates about your current project, and keep up with the latest research.

Flinn: Safety References
Grades K – 16. Flinn Scientific provides numerous safety references from Safety Data Sheets, safety courses and safety demonstrations -- all resources to help keep your academic lab safe.

  • Animals : Peruse Flinn Scientific's animal safety information and frequently asked questions.
  • Flinn Safety Course : Flinn Scientific is committed to the safety of you and your students while in your academic lab. There are more than 150 possible resources to help reinforce this crucial element to your students.
  • Microbiology : Proper cleanup of microbiological spills and its disposal are critical to maintain the safety in your academic lab. Study the tips and how-tos that Flinn Scientific has compiled for you instruct your students in this crucial element of lab safety.
  • Safety Contracts & Exams : Safety Contracts and exams for Middle School, High School and Higher Education. Spanish Language contracts and exams are also available for download.
  • Safety Demonstrations : Need to impress upon your students for the need of safety? Review the safety demonstrations that Flinn Scientific has developed to help you teach this critical factor to your students.
  • Safety FAQ : Answers to those basic questions that every science teacher needs to know.
  • Safety Reference Articles : Flinn Scientific has developed numerous safety reference articles for you to access. Topics vary from general laboratory safety, chemical safety, and eye and eyewear safety.
  • SDS: Flinn Safety Data Sheets (SDS) contain valuable information about potential chemical hazards, chemical composition, proper storage and handling, recommended disposal and personal protection information.
  • Student Lab Activities : Use these videos and reference materials to teach or reinforce lab safety to your students.

Science News for Students
Grades 4 – 9. An award-winning publication on research across the breadth of science, health and technology fields. It aims to bring these new developments to a younger audience. Published daily, Science News for Students posts both shorter news stories and longer features, all written with a vocabulary and sentence structure aimed at readers 9 to 14 years old. The breadth of technical subjects and tone attracts many advanced readers as well. The stories highlight ongoing research in fields ranging from astronomy to zoology. Stories are reported by experienced science journalists, many with PhDs in the fields on which they write. To help teachers, parents and other educators, each story includes further readings, citations to the original research on which the stories are based, glossary terms and a readability score that ensures the text is accessible to teens and tweens. Longer features also have extra materials to aid in classroom use. In addition, Science News for Students publishes other features that show students, teachers and parents how science really works, what scientists do, what goes into conducting first-class research and science projects and how anyone can get involved in doing science.

Scholarpedia
Grades 6 – 12. A peer-reviewed, open-access encyclopedia written and maintained by scholarly experts from around the world. Scholarpedia provides in-depth scholarly treatment of topics within the field of science, including mathematics; and physical, biological, behavioral, and social sciences.

Science Journal for Kids and Teens: Scientific Articles
Grades 6 – 12. This open-access resource features scientific research translated in kid-friendly language, with a glossary of key terms and citations to primary research papers. Editors adapt selected papers and send the drafts to be approved by the authors of the original research. Unlike some other articles geared towards students, this publication provides opportunities for data analysis by including easily interpretable graphs. Most articles are geared towards middle and high school and are centered around biology themes, but the database is searchable by reading level, scientific field, and even type of scientific figure or technique. Each article features several questions to check understanding and teacher keys are available by registering with a school email address.

Shmoop Science
Grades 6 – 12. Free learning guides, online courses, college readiness prep, and test prep balance a teen-friendly, approachable style with academically rigorous materials. 

Understanding Science: How Science Really Works
Grades K – 16. An outstanding resource that accurately communicates what science is and how it really works — and that helps K-16 teachers reinforce the nature and process of science throughout their science teaching. Understanding Science provides a variety of resources at different levels for students, teachers, and the general public. Take the site tour for an overview of the many available resources.

Wikiversity
Grades K – 16. A platform for asking questions or fact-finding on a particular subject through their learning communities. Furthermore, the educational tools and activity outcomes from these communities are open to the public. They are presented as tutorials for easy comprehension. Students are welcome to join and throw in questions about their projects. Community members can intervene and provide information or additional resources.

Webcams

Africam
Grades PreK – 16. Biology. Africam.com’s primary purpose is to showcase Africa’s wildlife live and generate conservation awareness amongst our community to as wide an audience as possible. Currently, our viewers originate from 200 countries.

Animal Live Cams
Grades PreK – 16. Biology. The animal live cams located at San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, includes hippos, platypus, baboons, penguins, polar bears, apes, tigers, elephants, giraffes, burrowing owls, koalas, and condors.

Animal Webcams

  • Live Penguin Cams : Biology. Watch African penguins swim, flirt, and nest on three live webcams. Fact-filled feeding demonstrations at 10:30 am and 3 pm daily. Keep an eye out for new chick Stanlee!
  • Reef Lagoon Cam : Biology. Be mesmerized by a variety of graceful ray species and shimmering schools of tropical fish swimming across your screen.
  • Philippine Coral Reef Cam : Biology. The world's deepest living indoor coral reef. Get front row seats to a live dive show at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm daily.

The CornellLab: All About Birds
Grades K – 16. Biology. Bird Cams provides a virtual window into the natural world of birds. The live cams are located in Bermuda, various states in the United States, Panama, New Zealand, and Canada.

National Park Service: Watching Wildlife
Grades K – 16. Biology. Did you know that you can see what’s happening live at parks without leaving your home? Webcams allow you to get up close to wildlife without disturbing them. Browse hundreds of webcams throughout the National Park Service. You may catch a glimpse of wildlife!

USGS Webcams
Grades K – 16. Earth Science. The USGS maintains a variety of webcams across the U.S. These webcams provide valuable research information and data to USGS scientists, the National Weather Service, emergency managers, and area residents to evaluate real-time conditions during natural hazard events (most webcams refresh every 5 - 20 minutes).