Social Sciences Gateways and Resources

The Social Sciences Gateways and Resources collection is comprised of web portals, web sites, and individual digital resources devoted to the interplay of science and the social realm, as well as social-science materials that draw heavily upon or are closely related to the life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, and/or technology: for example, archaeology, physical anthropology, economics, human geography, linguistics, and psychology. Here may be found materials for educators and learners (early childhood through graduate school), resources intended for the general public, and materials aimed at research communities at the nexus of the social, physical, and life sciences.

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Search Results (19)

American Museum of Natural History: Science Bulletins

American Museum of Natural History: Science Bulletins

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These online bulletins, produced by the American Museum of Natural History, present the latest information about the natural world: developments in astronomy and astrophysics, Earth science, biology, ecology, and the environment, and medical and anthropological research. The Bulletins include feature stories, presented via videos, animated visualizations, and "snapshots"--interactive slide shows on scientific news topics. The site includes an educators' guide that offers suggestions on how to incorporate Science Bulletins into the classroom in alignment with National Science Education Standards. The Bulletins homepage features the most current stories and provides access to an archive of previous stories, organized by topic and type.

Subject:: Life Science; Geoscience; Physics; Space Science
Material Type:: Diagram/Illustration; Interactive; Lesson Plan
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: General Science and STEM Gateways and Resources; Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/03/2014

Centre for Science and Environment

Centre for Science and Environment

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The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a public-interest research and advocacy organization based in New Delhi, India. CSE promotes environmentally sound and equitable development strategies, with an emphasis on Indian environmental issues. The CSE web site includes pages on CSE initiatives: education and training programs, pollution monitoring, research and advocacy, and dissemination of information on a variety of issues, including air and water pollution, automobiles, diesel-powered vehicles and equipment, industry and mining, rainwater harvesting, conservation, and many others.

Subject:: Life Science; Ecology; Forestry and Agriculture; Geoscience
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 01/16/2005

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Curriculet

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Curriculet is a dynamic eReading web browser-based platform for schools that allows teachers to place a layer of questions, quizzes and rich media on top of books they teach. Teachers can deliver customized, Common Core aligned learning and digitally create and share their curriculum and lesson materials. Public domain books are available for free, though the company has also partnered with publishers to provide new titles at a low monthly subscription cost.

Material Type:: Assessment; Lesson Plan; Reading; Textbook
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Author:: Curriculet
Date Added:: 05/15/2014

Digital Archive Network for Anthropology and World Heritage

Digital Archive Network for Anthropology and World Heritage

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The Digital Archive Network for Anthropology and World Heritage (DANA-WH) is network of a interoperable databases housed at multiple institutions, providing access to and preservation of human cultural heritage materials. The network contains an array of textual, metric, and visual information about human heritage objects, including textual descriptions and metric and nonmetric attribute information about each object, two-dimensional images of artifacts, and three-dimensional models of artifacts that can be manipulated in virtual reality. Currently included in DANA-WH are databases of Samoan and Fijian artifacts from North Dakota State University; Samoan stone adzes from the Bishop Museum, Honolulu; artifacts of the Native American Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes from the State Historical Society of North Dakota; archaic projectile points and other Northern Plains lithic artifacts from the Minnesota State University at Moorhead; and pottery from HNB Garhwal University, Srinigar, India. DANA-WH is currently limited to these archaeological collections; collections in biological anthropology, ethnography, and linguistics are in development or planned but not yet implemented.

Material Type:: Data Set; Diagram/Illustration; Interactive
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/07/2014

The Exploratorium Museum

The Exploratorium Museum

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The Exploratorium's mission is to create a culture of learning through innovative environments, programs, and tools that help people nurture their curiosity about the world around them. As part of this mission, the museum has developed an extensive website with many on-line activities and exhibits, many of which include interactive online versions of activities and exhibits found in the museum. The site hosts topics such as Antarctica, astronomy and the Hubble Space Telescope, the science of sports, and mathematics exploration. On-line exhibits include Remembering Nagasaki, the Panama Pacific International Exhibition, and Mathematica. The Learning Studio offers activities, ideas, and resources for educators. Live webcasts and a science project resource page are also featured.

Food Timeline

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The Food Timeline was created as an independent research project on food history and period recipes. The timeline begins before 17,000 B.C. with gatherable foods (shellfish, eggs, mushrooms) and chronicles the appearance of cultivated plants, domesticated food animals, and commercial food products up to the present day. Each type of food is represented by a link to additional information on it, and there are also links to period recipes appearing in chronological order on the timeline.

Subject:: Education; History, Law, Politics; Life Science; Ecology; Forestry and Agriculture
Provider:: Internet Scout Project; NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Internet Scout Project; Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Author:: Lynne Olver, Chief Librarian, Morris County Library (NJ)
Date Added:: 11/07/2014

Hall of Illusions

Hall of Illusions

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This collection of optical and sensory illusions provides interactive demonstrations, accompanied by scientific explanations of the phenomena being shown and histories of the illusions. The illusions are organized by type: impossible figures and objects, ambiguity, distortion, camouflage, afterimages, color and shadow illusions, and many others.

Subject:: Life Science
Material Type:: Diagram/Illustration; Interactive
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Author:: Al Seckel, IllusionWorks, L.L.C.
Date Added:: 11/07/2014

Museum of Science, Boston: Virtual Exhibits

Museum of Science, Boston: Virtual Exhibits

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This collection of online exhibits introduces users to a variety of science topics, including the history, methods, and fundamental ideas behind the science of astronomy; how ice-core samples taken in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet reveal human impacts on climate over the past 200 years; and how scanning electron microscopes can extend our powers of observation beyond things that are too fast, too small, too far away, or simply invisible to the naked eye. There are also exhibits on the world's oceans, the scientific discoveries of Leonardo da Vinci, and modern archaeological methods.

Subject:: History, Law, Politics
Material Type:: Diagram/Illustration; Interactive; Lecture Notes
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: General Science and STEM Gateways and Resources; History of Science and Technology Gateways and Resources; Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/03/2014

NOVA Online

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Web site of the PBS television program NOVA. Site materials include synopses of recent and upcoming episodes, slide shows, and interactive features from recent broadcasts. There is a page especially for teachers and an extensive archive of previous broadca, organized by topic: anthropology, disasters, Earth, exploration, flight, health, history, "investigations," nature, physics and math, space, and technology.

Subject:: Education
Material Type:: Diagram/Illustration; Interactive
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: General Science and STEM Gateways and Resources; Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/03/2014

National Geographic Xpeditions

National Geographic Xpeditions

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This collection of educational resources includes lesson plans, activities, maps, and related resources that are aligned to the U.S. National Geography Standards. The lesson plans and activities are organized by grade level and standard(s) addressed. There is also a map gallery, featuring hundreds of maps in downloadable, printable formats. These include maps of the world, continents, and selected regions, with links to lesson plans that use them and links to related resources about mapmaking and cartography.

Subject:: Geoscience
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Diagram/Illustration; Interactive; Lesson Plan
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/07/2014

Native American Case Studies

Native American Case Studies

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The Native American Case Studies collection includes more than 80 original, research-based teaching cases focusing on contemporary issues in Indian Country. Teaching notes accompany each case. These can be downloaded and used at no cost. Additional website resources include information on teaching with cases and assessment. Guidelines for submitting cases are also available.

Subject:: Education; Life Science; Chemistry; Geoscience
Material Type:: Case Study; Lesson Plan
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Author:: Grays Harbor College; Northwest Indian College; Salish Kootenai College; The Evergreen State College
Date Added:: 11/07/2014

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

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The mission of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles is to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds. The Museum has three floors of exhibits, featuring the worldŰŞs largest collection of natural gold in the Hall of Gems and Minerals, a dueling T. rex and Triceratops in the Dinosaur Hall, an insect zoo, Discovery Center hands-on activity world, as well as an exhibit featuring the worldŰŞs rarest sharks. Programs include Winter Adventures in Nature offering children Pre-K through grade 8 the opportunity to explore a wide variety of museum topics about Earth's features, creatures and cultures from around the globe. There are classes available for children Pre-K through eighth grade on a wide variety of topics, and a Critter Club for ages three through five. There are group overnight adventures, and Family Fun Days featuring a special theme, from Dinosaurs to Dogs to Spooky Stuff. Interplay is the MuseumŰŞs web-based forum that brings the museum experience to life by providing a space for the exchange of ideas, inviting teachers, artists, thinkers, and the community to participate and contribute their thoughts and impressions of special exhibits.

Subject:: History, Law, Politics; Life Science; Ecology; Forestry and Agriculture; Chemistry; Geoscience; Physics; Space Science
Material Type:: Diagram/Illustration; Interactive; Lesson Plan
Provider:: NSDL Staff; UCAR; UCAR Staff
Provider Set:: General Science and STEM Gateways and Resources; Social Sciences Gateways and Resources; Earth System Science Informal Education Network (ESSIEN)
Date Added:: 11/02/2014

Noba Psychology Collection

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Noba Psychology Collection

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Noba is an online tool that allows teachers to create their own free psychology textbooks by using provided content. Noba consists of nearly 90 short (2500-4000 word) chapters authored by leading instructors and researchers including 7 winners of the William James Award. Chapters are organized in familiar categories (Development, Learning & Memory, Personality, etc.) for easy reference. All Noba materials are licensed through Creative Commons under the CC BY-NA-SA license terms.

Subject:: Education; Life Science
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 04/03/2014

Conditions of Use:

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OLogy

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OLogy is a science web site for kids ages 7 through 12, created by the American Museum of Natural History. It is based on the premise that "everyone wants to know something," and is designed as a place for kids to explore, ask questions, get answers, meet OLogists, play games, and see what other kids are interested in. With age-appropriate content in archaeology, astronomy, biodiversity, earth science, genetics, marine biology, paleontology, and physical science, OLogy makes science learning rich and engaging. A "For Educators" section of the site provides an After-School Educator's Guide to Ology with suggestions and tips on how to use the OLogy web site, as well as an index to sort by grade, title, resource type, and topic.

Subject:: History, Law, Politics; Life Science; Geoscience; Space Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Diagram/Illustration; Game; Interactive; Lesson Plan
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: General Science and STEM Gateways and Resources; Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/03/2014

PBS Teachers

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The PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) Teachers web site provides access to thousands of lesson plans, teaching activities, videos, and interactive games and simulations for all levels of instruction, Pre-K to 12. These resources are correlated to state, national, and Canadian educational standards and are tied to PBS' on-air and online programming (NOVA, Nature, and others). They are organized by topic (math, science and technology, social studies, and others). Within each topic area the resources are searchable by grade level and subtopic. Other materials include links to blogs on educational topics, news articles and event announcements, a frequently-asked-questions feature, and information on PBS' professional development program, Teacherline.

Subject:: Education; Mathematics; Geoscience
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Diagram/Illustration; Interactive; Lesson Plan
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: General Science and STEM Gateways and Resources; Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/07/2002

Science: News

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This online news digest features daily news from ScienceNOW and weekly news articles and features from Science magazine. The site provides free access to daily news articles less than four weeks old; accessing other news content requires a membership or subscription. Articles are searchable by keyword or term. Users may also register for email news alerts and RSS feeds.

Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/07/2014

Sheppard Software: Learning Games

Sheppard Software: Learning Games

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This collection of games, puzzles, and quizzes helps students learn world and U.S. geography, vocabulary, and trivia. There are also games for chemistry and math, and quizzes on animals, health, astronomy, and puzzles on endangered animals.

Subject:: Life Science; Mathematics; Geoscience
Material Type:: Game; Interactive
Provider:: NSDL Staff
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Date Added:: 11/07/2014

Written in Bone: The Secret in the Cellar

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Written in Bone: The Secret in the Cellar

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Forensic scientists are recovering buried clues of the lives of early colonists and discovering the stories written in their bones. Using graphics, photos, and online activities, this Webcomic unravels a mystery of historical and scientific importance about the life of a recently discovered 17th century human body along the James River on the Chesapeake Bay. Students can analyze artifacts and examine the skeleton for the tell-tale forensic clues that bring the deceased to life and establish the cause of death. Teacher resources are included. Note: Turn off pop-up blocker to successfully experience all site features.

Subject:: History, Law, Politics
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Game; Interactive; Lecture; Lesson Plan
Provider:: NSDL Staff; Smithsonian Institution
Provider Set:: Social Sciences Gateways and Resources; Individual Authors
Date Added:: 08/10/2011

eSkeletons

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This interactive site allows participants to learn about skeletal anatomy by viewing the bones of a human, chimpanzee, and baboon. The Comparative Anatomy section enables users to make direct comparisons of bones. The material is appropriate for science teacher education as it illustrates how careful observation leads one to wonder about the dizzying beauty of a planet that works by bringing us one different creature after another.

Subject:: Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Diagram/Illustration; Interactive
Provider:: NSDL Staff; University of Texas at Austin
Provider Set:: Biological Sciences Gateways and Resources; Social Sciences Gateways and Resources
Author:: Dr. John Kappelman; University of Texas at Austin
Date Added:: 07/12/2014