5th Grade through Middle School

Science Mystery

Use logic and problem solving skills to solve mysteries around the world and in space too. From the River of Venom, to Two Forks, Idaho, to The Blackout Syndrome (a medical mystery), to the Angry Red Planet, these fun scenarios involve inductive and deductive reasoning, and let you even go to Mars! From freelance writer and game designer Ken Eklund, www.writerguy.com.

Virtual Science Museum Exhibits

Explore the virtual exhibits at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts. Space, the ocean, microscopic worlds, secrets of the ice, and ancient Egypt are just a few of the exhibits to explore.

Time Engineers

This website suggests you are a student who comes across a Time Engineers binder about a time-travel machine built to document the history of engineering. A catapult simulation covers Algebra (linear expressions), Physical Science and Technology (forces and motion, pulleys, gears) and History (Middle Ages). From Software Kids.

Dragon Genetics

This activity on the BioLogica website explores the relationship between genotype and phenotype, using both sex-linked and autosomal dominant and recessive traits. By manipulating alleles (genotype), you create corresponding changes in the dragon's physical appearance (phenotype). The development of BioLogica was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to the Concord Consortium.

MEDtropolis - Virtual Body

Narrated in English or Spanish, tour the heart, skeleton, digestive system, or brain. Learn why you get goosebumps, zoom in for an inside-out look at your digestive tract, check out the animated heart, and build a skeleton.

The Atoms Family

Learn about energy conservation, kinetic, and potential energy, principles of atoms and matter, properties of light, waves and particles, fuel conservation and energy transfer, and different forms of electricity and electrical safety in this fun take-off on The Addams Family. Includes activities. From the Miami Museum of Science.

BBC Virtual Eco-Sphere

In this do-it-yourself science website, you can create an eco-sphere (a world in miniature) without getting your hands dirty. It is a simulation that uses real data from university experiments. You can learn all the science behind the virtual eco-sphere, biomass, photosynthesis and more. This site is from the BBC.

Quicksilver, Washington

This interactive activity encourages students to solve an environmental mystery involving a toxic spill. Quicksilver, Washington was founded over a century ago by miners looking for gold. The abandoned mine may have polluted the lake - your job is to determine what needs to be done. From the Integrated Environmental Health Sciences MS Project and the Community Outreach and Education Program at the NIEHS Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health. (Slow loading, but pretty cool.)

SCI: Skin Cancer Investigation

This is an introduction to the basic structure of the skin, information about how the skin protects us, and some information on how to care for the skin. You will also find an activity focused on the science behind skin cancer. Students will join the Skin Cancer Investigation team and learn about the sun's harmful effects on healthy skin and how to identify the three types of skin cancer. From Science Net Links, AAAS & Neutrogena.

Science News for Kids

Science News for Kids is a web site devoted to science news for children ages 9 to 14. Check out the Weekly Science Scoop, and Science Snapshots. It offers weekly stories, hands-on activities, books, articles, and teacher materials. Choose from plenty of different links to check out - PuzzleZone, GameZone, SciFiZone, SciFairZone, LabZone, and TeacherZone. This site has been brought to you by Society for Science & the Public.

Cells Alive

Check out cool cell simulations, watch videos, and look at pictures of cells in the CELLS alive Gallery. Try the cell interactive models to learn all the parts of cells in certain parts of nature and animals. This site has been brought to you by Quill Graphics.

Physical Anthropology

Welcome to the Mystery of the Bones Exploration.In this exploration, you will learn how to determine sex based on skull characteristics and height based on femur length. What else can you learn by examining skeletal remains? This site has been brought to you by digNubia.

Explorations

Play the Global Positioning Game; find out where the GPS system is located and how far away the satellites are from the actual GPS. This site has been brought to you by digNubia.

The PCR Method - A DNA Copying Machine

Choose from tons of different games, watch short lectures and learn about the Nobel prize. This site has been brought to you by the Nobel Foundation.

Interactives - The Periodic Table

You've just read about the composition of atoms - protons, neutrons, and electrons. The number of protons determines what kind of element the atom is, the neutrons determine if the atom is an isotope, and the electrons tell you if the atom is an ion or not. Let's see how well you've absorbed these ideas. From Annenberg Media Learner.

Elemental Matching Game

The site will give you a list of chemical symbols and a list of chemical names. Choose the chemical name that each chemical symbol represents. Press the 'Check my answers!' button after you have made your choices. Brought to you by Jefferson Lab, "Exploring the Nature of Matter".

Avogadro's Element Hunt

Help Avogadro find chemical elements in his house. Move your mouse over objects in a room to see what needs a match. Then click an element on the left side and drag it over to the item. Use "Hints" if you need help. While an element may be in more than one room, each element needs only ONE match. Move between the 3 rooms using the arrows at the top, but you'll have to hurry…you only have 3 minutes! You can roll over Avogadro for help while playing. From the American Chemical Society.

Chemistry Games!

These eight online games teach you the chemical elements, periodic table, and more. Just click to play and learn! The Chemistry Games site is brought to you by Sheppard Software.

Medical Mysteries on the Web

As you enter a futuristic world, you will help solve medical mysteries in infectious diseases. Online games, or missions, called Medical Mysteries, are designed for middle school science students. Developed at the Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning, based at Rice University in Houston, this site aims to present information about infectious diseases in an engaging way.

Oil Refining

A Closer Look for middle school students. Energy is a hot topic these days. Understand more about the science involved. Science NetLinks has developed a new interactive for students to explore how and why oil is transformed into energy and all its usable forms. Get introduced to the history of petroleum and the chemistry of how it is refined from crude oil to everything from the gas in your car to the road you drive it on. This site has been brought to you by Science Net Links.

The Geee! in Genome

Make a clone, give a baby curly hair, mutate your name, perform DNA tests or build a protein. This site is full of online games! Genes, DNA, genomes, stem cells . . . find out what genomics means to you. This site is brought to you by the Canadian Museum of Nature.

BAM!

Body and Mind. Diseases - Learn how scientists track em' and how you can stop em'. Food and Nutrition - Separate food fact from food fiction to look good and feel fabulous. Physical Activity - inspiration and information to get you movin'! Your Safety - From the pool to the park, you gotta stay safe to stay in the game. Your Life - Got stress, conflict and other pressures? These ideas and tools can help! Your Body - It's the right place for good advice on health and your body. Don't hesitate, there is so much to learn. This site has been brought to you by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thinking Fountain

Lots of experiments to try, including growing your own mold, a section called "My Mind Map: From Bread to Fungus Farmers", fun facts about things like the "Banana Pusher" toucan, and how to use a mylar balloon to demonstrate that warm air rises. By the Science Museum of Minnesota, this site has interesting facts, experiments, and more.

The Einstein Project