Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The US Centennial of Flight Commission has prepared an extensive look at the Wright Brothers and their efforts to build a successful aircraft. This section of a larger site offers details on the journals, the specifications, and the reconstruction of the original Wright flyer. History and physics teachers alike will enjoy this one.

tag(s): air (102), aviation (40), north carolina (4), wright brothers (16)

This news page from IAEA's web site includes both background and current information on the agencies efforts in Iraq and North Korea, as well as information on other activities designed to halt the destructive proliferation of nuclear capabilities.

tag(s): energy (133), united nations (6)

From an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, this site offers an introduction to Einstein's work that mere mortals can understand. Einstein set the world of physics and cosmology on its head by showing that forces like time and gravity are variable, not constant. The implications of these discoveries let to the creation of entirely new sciences. There is much to learn here.

tag(s): scientists (67)

Written for adults, this introduction to GPS from Trimble (a GPS manufacturer) explains GPS in more detail than many grownups can swallow. The animations will interest students, and physics teachers will no doubt find ways to translate the information in ways their students can grasp. The explanation itself is a great "problem solving" example. Lots of info here, but some demos use Flash.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): tutorials (52)

Though this page is no longer updated, you can still find many activities to support your robotics unit. The BBC Science page on robots offers still another approach to the topic, along with its own collection of robotics kits and materials. We're unsure how accessible these might be in the US; perhaps our UK users will let us know more. There's plenty to learn here, nonetheless. Though the page is no longer updated, it is fully functional.

tag(s): robotics (24)

NASA's page on its robotics education activities offers links to ongoing, real-time projects, robotics news updates, and listings of robotics activities and competitions. Robotics is becoming hugely popular in many schools, so the pool of resources gets deeper daily. Jump into this one!

tag(s): robotics (24)

Here's one worth waiting for! This interactive roller coaster page uses a java applet that lets students adjust the layout of a roller coaster, as well as the forces for gravity, friction, etc. to see how the roller coaster behaves under different circumstances. The measurements are all relative, of course, but the interrelationships are all there, and students can readily draw conclusions about how all these forces are interrelated. Truly neat.

tag(s): friction (9), gravity (43)

The Exploratorium introduces all the scientific and mechanical principles that go into today's bicycle. This is a great site for those studying simple machines, and its content also goes well into other mechanical topics. The video clips are nice, but in no way essential to the presentation.

tag(s): machines (17), simple machines (19), transportation (30)

This Australian site offers a collection of quality science experiments, some fairly simple, others more complex, all clearly presented. The activities include explanations of scientific principles and are grouped by subject matter. A great site for sparking a student's interest in the world of science.

tag(s): experiments (55)

This is an extensive collection of multi-media physics lessons that are both instructional and entertaining. These lessons cover a wide range of topics using Flash and (optionally) short Quicktime movies. There are lots of instructional possibilities here.

tag(s): experiments (55), gravity (43)

Here's a science project that actually works. This site includes complete instructions for building a pinhole camera that students can use to take "real" pictures that can be surprisingly good. The required materials are easy to find, and this one can be both fun and educational.

tag(s): light (56), optics (11)

This site contains lesson plans and teacher guides from the past six seasons of the Newton's Apple PBS series. A good source for ideas, experiments, and follow-up sources.

tag(s): experiments (55), gravity (43), newton (21)

This is a collection of science and math lessons and web resources ranging from how the Internet works to nanoscience, engineering, biology, and principles of physics and chemistry. The content is predictably detailed, "real science" based on topics and phenomena that will interest students. These are the best of the best lessons and resources with applicability to lots of settings.

tag(s): antarctica (30), arctic (40), biomes (110), chemicals (41), computers (109), cultures (180), earth (184), engineering (129), environment (252), fractions (160), geometric shapes (135), numbers (120), origami (15), planets (113), robotics (24), space (222), symmetry (27)

One of a set of experiential lessons developed by the Concord Coalition for high school students.

tag(s): optics (11), time (91)

One of a set of experiential lessons developed by the Concord Coalition for high school students.

tag(s): heat (15), makerspace (40)

One of a set of experiential lessons developed by the Concord Coalition for Hands on Physics for high school students.

tag(s): design (79), makerspace (40), STEM (297)

One of a set of experiential lessons developed by the Concord Coalition for high school students.

tag(s): makerspace (40), STEM (297)

One of a set of experiential lessons developed by the Concord Coalition for high school students.

tag(s): engineering (129), makerspace (40)

This is the teacher's guide to the PBS "Building Big" series which describes the engineering methods required to create a variety of huge structures. The exercises and demonstrations let students try their hand at small models that demonstrate the same principles used for larger structures. Lots of "hands-on" stuff for different grade levels and topics. Well worth a visit.

tag(s): structures (18)

This rather long page has a list of puzzling demonstrations (many with simple materials) you can use to spark student interest and challenge their powers to explain what they observe. A great resource.

tag(s): forces (37), matter (46)