• Site Map
• NCW Home
• ACS Home

National Chemistry Week: Resources

October 19–25, 2003

Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond!

Weather: Electronic Resources

This is a collection of electronic resources (websites, software, etc.) covering Weather. See the Wild Weather section for information on storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. A separate collection of Print Resources is also available.

Key: E = Elementary (K–5), I = Intermediate (6–8), HS = High School (9–12), C = College, G = General Public

General | Wild Weather

BrainPOP. from BrainPOP, Inc. (E, I, HS)

BrainPOP is the leading producer of educational animated movies for K-12. Science movies include the atmosphere, weather, Mars plus many other topics. Webby Award Official Nominee 2003.

Changes in Weather (Video). Harvey Goodman. Freeport, NY: Educational Activities, 2000. ISBN 7925-4506-0 (I, HS)

This video portrays many of the situations that affect the weather as well as the scientists whose job it is to predict and warn. Scenes of violent and dangerous weather conditiosn will mesmerize students. Blizzards can mean a lot more than just a day off from school. Spectacular thunderstorms kill more people each year than tornadoes or hurricanes. Tornadoes and the violence they leave in theier wake are also portrayed with incredible video of the twister funnels that appear each spring in Tornado Alley. Winds as high as 300 mph are strong enough to toss aside railroad cars! The video has a strong emphasis on scientific process, with scenes of active scientific research. Weather forecasters use weather balloons, geosynchronous satellites, radar, aircraft and ocean buoys to provide important life-saving information. An extended lesson in reading weather maps at the end of the video helps students to appreciate how difficult it is for forecasters to make totally accurate predictions. Accompanying teacher strategies and activities will help middle school and high school students appreciate the challenges involved in predicting our changing weather. This video would make a good accompaniment to an Earth science unit on weather or careers in science.
Source: NSTA Recommends

DataStreme Junction. from American Meteorological Society. (E, I, HS)

This site contains information to promote the use of current environmental data across the K-12 curriculum. It includes U.S. and international weather as well as links to other educational sites.

Destination Earth: The Official Website for NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise. from U. S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (G)

Improving life here on planet Earth is foremost in NASA’s vision, and the larger purpose of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise. Using the vantage point of space, we gain an understanding of our home planet that we could never achieve were we bound to the Earth’s surface. From that perspective the Earth appears both complex and fragile; a complex, ever changing island that is the only known harbor of life in the solar system. We want to know how the Earth system is changing, and what are the consequences of life on Earth. Planet Earth is a dynamic system of continents, oceans, atmosphere, ice and life. Global-scale changes require global-scale observations and models, and many regional and local changes are only truly understood when seen in their global context. Programs of the Earth Science Enterprise use NASA’s research and technology to advance the interdisciplinary field of Earth System Science to help fulfill NASA’s mission to understand and protect our home planet.

Educational Sites for All Ages: Top Sites on the Web. from U.S. Department of Energy. Biology and Environmental Research Program. (E, I, HS)

This web page contains a list of top educational sites for all age groups on these topics: biology, chemistry, genome, global change, and weather. Also includes a section for Kids and another for teachers.

EXPLORES!. from Florida State University. (E, I, HS)

This web site is an educational outreach program designed to bring weather satellite receiving technology into the K-12 classroom. Content includes resources for the K-12 curriculum, real time high-resolution imagery, a discussion board, and real time tropical updates.

Frank Potter’s Science Gems — Earth Science II. (E, I, HS, C, G)

Contains links to earth science websites. Web pages are grouped by subject and by age group within each subject. Subjects covered include: Atmosphere & Weather, Land & Geology, Oceans & Dynamics; Water & its Effects, and Resources.

Great Web Sites for Kids: Weather and the Environment. from American Library Association, and Association for Library Service to Children. (E, I)

Part of Great Web Sites for Kids, each site contains a brief description, a recommended age level, as well as a direct link. Several criteria are used in choosing a site, including one that states it “must be meaningful and useful content that educates, informs, or entertains” — very much like its own site. [Scout Report]

Guide to the Science of the Atmosphere. (I, HS)

Offered by USAToday.com, this site contains dozens of well-designed and informative pages about weather. Topics include the sun, wind, storms, rains, floods, snow, tornadoes, and much more. Each page usually contains a description and a graphic or animation. [From Scout Report, May 2, 2002.]

Intellicast.com: Weather for Active Lives. (G)

This web site provides extensive specialized weather information to help plan all outdoor and weather sensitive activities, whether golfing, sailing, hiking, skiing or relaxing at the beach. Drawing on the meteorological knowledge of its staff, Intellicast.com now provides over 250,000 pages of detailed weather information.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). from U. S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (E, I, HS, C)

Managed by the California Institute of Technology, JPL is NASA’s lead center for robotic exploration of the solar system. JPL cameras and sensors are aboard satellites circling Earth to study the ozone, oceans and other Earth sciences. The section on the Earth contains images, multimedia, and missions plus information about air & ozone, solid Earth, oceans, natural hazards, and weather & climate. Younger viewers should check out the Kids section.

KidSpace: Math and Science. from the Internet Public Library. (E, I)

This web site is a starting point for Internet research. The Air & Space section allows students to Learn and read about things in the sky, from planets and stars to airplanes. The Earth Science section allows students to explore the earth and learn about volcanos, hurricanes, weather, or how to save the environment.

National Climatic Data Center. from U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (I, HS, C, G)

The world’s largest active archive of weather data, the NCDC has long served the Nation as a national resource for climate information. As climate knows no boundaries, NCDC works closely with scientists and researchers worldwide.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (I, HS, C, G)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducts research and gathers data about the global oceans, atmosphere, space, and sun, and applies this knowledge to science and service that touch the lives of all Americans. The National Weather Service is a part of NOAA.

One Sky, Many Voices. from University of Michigan. (E, I, HS)

The mission of the One Sky, Many Voices Project is to create innovative, inquiry-based K-12 weather curricula that utilize current technologies such as the web for the interactive study of current weather and air quality.

The Online Guides: Meteorology. from Dept. Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (I, HS, C, G)

This site contains a collection of web-based instructional modules that use multimedia technology and the dynamic capabilities of the web. Resources incorporate text, colorful diagrams, animations, computer simulations, audio and video to introduce fundamental concepts in the atmospheric sciences. Selected pages link to relevant classroom activities and current weather products to reinforce topics discussed in the modules and allow the user to apply what has been learned to real-time weather data.

PBS: Teacher Source. from Public Broadcasting Service.

Contains 4,000+ free lesson plans and activities. Use quick search feature to limit by age group and subject area (e.g. High School and Weather). Click on Search Options (upper right corner) to take advantage of more search options.

Science Learning Network (SLN). (E, I)

The SLN is an online community of educators, students, schools, science museums and other institutions demonstrating a new model for inquiry science education. The SLN has recently expanded to include international members. These new museums are collaborating with the six founding SLN museums to create new resources for the SLN website. SLN originated as a three-year, $6.5M project funded by the National Science Foundation and Unisys Corporation. The project incorporates inquiry-based teaching approaches, telecomputing, collaboration among geographically dispersed teachers and classrooms, and Internet/World Wide Web content resources.

Web Weather for Kids. (E, I)

Kids can learn about thunderstorms and tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and winter weather, clouds, weather safety, and much more. One of the highlights of the site is the interactive Weather ingredients activity that lets kids explore all of the major weather components. This includes an interactive activity that allows kids to see how molecules change their speed based on temperature. This fun and educational site does a good job of presenting potentially confusing subjects in an easy-to-understand format that is well suited for kids.
Source: NSDL Scout report for the physical sciences, v. 2, no. 10, May 16, 2003.

WINDandSEA: The Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Internet Locator. from U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (HS, C, G)

This locator was built in response to the many reference questions that are posed to the NOAA Library and is meant to make Internet searching more efficient for the NOAA community, the academic community, other government agencies concerned with oceanic and atmospheric issues, and the general public. Contains over 1,000 reviews and annotated links to science and policy sites, organized by topics.

General | Wild Weather

Australian Severe Weather. (E, I, HS, C, G)

Contains vast collection of images, maps and data on Australian weather, storm news and storm chasing, tropical cyclones, weather data, bush fires and wild fires, observation techniques, tornadoes, and video movies and stills. While younger viewers may not be able to read the text, the number and quality of images are captivating to everyone!

Lightning Detection From Space: A Lightning Primer. (I, HS, C, G)

This primer is a historical essay on lightning research that was prepared by the Global Hydrology and Climate Center Lightning Team. The primer describes the characteristics of lightning and provides information on recent activities in lightning research.

Planets & Storms (Video). Discovery Channel School. 2002. (I, HS)

This two-video set provides an interesting integration of weather and planetology for future-minded students. Students will be challenged to relate past and present weather on Earth to future explorations of Mars and Jupiter. These videos are a good teaching tool for instructors who want to go beyond the basics.
Source: NSTA Recommends

Warren Faidley’s Storm Chaser Home Page. (G)

Has media, commercial, editorial, and public storm chasing information. Top 5% of all Web Sites Award Winner. Includes great photographs!

Weather Watch Home Page. from Scholastic, Inc. (E, I)

Weather is wild with hurricanes, winter storms and tornadoes. Learn more about these events with their Weather Watch activities.

More resources

Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society