http://www.lander.edu/rsfox/310labindex.html

Developed by Richard Fox of Lander University, Invertebrate Zoology Online is a laboratory manual-developed for undergraduates and graduate students that "features original anatomical descriptions of 101 species that might be used in invertebrate zoology teaching or research laboratories in North America and elsewhere." The website contains detailed exercises for Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, and Mollusca -- just to name a few. The text includes great black and white diagrams with links to some color photographs as well. The site also contains a glossary, references, and a section for Supplies and Recipes. [NL]

http://www.pbs.org/edens/palau/index.htm

From PBS, this website explores the life and beauty of Palau, an archipelago of 343 islands in the tropical Pacific. The site's Aquatic Classroom section features a number of hands-on lessons developed primarily for middle school students and designed to accompany the PBS Palau, Paradise of the Pacific program. Lesson titles include Home Improvement: Building My Own Coral; Fast Food, the Fish Way; Reef; and Symbiosis: I'll Help You if You Help Me. Lesson plans contain objectives, background information, materials needed, evaluation, national science standards, and more. The site also features good-quality photos and brief profiles for Sea Cucumbers, Parrotfish, Jellyfish, and Sharks -- to name just a few. [NL]

http://depts.washington.edu/bonebio/ASBMRed/ASBMRed.html

Developed by the Education Committee of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), this Bone Curriculum website "is intended for use by students from high school to medical school." The website features sections on Bone Cells, Exercise and Nutrition, Hormones that Effect Bone, Collagen and Bone Matrix, and more. The brief text sections are interspersed with great images, diagrams, slide shows, and animations. The site also contains links for related websites, textbooks, and journals. [NL]

http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~dkramer/index.html

Dr. David W. Kramer of The Ohio State University at Mansfield developed this website as an inspiration and resource for teachers and students of plant biology. At this point, the site is primarily a resource for annotated botany-related websites, although Dr. Kramer is in the process of developing an information section on significant flowering plant families. Of special interest to teachers, the website includes a collection of annotated sites submitted by participants in the Teachers Academy. Participants chose sites that had proven useful in their K-8 plant units, and the website categories include Collaborative Learning, Specific Plants, Hands-on Activities, Gardening, and more. The site's main links collection, Botany in Cyberspace, includes an extensive collection of websites under two major categories: Agriculture & Horticulture; and Plant Biology (Botany) & General Biology. This site also links to career information from the Botanical Society of America. [NL]

http://sofia.usgs.gov/virtual_tour/kids/index.html

A website for younger naturalists, the Kid's Page was developed by the USGS's SOFIA program to teach children about the ecosystems, animals, and water systems of South Florida. The Florida Ecosystems section of the site is brief, but it does offer concise descriptions and photos for southern Florida's many diverse habitats including mangroves, coral reefs, hardwood hammocks, swamps, and more. The website also contains brief profiles, photos, and scientific names for a number of birds, herps, and mammals. Profiled animals include ospreys, manatees, pig frogs, and Florida panthers -- to name a few. For children desiring some hands-on learning opportunities, the Kid's Page provides animal coloring sheets; bug and invasive species memory games; and a challenging puzzle-type game. This Kid's Page also links to more southern Florida natural history via the South Florida Ecosystem History Kid's Corner, and the SOFIA Virtual Tour (reported on in the NSDL Scout Report for the Life Sciences, January 25, 2002). [NL]

http://www.worldwildlife.org/fun/games.cfm

Games are a great medium for introducing kids to complex topics like biodiversity. From the World Wildlife Fund, this website offers an inventive and fun collection of biodiversity games. The interactive games are designed for middle-school students and include a Virtual Safari, a Mapping Biodiversity game, a genetic diversity game, and more. The site also features a trailer for Biodiversity 911, a movie produced by Aardman, the clever creators of Wallace and Gromit. The website's Biodiversity 911 section also links to interactive activities that address fish sustainability, soil composition, toxic elements, and the ecology of a Sumatran rain forest. [NL]