Pablo Picasso's The Tragedy
http://www.nga.gov/feature/picasso/index.htm
The National Gallery of Art presents this Web site that reveals earlier works on the wooden supports and canvas of Picasso's painting The Tragedy, found during conservation treatments. Picasso said, "What comes out in the end is the result of the discarded finds." The artist often reworked his paintings, leaving clues on the surface to tip off viewers that another work might be covered up by the top layer of paint. For example, the texture of the surface paint of The Tragedy first indicated that there might be another painting beneath. Conservators found sketches from 1899 on the wooden supports of The Tragedy, and drawings and paintings on the canvas underneath the blues and greens of the finished 1903 picture -- in particular, a bullfight in reds and yellows done in 1901. In the last section of the site, a QuickTime movie summarizes the stages of the painting. [DS]
[Back to Contents]

Annotated List of 36 Federally Funded Research and Development Centers: Fiscal Year 2002
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf02317/start.htm
Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) evolved primarily from research facilities designed to meet the special needs of World War II. Presented by the National Science Foundation, this Web site provides a current listing of 36 FFRDCs located in the US, along with descriptions. Users can view the master list, arranged by departments; or view the centers by "geographic location" or "categories of activity," with the latter consisting of three different sections -- research and development labs, study and analysis centers, and systems engineering and integration centers. Also included is a FFRDCs criteria list and a section on "Decertifications, Closures, Renaming, and Other Notes Associated with FFRDCs" between 1968-2001. [MG]
[Back to Contents]

Centennial Celebration
http://www.census.gov/mso/www/centennial/index.html
This year, the Bureau of the Census celebrates a century of service to the nation and its inhabitants. Loaded with historical facts and figures, the site offers archival material from the bureau and other agencies that have documented its activities over the years. Naturally, the site features a factual historical overview of the Census Bureau, but beyond that, there is much more. The site makes available various other perspectives of its history and functions against the backdrop of a growing nation. Arguably one of the best sources of such information rests in the data gleaned by the census takers, or enumerators -- basic information that details how our ancestors lived, and where. Contained in the site's repository of Census Artifacts, this extensive source of testimonies tells as much about the census takers and makers as it does about those it counted. Also worth the visit is the site's image bank, which includes photos of enumerators over the past century, as well as of the instruments that helped them do their work -- the first vacuum tube computers, UNIVAC and FOSDIC. Visitors are also advised to stop by the Centennial Quilt, a story in itself. [WH]
[Back to Contents]

Bridging the Watershed
http://www.bridgingthewatershed.org/
Bridging the Watershed is a partnership between Washington DC area schools and the National Park Service that uses the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds as "learning laboratories." The Students section of this site has some great interactive activities that help students learn how to identify plants and ecosystems, determine stream health based on macroinvertebrate identification, and understand the perils of migratory fish. This is a great Web site with a broad range of information suitable to a variety of different age levels and interests, yet with enough detail to make each section stand alone. This site is also reviewed in the June 14, 2002 NSDL Life Sciences Report. [AL]
[Back to Contents]

Test the Nation: The National IQ Test
http://www.bbc.co.uk/testthenation/index.shtml
Who is the weakest link? Or, rather, just how many are there? And where do they come from? Test the Nation, Britain's largest mass IQ test set about to answer those questions and more on May 11th of this year. Administered online to some 90,000 residents of the UK (and still available for those who missed out), the test put visitors through the usual rigors of intelligence testing. The Test the Nation Web site discloses how the nation did as a whole, with further breakdowns by region, age, and other variables. Curious, the map of Britain's intelligence, as determined by the test, clearly demonstrates that the South far outdid the North where brute IQ is concerned. Whether one accepts such results or not, the site provides much food for thought, discussion and, almost certainly, an argument or two. Presented by the BBC, the site doesn't stop with simple presentations on the national IQ test, but also offers other interesting studies and reports, with subjects probing various areas of intelligence testing and all that has been made of it. A short list of some of the titles presented include: What sex is your brain?, Birth weight and intelligence, and The Language of the brain. To round off it offerings, the site also links to MENSA. [WH]
[Back to Contents]

Astro-Venture [Flash, Shockwave]
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/projects/astrobiology/astroventure/
Astro-Venture, by NASA's educational Web site NASA Quest, is a wonderfully done interactive multimedia activity for students in grades 5-8. Consisting of nine modules, the activity takes participants through the process of training for and building a planet with the necessary characteristics for human habitation. They learn the astronomy, geology, atmospheric science, and biology needed to complete individual missions and ultimately build a planet. Students will enjoy spending the time needed to complete the sensory rich activities and learn a tremendous amount along the way. This site is also reviewed in the June 14, 2002 NSDL Physical Science Report.
[JAB]
[Back to Contents]