Interactive Science Websites for the Classroom

Edheads: Activate Your Mind!

Edheads is one of the best science websites for actively engaging your students on the web. Interactive science-related activities on this site include creating a line of stem cells, designing a cellphone, performing brain surgery, investigating a crash scene, doing hip replacement and knee surgery, working with machines, and investigating the weather. The website says that it strives to:

"...bridge the gap between education and work, thus empowering today’s students to pursue fulfilling, productive careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."

The site even explains what curriculum standards each activity is designed to meet.

Science Kids

This site has a large collection of interactive science games focusing on living things, physical processes, and solids, liquids, and gases. Each activity not only gives the student valuable information but also provides interaction and the opportunity to put the knowledge to use. Activities such as electrical circuits give students the opportunity to build a virtual circuit.

Each module is divided into subcategories. For example, the "Living Things" section has lessons on food chains, microorganisms, the human body, plants and animals, keeping yourself healthy, the human skeleton, as well as plant and animal differences.

National Geographic Kids

You can never really go wrong with any National Geographic website, film, or learning materials. Want to learn about animals, nature, people, and places? This site includes numerous videos, activities, and games that will keep students actively engaged for hours.

The site is also broken into subcategories. The animals section, for example, includes extensive write-ups about killer whales, lions, and sloths. (These animals sleep 20 hours a day). The animals section includes "too cute" animal memory games, quizzes, "gross-out" animal images and more.

Wonderville

Wonderville has a solid collection of interactive activities for children of all ages. Activities are broken down into things you just can't see, things in your world and beyond, things created using science, and things and how they work. The games give you a virtual opportunity to learn while the related activities give you a chance to investigate on your own.

Teachers TryScience

Teachers TryScience offers a large collection of interactive experiments, field trips, and adventures. The collection spans the course of scientific genre covering many key concepts. Activities such as "Got Gas?" are a natural draw for kids. (The experiment is not about filling up your gas tank. Rather, it walks students through the process of separating H20 into oxygen and hydrogen, using such supplies as pencils, electrical wire, a glass jar, and salt.)

The site seeks to spark students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and math — better known as STEM activities. Teachers TryScience was developed to bring design-based learning to schools, says the website:

"For example, to solve a problem in environmental science, students might need to employ physics, chemistry, and earth science concepts and skills."

The site also includes lesson plans, strategies, and tutorials.