Earth Science websites

There are SO MANY cool earth science websites out there, it was hard to limit myself to five. I mean, I probably could have listed a couple of dozen, but that also would not have been an excellent use of my limited time. There are several plate tectonic websites I did not list here that were easily as good as those I did list, but with fewer opportunities for playing with the interactive bits.

Calculating Geologic Time. This is a metaphor generator! I can see using this with older students who already understand decimals, so late 5th grade to 8th grade. I can see this site as being useful for something to be used within class during a lesson about geologic time (and evolution? Come back in a couple of weeks...) to help students come up with a visual and physical model to share with the class. Student groups could work with different increments to show to the class.

The Utah Education Network Cloud Guide. This is a website that is accessible for children probably from grades k-2 depending on the lesson that is to be used in conjunction with it. There is a sidebar with cloud type names, when the name is clicked, one or more very nice pictures of that type of cloud come up. I can imagine having children go outside to observe and draw the clouds in the sky, and then go explore this website to name what they saw, as part of a greater unit.

Lightning and Atmospheric Electricity Research at GHCC (the Global Hydrology and Climate Center, associated with NASA.) This is a very information-rich site, and would be best used with older students, grades 5-8, probably working in groups. Types of lightening, how and when it occurs, and the instruments used to find these things out are all described in great detail, with beautiful pictures.

A Science Odyssey: You Try It: Plate Tectonics: Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker (PBS affiliated) You will need to install Adobe Shockwave if you do not already have it in order to use the interactive activities on this site, there are very good directions and links about how to do that on the site itself. The Shockwave interactive bit is pretty neat, though. It shows four different ways that a continental plate can move, and what that does to land both above and below the ocean. There is a link at the bottom of the interactive page to get to more information about how and why particular kinds of plate movement do what they do. This website looks like it is aimed at children between the grades of 2nd and 6th, depending on scaffolding, where on the site they are sent, and how much teacher support they require. I spent a while playing with this one, but I think tectonic movement is pretty neat as a concept, and pretty important to have children understand how it works, especially here in the Pacific Northwest, where volcanoes and earth movement are ever-present facts of life. For current events, it may be a good idea to link studies of earthquakes to civic action to raise money or supplies for people in Haiti.


Exploring the Environment “castle museum” has several “floors” that children can visit, each with its own theme. This is a VERY kid friendly site, with good pictures and easy to understand chunks of information with each. It is aimed at children between grades 3-5, and is something that children in those grades could easily navigate unaided. For research and discovery purposes, it is an excellent website that you could provide as an option for independent use.