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Aeronautics Learning Laboratory - If you don't know your ailerons from your fuselage, you should make for a landing at this site. Learn about the parts of an airplane and the principles of flight. There are some fun experiments in airfoil design you can try, using simple household materials. Don't miss the history of flight in the History section, chock-full of details on early planes and aviators.
Afro-American Almanac - Start off with some traditional folktales, such as "Why the Sun Lives in the Sky," or perhaps even the old story "Little Black Sambo." Then head for the Biography section to read about individuals like Frederick Douglass, and groups, such as the Buffalo Soldiers. In the Historical Documents area you can read everything from the Emancipation Proclamation to the principles of the Black Panthers. Don't stop now--information about Juneteenth and Kwanzaa are available at this site, as well as the text of "I Have a Dream," by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other famous speeches.
America's Story from America's Library! - "America's Story from America's Library" wants you to have fun with history while learning at the same time. We want to put the story back in history and show you some things that you've never heard or seen before. The stuff you see comes from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The Library is the largest in the world and has millions of amazing things that will surprise you.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Celebrating The Evolution of Flight - In commemoration of the approaching 100th anniversary of flight, AIAA launched the Evolution of Flight, a campaign to recognize the achievements of the men and women who challenged history and invented the future—while changing life on Earth. Through the campaign, AIAA and its partners, will celebrate the legacy of flight, encourage new talent, and define and promote the next 100 years of aerospace innovation. We hope you will use this site to celebrate the centennial of flight as well as learn about the men and women who made it possible.
Aviation: The Science of Flight - The history of flight, from Leonardo Da Vinci's early drawings to today's avionics, is covered here in an engaging presentation. Discover the principles of lift and other forces that make flying possible. You'll also learn how to become a civilian, military, or commercial pilot. This site was created by students for the ThinkQuest competition.
BBC Medicine Through Time - The Medicine Trough Time web site is a fun and informative resource for everyone. Choose a time period and theme to begin or make a selection from a highlighted section.
Conquistadors - Join Michael Wood as he sails back half a millennium to a time when the Americas were "new" and Spain was a superpower, a nation of crusading adventurers whose quest for gold, land and souls destroyed ancient civilizations and created the modern globe.
Discovery Online - You'd expect to find background articles on many of the Discovery Channel's programs here, and you'd be right. There are stories and pictures from shows on history, nature, science, and people. And there's more: links to the Learning Channel and Animal Planet programming and a way to search the archives of past fascinating stories! A new area is DiscoveryKids, which highlights features of particular interest to kids.
Distinguished Women of Past and Present - The biographies of women writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists, entertainers, and more are listed at this site. Some were alive hundreds of years ago and some are living today. Some are famous and some are not as well known. No matter--their stories are interesting and would be a real plus for a school writing project. They're listed by fields of activity, so it is easy to find women in journalism, or architecture, or sports, or any other topic in which you're interested.
Education First: Black History Activities - This comprehensive and thoughtful collection of links will take you all over the Web on a treasure hunt to find the answers to some very big questions. What was the Tuskegee Tragedy? Who were the Little Rock 9? This site has study questions and activities for classes as well.
Explore Invention at the Lemelson Center - Visit the Centerpieces area to find in-depth looks at inventions like the quartz watch and the electric guitar. In the same section, read about Edison and find out how you can make your own lightbulb (the first "ingredient" is a helpful parent!). The Innovative Lives part of the site spotlights both famous inventors and those not quite so famous--yet. You may be familiar with their products, though! There's also a nice section called Women Inventors, where you can find out about lots of smart women, including actress Hedy Lamarr and her patented encryption device--which might have made torpedoes undetectable during World War II.
Gale Group - Women's History - Explore a time line of human history, noting contributions of women as diverse as Queen Nefertari (2570 B.C, Egypt) and Sandra Day O’Connor (first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice). Read more than 80 biographies of fascinating women such as Diana, Princess of Wales and J.K Rowling (author of the phenomenally successful Harry Potter books). Enter the quiz (during March only) and perhaps you can win a reference book/CD ROM for your school or library.
Gargoyles and Grotesques - Carved in Stone - The word "Gargoyle" shares a root with the word "Gargle"; they come from "gargouille", an old French word for "Throat". A true gargoyle is a waterspout. An unusual carved creature that does not serve that purpose is properly called a "Grotesque". These fantastic creatures have been with us for thousands of years, and continue to delight us in the 21st. century. You'll find many pages of gargoyle information.
George Washington's Rules of Civility - About 1744, 16-year-old George Washington copied down rules of proper behavior, such as "If others talk at Table be attentive but talk not with Meat in your Mouth." Then he wrote, "Cleanse not your teeth with the Table Cloth Napkin Fork or Knife but if Others do it let it be done wt. a Pick Tooth." Also he advised, "Being Set at meat Scratch not neither Spit Cough or blow your Nose except there's a Necessity for it," and, well, you get the idea. Compare table and other manners from the eighteenth century with current standards.
Going, Going, Gone - The Way Things Used to Be - Have you ever had to make your own soap? In the old days, that's what they did. They saved scraps of fat until they had enough, then cooked the fat until it was melted and smooth. They saved ashes too, and they poured water over them to release the lye. Then they added the lye water to the rendered fat. They cooked and stirred for several more hours, and the soap was then poured out into molds and left to harden. Those days are gone, because now we all buy scented soap in the store. What other things are different now than they used to be? Check out a fascinating list of them here.
GORP - National Historic Trails - Ever wondered if you could find any of the old pioneer routes, like the Oregon Trail? You can! To this day, some of the old wagon ruts are still visible, and you can walk in the footsteps of early settlers during the westward expansion of the United States. You'll find maps and detailed descriptions of the Oregon Trail, plus the following: Santa Fe Trail; Trail of Tears; Iditarod National Historic Trail; Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail; Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail; Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail; Nez Perce National Historic Trail; and the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail.
Guide to Museums and Cultural Resources - The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County invites you to take a virtual tour of all the continents (including Antarctica) and explore museums in each. You may peek inside the Wool Museum in Australia, check out the Information Highway exhibit in Canada, or visit an art museum in Singapore. This will give you a good idea of how many different cultures are in the world and an understanding of what each has to teach.
Guide to Uncovering Women's History in Archival Collections - A great state-by-state listing of links to archives, libraries, and other repositories that have primary source materials by or about women. An excellent resource.
History Channel - Great Speeches - Hear some of the words that changed the world. You'll be able to hear speeches made by Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Douglas MacArthur, as well as historic words like those from Apollo 13: "Houston, we've had a problem." (Hint: For this one, look under John L. Swigert, Jr.)
History/Social Studies Web Site for K-12 Teachers - Wow! Finally, an easy way to learn and teach social studies. Subjects available in the menu include archaeology, diversity sources, electronic texts, genealogy, geography, government, and kids and students. Also included are general history, non-Western history, European history, American history, and news and current events. Announcements and relevant TV specials are also listed. Impress your social studies teacher by introducing him or her to this excellent site.
Kidlink Small Flag Icons - Here you will find more than 116 tiny flag icons representing countries participating in the KIDCAFE and KIDLINK discussion list projects. This page loads rapidly, since the GIFs are so small. You can use these to dress up your school reports or home pages.
La Salle Shipwreck Project - The Texas Historical Commission has quite a find on their hands! They are excavating a shipwreck believed to be that of the Belle, one of the ships brought by the French explorer Ren Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle. La Salle was the explorer who claimed the Mississippi and all its tributaries for France. His ship was lost in 1686. It lies in about 12 feet of water in a bay about halfway between Galveston and Corpus Christi. Archaeologists built a special double-walled coffer dam around the wreck, then pumped out the water in the middle of this "doughnut." They were then free to explore and carefully record their findings. You can read about La Salle and the recovery of his ship and its artifacts at this very special site.
Living Under Enslavement - What was it like to live as a slave? Visit re-created slave quarters at the Hermitage Plantation in Georgia and find out. Click on items inside the house and discover their use and meaning. One of the best parts is the audio retelling of slave escapes, but if you don't have sound capabilities, there is a written transcript version.
Man of the Year - Need biographies of famous people? Cruise over to this page for information about the man, woman, or idea considered by Time magazine to be the biggest influence on events each year since 1927. In 1982, the computer was "Man of the Year."
Mariners' Museum - Newport News, Virginia - This is a very handy time line of exploration, which starts with 3200 B.C., when Pharaoh Snefru brought 40 ships from Byblus to Phoenicia. From there, you can trace events and explorers, including Marco Polo, Magellan, and James Cook, among others. Some explorer descriptions have additional links where you can go to find out more. For example, Cook was one of the first to carry a chronometer--a special device that helped captains figure out their positions on the sea, before the days of GPS satellite navigation.
MSU Vincent Voice Library - Wouldn't it be great to be able to hear the voices of some famous people? At this site, you can. Listen to sound files of many U.S. presidents as well as brief audio of people such as Florence Nightingale and Will Rogers. Test: Teddy Roosevelt has left the building...he has left the building!
National Women's Hall of Fame - "Come Stand Among Great Women." That's the motto of the official home page of the National Women's Hall of Fame, which is located in Seneca Falls, New York. That town was the site of the first Women's Rights Convention, back in 1848. The convention led to the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted U.S. women the right to vote. Visit this site to learn about women who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. They include Sandra Day O'Connor, Ella Fitzgerald, Georgia O'Keeffe, Rosa Parks, and many others. Know of a woman who should be in the Hall of Fame? Check out the How to Nominate section--or perhaps The Wall of Fame--where, for $100, you can make a personal tribute to an extraordinary woman of your choice.
Nerds 2.0.1 - If you've ever wondered about the history of the Internet, this is a good site to visit. Just click on the Timeline section. You'll find out how the Internet went from "Networking the Nerds" to "Serving the Suits" to "Wiring the World." It's easy to read an entire multipage section once you figure out that the Next Page button is at the top of the text. The Next Section button is at the bottom. There's also a nice glossary as well as a Cast of Characters.
NOAA Photo Collection - Need some great tornado photos for your report? This is the spot to find pictures of all kinds of weather and other natural images. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers "thousands of weather and space images, hundreds of images of our shores and coastal seas, and thousands of marine species images ranging from the great whales to the most minute plankton." Search for big hailstones, photos of the great blizzard of 1966, and some of the most spectacular lightning photos you'll ever see (search on Eiffel tower and check your spelling).
Notable Women Ancestors: Women's Biographies - Notable Women Ancestors is comprised of women's biographies and genealogy data of notable women and in history and not-so-famous women submitted by actual living descendants. Submit your own notable women!
Pomp - The True Story of the Baby on the Sacagawea Dollar - He's so cute! On the new "golden" dollar coin, Sacagawea's little baby is seen sleeping in his cradleboard. His adventures travelling with his mom and explorers Lewis and Clark were just the beginning of his exciting life story. This site rounds out what we know about the baby, who was nicknamed Pomp. And what we do know about his later life is filled with fascinating details. At one point, when Pomp traveled to Europe, he even played the piano for composer Ludwig van Beethoven!
Silver Bank @ Nationalgeographic.com - "Spanish galleon Nuestra Sen'ora de la Pura y Limpia Concepcion set sail from Havana, Cuba, in September 1641. Eight days later a hurricane thrashed the ship. Leaking, she began a month-long limp toward Puerto Rico for repairs. Just short of salvation, the Concepcion struck a shallow reef and began sinking slowly. Three hundred hapless passengers and crew perished, and a fortune in silver tumbled into the Atlantic, inspiring the reef's shiny new name: Silver Bank." That's the background. This site allows you to explore the last days of the ship, the wreck itself, and salvage efforts over the years. Treasure hunter Tracy Bowden is the most recent explorer of the Silver Bank, and you can see many artifacts at this site. There are links to other marine archaeology and treasure Web sites, too.
Stamp on Black History - African Americans have excelled in many fields, including art, science, medicine, and sports. Some of the most important historical figures have been pictured on U.S. postage stamps. Browse this site by the name of the person, such as Louis Armstrong. Or check the field the person was in, such as Physical Education or History. You'll see a picture of each stamp and read a little about each individual. This resource was built by students for the ThinkQuest competition.
Tax History Project - Welcome to the Tax History Project, established by Tax Analysts in 1995 to provide scholars, policymakers, students, the media, and citizens with information about the history of American taxation. The project pursues its mission through a program of web-based documentary publication and original historical research.
The American Experience: WayBack - Flight - Meet ten aviation personalities you¹d love to know. One of them is a commercial airline pilot who also performs in a stunt plane on her day off. There are also feature stories on the Wright Brothers and their early flights in Kitty Hawk. Read some "Scare Mail" about early airmail pilots and the hazards they faced in 1918. And let's mention the aviation jokes. Sample: "Rebecca: Did you hear about the duck that was flying upside down? Ricardo: No! What happened? Rebecca: It quacked up!"
The History Channel - Who says history's boring? If you get this cable channel, you know the truth is out there! Even if you don't have cable, you can visit this Web site. Try This Day in History (little menu bar box at the top of the page--click, and on the next screen, type the date you want), and get historical facts, plus the top ten in music for past years (select What Else Happened Today). Even if you think you have no interest in history, stop in--we think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
The Mammoth Saga - This virtual exhibition of mammoths, other animals, and plants of the ice ages is based on an exhibition held at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, Sweden. In it, you'll explore the U.S. Midwest of 16,000 years ago and take a look at a woolly rhinoceros, a sabertooth cat, and ancient reindeer. Siberian nomads lived in huts made of mammoth bones, and you can see a re-creation of one here! There are also nice links to other places on the Web that will help you learn more.
The National Women's History Project - Let's celebrate! That's what the National Women's History Project is all about. It celebrates women's diverse lives and historic contributions to society. The background of Women's History Month (in March) is here, along with links to each of the states showcasing their activities. Here's one quick question from the Test Your Knowledge section. Name the First Lady who traveled the country and the world to gather information about the problems and concerns of workers, children, minorities, and the poor. She wrote a daily newspaper column and made frequent radio broadcasts. Time's up. Did you guess Eleanor Roosevelt? If you did, head to the quiz for more interesting questions. If you didn't guess right, go there anyway. You've got a lot to learn.
The Quest Beyond the Pink Collar - Explore a time line of famous women throughout history. Take a closer look at portrayals of women in the media, and find out how unrealistic images of beauty may help to foster a psychological disorder called anorexia nervosa. There's a biography of Karen Carpenter, who died of its complications. Try the activity in Know Thyself to get closer to your best friend: yourself! There's also a great section on nontraditional careers for women, and much more. This site was created by students for the ThinkQuest competition.
The Quest for Equality: Women's History - Meet women trailblazers and pioneers in science, the arts, aviation, politics, education, sports, and other fields. Learn about the struggle for equality in the 1700s and 1800s as women sought the right to become full citizens and vote. More recent movements sought equity in employment opportunities and wages. This excellent site is presented by World Book encyclopedia.
The Underground Railroad - Using stunning graphics and sound effects, this site explores the people, places, and history of the Underground Railroad. Put yourself in the place of a slave facing a choice: escape with "Moses" to possible freedom in Canada, or face continued slavery. What would you do? Choose your own path and see if you can become "free at last!"
Time 100 - The most influential people of the 20th Century according to Time magazine. From entertainers to leaders, heroes to scientist, this is a great way to take a look at the 20th Century. There is also a game to see if you can identify the top 100 from the pictures or clues given.
TIME 100: 1900 vs. Now - It's hard to imagine what the year 1900 was like, so this site offers a way to compare the then of yesteryear to the now of today. Back in 1900, 1 in 7 homes had a bathtub, 1 in 13 had a telephone, and a pound of sugar cost 4 cents. Now a pound of sugar is 43 cents, 20 percent of the U.S. is connected to the Internet, and a lot more of us are able to take a bath any time we want. The average weekly wage was $9.70 and now that figure is $435.00. Compare statistics in the U.S. and around the world at this thought-provoking site. Don't forget to visit other parts of this resource, such as The Most Important People of the 20th Century (click on Time 100 Poll).
Today in History - Want to know who shares your birthday or what famous events throughout history happened the day you were born? Just visit this site and type in the month and year you want. For example, famous people born on February 8 include author Jules Verne, actor James Dean, and actress Audrey Meadows, who played Alice in The Honeymooners . Find out when and where these folks were born, too; Meadows, for example, was born in China. You can also find out who died on this day (Mary, Queen of Scots) and find out what important historical events took place. On February 8, the Boy Scouts organization was incorporated (1910), radio first came to the White House (1922), and Walt Disney Studios was formed (1926). Know anyone with a brand-new baby? Give the proud parents a printout of their baby's birth date.
United States Air Force Museum - The U.S. Air Force museum is in Dayton, Ohio. Take a virtual visit to it here. See hundreds of planes, missiles, and other exhibits in this cyberspace version. Of note is a special feature on presidential aircraft. The "Sacred Cow" was the nickname of Franklin Roosevelt's plane, built in 1944. Because the president used a wheelchair, the plane was equipped with an elevator behind the passenger cabin. This site offers fascinating facts and stories about planes throughout the history of the Air Force.
Women Mathematicians - These pages are an ongoing project by students at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. You'll find brief comments on over 140 women in mathematics and expanded biographies, photos, and more information on at least ten of them. There are also extensive links to pages about women scientists, computer scientists, and others.
You Be the Historian - This site isn't really about ancient times; it's about an American family's life in the 1700s. By examining artifacts and documents at this site you may be able to get a fairly good picture of what life was like for Thomas and Elizabeth Springer's family in New Castle, Delaware, 200 years ago. Compare your guesses to what historians have concluded. What could future archaeologists and historians learn about your family from what's on the floor of your closet, under your bed, or in your trash?
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