The Rock: Alcatraz Island
Age Range: 10-18 (Grades 4-12, with parental supervision) At this National Park Service multi-media website, you can take a virtual tour of the infamous prison that operated from 1934-1963 on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay.
Click on “Virtual Tours” under “Multimedia Site Features” and tour:
- Cell Block
- Exercise Yard
- Kitchen
- Mess Hall
You can also watch slide shows that explore the history of Alcatraz including its use as a military fort, the decades it was used as a federal penitentiary, and its occupation by American Indians from 1969-1971.
And learn about some of the correctional facility’s most notorious inmates including Al “Scarface” Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and Robert “Birdman” Stroud.
This online exhibit features an extensive collection in the “All Image Gallery” that includes historic photographs and documents, escape materials, correctional materials, and inmate artwork.
Age Range: 11-Adult (Grades 6 and up; children with parental supervision) At this website you will find free Spanish lessons and tutorials that uses text, audio, interactive games and activities and more to help you learn Spanish.
There is so much available here for free without any sort of obligation – and even more if you are willing to become a member of the site by providing your email address. Of course, if you do that, you may get email promoting the audio course that is available for a fee. Frankly, we think the occasional spam is worth the price of admission (your email address) for full access to the free tutorials offered here.
When you get to the site you will see a menu that includes:
- Pronunciation Tutorial – Learn how to pronounce vowels, consonants, words, phrases and more by listening to a native speaker and repeating what they say.
- Grammar Tutorial – Learn parts of speech and how to conjugate verbs. Learn the days of the week, numbers, and more. This section is presented through text lessons, and interactive quizzes.
- Verb Drills – Learn present and past tenses, as well as regular and irregular verbs through text lessons and interactive quizzes.
- Vocabulary Tutorial – Learn a series of words based on a theme – for example, restaurants, bathroom, plants, clothing, emergency services, etc. Lessons are taught through text, oral exercises, online flashcards, match games, word searches, concentration games, and quizzes!
- Daily Word – Log on to the site each day to learn a new Spanish word. Access the archives too.
- Cultural Notes – Learn about Spanish history, art, architecture, food, dance, customs and more! This is really an incredible social studies lesson – you see a photograph, information in Spanish and English, and links to websites with more info.
Other free topics include idiom generators, a travel helper, links to other sites, and a list of full immersion Spanish language schools throughout the world.
This is one of the BEST SPANISH TUTORIAL sites we have seen on the web. Don’t miss it!
Marshmallow Peeps Tour
Age Range: All (All grades; children with parental supervision) Marshmallow Peeps are everywhere this time of year (even as a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee flavor)! Ever wonder how they’re made?
At this site, PBS shows how these traditional Easter-basket candy confections are manufactured. The 5-minute video is an educational tour of the Marshmallow Peeps manufacturing company that features planning, production, and more.
Little Day Out-National Museum of Nature and Science
Age Range: All (All grades; children with parental supervision) The National Museum of Nature and Science is one of Japan’s biggest science museums, with over 10,000 exhibits that explore everything from outer space and dinosaurs to the unique ecosystems of Japan and the world’s latest advances in technology.
Little Day Out, a Singapore-based online magazine, toured the museum and gave us a nice overview. Scroll through the text and pictures starting with the Japan Gallery (history of Japan) and moving to the Global Gallery (earth’s history).
When you are done reading all about the museum, head on over to the museum site here where you can watch an introductory video – with a cartoon dinosaur as your tour guide. The first 6 minutes gives you a tour; the rest explains the rules of behavior while visiting the museum. Arigato gozaimasu!
Age Range: 8-18 (Grades 3-12, with parental supervision) Postal history opens a unique window into the past. It brings personal histories to life and offers a compelling avenue for study.
The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum provides educators with an interesting selection of classroom resources and materials that can be used online or downloaded, as well as an opportunity to explore the museum and its collections through virtual tours and online galleries.
When you get to the site, click on the tour to see the 360 degree panoramas that lead you through the galleries of the museum:
- Moving the Mail
- Stamp Gallery (Fire and Ice)
- Alphabetilately
- Mail Call
- Binding the Nation
- Postal Inspectors
- Customers and Communities
- Systems at Work
When you are through with your tour, check out the Collections, Exhibits, and Research links in the main menu bar. Learn about “Collection History”, “Collection Projects”, “Preservation” and more. Explore past, present and future exhibits to discover America’s postal history from colonial times to the present.
Also, don’t miss the Education and Activities links at the top. There are classroom resources and curriculum guides for such interesting topics as Owney the Dog, Victory Mail, and We Were There: Letters From the Battle Front.
With the wealth of information and educational materials available, this website will surely receive your stamp of approval.
Age Range: All (All grades; children with parental supervision) At this website you can take a virtual tour of the inside of two nuclear-powered submarines: the original USS Nautilus commissioned in 1955, and an “attack” submarine, the USS Springfield, commissioned in 1993.
Click on the USS Springfield and you can see:
- the control room
- the sonar room
- the torpedo room
- the mess deck
- and more
Check out the different rooms on the USS Nautilus as well.
This site is part of the larger PBS/NOVA companion website to the film presentation, “Submarines, Secrets, and Spies.” If you click on that title (located on the left side of your screen) you will go to the home page where you can learn a great deal more about submarines and underwater research including the fascinating science of how sound travels underwater.
In fact, you can take an informative “true or false” quiz on that topic – answer the questions, and then find out the scientific reasoning behind the correct answers. For example: True or False? Do dolphins produce notes 100 times higher than the highest note a soprano can reach? Go to the website to find out!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
I’ve been to the Smithsonian Postal Museum. It’s really interesting and a cool glimpse at the history of mail. It was surprising to learn how far we’ve come in such a short period of time!
This is a great post full of excellent resources for parents and teachers alike! Thanks for all of the effort you put into this! 🙂