Molecularium interactive

I recently came across this interesting interactive, called the Molecularium, that is a great way to introduce kids to molecular structure and chemical notation.

When you follow the link you will want to click on the nanolab, the top button on the right, and then select the Build option.

Using 3 atoms--oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen--kids construct a series of common molecules. Mel, the computer, then gives a few facts about what they have made. Kids work their way through 3 levels plus a bonus round.

The Zoom activity views the earth at different distances, while the Transform activity shows water as a solid, liquid, and gas as the temperature changes, so there's not a lot to them. The home site showcases Digital Dome movies (shown in a planetarium) the project is producing.

Wow--Free NASA Webinar for Homeschoolers

Homeschool Connections has announced an incredible free science webinar with NASA engineer Domenico Ruggiero. Here are the details from the Unity of Truth blog.

Register for the July 29 event at One Small Step for Parents, One Giant Leap for Homeschool Kids: Insights from a NASA Engineer

I am certainly looking forward to this one!

Science Saturday Challenge #11

More About Cohesion and Adhesion

I found so many experiments about the topic I created an entire webinar with a whole series of experiments including the two from challenge #9.

You can view the webinar for free anytime.

I found a lot of my material in Super Science Concoctions--a great book to have on your homeschool shelf!

Courses and Webinars Listing

I teach live online human anatomy and physiology classes for high school homeschoolers through Walter Crawford and Maureen Wittmann's company, Homeschool Connections.

I teach classes every fall and spring. If the online live schedule does not fit your schedule, you can also purchase a subscription service that gives you access to all recorded courses.

I have the following courses available:

• Blood in Sickness and in Health
• The Immune System in Sickness and in Health

I hope to have one or even two additional courses ready for the 2010-2011 year. Go to Homeschool Connections and click on the Courses tab to see the upcoming schedule. Besides my science courses, Homeschool Connections offers an extensive and growing list of short courses in literature, history, theology, government, economics, and more, all taught from an authentic Catholic persective. They also have free live and recorded webinars for homechooling parents.

Lesson Planning Web Resources

I've started my lesson planning for next year, so I dusted off some of web sites I find most useful for finding educational material. I find all sorts of lesson plans, animations, interactive sites, video clips, and more through these sites.

I list them all in this post from my homeschool blog Science of Relations.

Happy planning!