Looking for things to blog about involves a lot of websurfing, between online newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other sites (some of my favorites are linked to on the right side of this page). On any given day, there are all kinds of notable stories, some important, and some, well…interesting. And I mean it when I say I love to read, and I love to ask questions about the things I read—questions like: How do silkworms taste with pee?
But I’d be lying to say that all I find online is interesting things to read. So this week, instead of highlighting a science story, I thought I’d share a few of the cool science-related websites I’ve stumbled across recently.
A brand new website called Understanding Science aims to “give users an inside look at the general principles, methods, and motivations that underlie all of science.” There’s lots of good reading on the site, and I find the best way to get at all of it is through their interactive flowchart, which shows what happens to ideas throughout the scientific process.
Ever have trouble wrapping your head around large numbers? Check out The MegaPenny Project, where you can see what a million, a billion, or even a trillion pennies would look like, if piled up. In science, we deal with big numbers all the time, often without really thinking about it. You might be surprised to see how big these numbers really are.
If you’re into anatomy, check out The Virtual Body at MEDtropolis. You can explore human anatomy for yourself, take guided tours of the body, and even play interactive games.
As a big museum geek, I was super excited to find the Gallery Challenge game at the website for the Whipple Museum of the History of Science at the University of Cambridge. In the game, you become a curator, and get to find new objects for the museum, research them, and arrange them in your own, personal museum gallery.
The Science Chicago website has a page full of links to cool websites. Another long list of other cool science sites is available on the website for the Exploratorium in San Francisco, which also has its own online exhibits. Of course, no list like this is ever complete. Let us know if you have a favorite science website I missed that we should feature here.
Happy surfing!
