This comprehensive guide to the Paleontology section of OLogy, the Museum's science Web site for kids, explains how after-school educators can make the most of the site. It focuses on dinosaurs because that's what kids are most familiar with. An introduction to the Big Ideas in Paleontology brings educators up to speed on how scientists study early life on Earth, what kind of information the fossil record contains, and why dinosaurs are not extinct. A Site Map shows where to locate all Paleontology resources, from stories to quizzes to hands-on-activities. Paleontology units offer ways to combine different types of resources around a topic. Follow-up questions encourage inquiry-based learning. Wrap-Up Paleo Projects suggests fun ways to wrap up any of these units. A Links and Resources section lists recommended paleontology-related books and Web sites for educators and for kids. A glossary of paleontological terms wraps up the guide.

This online article, from the museum's Musings newsletter for educators, profiles a student and mentor at work in the AMNH's molecular biology lab. It has an overview of the museum's Precollege Science Collaborative for Urban Minority Youth (PSC) program and discusses the benefits of the program to both students and mentors.

The Amazing Mundo is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. In this interactive comic strip (also available as a printable PDF), kids are challenged to determine the composition of everyday objects. They learn the variety of things made from materials like sand, metal, bauxite and oil.

This collection of resources, published by the American Museum of Natural History, is intended for educators, parents, students, or anyone who is interested in teaching and learning about science. The resources include activities, curriculum materials, articles, evidence and analysis materials, exhibition materials, and lists of references. Items may be text-based, pedagogical, or multimedia (photos, videos, interactives) in nature. The collection is searchable by keyword or browseable by main topic: anthropology, astronomy, biology, Earth science, or paleontology. There are also special collections, groups of resources organized around specific themes such as Antarctica, ocean life, and the dynamic Earth.

In this hands-on OLogy activity, kids learn about matter by building their own models of carbon out of pipe cleaners, wire, and clay. The activity begins with a kid-friendly introduction to matter, elements, and atoms. The illustrated, step-by-step directions show how to use the information about carbon on the Periodic Table to create a mobile that shows the element's basic structure. A PDF version of the Periodic Table, along with a kid-friendly overview of how to read it, is also included.

This fun Web site is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, they learn about cladograms and the vast variety of dinosaurs that once roamed Earth. The activity opens by telling kids that there are more than 400 known species of extinct dinosaurs and by explaining how cladograms show their relationships to one another. Students then go to an interactive cladogram that has 19 dinosaur species. Each of the 19 dinosaurs includes a trading card with details about the species and its discovery, photographs, and interactive multiple-choice and "Fact or Fiction?" quizzes.

In this classroom activity, middle school students examine the wide-ranging sizes of dinosaurs. The activity opens with background information for teachers about the enormous range of dinosaur sizes. In a classroom discussion, students describe the size of some dinosaurs. Then, working from an existing grid, students create either a to-scale drawing of a Tyrannosaurus head or a life-size drawing of a Protoceratops.

This reference list has more than 30 kid-friendly books on biodiversity. For each title, the author, publisher, and publication date are given. The diverse list includes field guides for identifying plants and insects, hands-on nature experiments and activities, photographic looks at the world's diverse species, and handbooks with tips about collecting and preserving specimens.

"Build It Yourself: Satellite!" is an online Flash game hosted on the James Webb Space Telescope website. The goal of the game is to explain the decision-making process of satellite design. The user can choose to build a "small," "medium," or "large" astronomy satellite. The user then selects science goals, wavelength, instruments, and optics. The satellite is then launched on the appropriate rocket (shown via an animation). Finally, the user is shown what their satellite might look like, as well as what kind of data it might collect, via examples from similar real-life satellites. Satellites range from small X-ray missions without optics (like the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer) to large missions with segmented mirrors (like the James Webb Space Telescope).

This online article, from the museum's Musings newsletter for educators, profiles the Museum Investigation in Science Program. The program's two objectives are to reach out to communities that are not "traditional" museum audiences and to introduce participants to the idea that a museum can be a great place to learn as a family. The strategies and activities the program uses to meet these two objectives are reviewed.

Students learn about refracting telescopes in this Moveable Museum unit, in which they construct a simple telescope. The three-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, step-by-step directions, and information about where to obtain supplies.

Students learn about the variations of white light in this Moveable Museum unit, in which they build a pocket-sized spectroscope from readily available materials and examine different light sources in school, at home, and around their town or city. The seven-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity and safety notes, step-by-step directions, and a spectroscope template.

In this activity, learners burn a peanut, which produces a flame that can be used to boil away water and count the calories contained in the peanut. Learners use a formula to calculate the calories in a peanut and then differentiate between food calories and physicist calories as well as calories and joules.

In this demonstration, cook a cake using the heat produced when the cake batter conducts an electric current. Because of safety concerns, this activity should be conducted as a demonstration only and learners should be kept at a safe distance.

This online article, from the museum's Musings newsletter for educators, reports on the YouthCaN organization. It discusses the background and activities of this youth-run organization, begun in 1993, which gives kids concerned about the environment the chance to think and work on a national and international level. There is information on how to create a YouthCaN program in your community.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA: Becoming Human, learn how the analysis of rock layers and ocean sediments supports the theory that rapid climate change may have jump-started human evolution two million years ago.

This AstroBulletin article takes an in-depth look at the newest technology and instruments used to study the Cosmic Microwave Background. The site includes text and a seven minute video. There are links to three essays: "What Is the Cosmic Microwave Background?", "Antarctica: A Hotbed of Cold-Weather Research" and "DASI Does It."

In this activity, learners use crayons to draw conclusions about rocks and the rock cycle. Learners form crayons ((which can be "weathered"--heated, compressed and cooled--like rocks) into models of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks.

In this OLogy activity, kids learn how a compass works and why it will always point north. The activity begins with an overview that discusses our reliance on directions and how a compass works. Students are then given step-by-step, illustrated directions for creating a compass with a sewing needle, a small bar magnet, a small piece of foam, and other household items. The activity includes ideas about how to try out your compass.

Students learn about ultraviolet light in this Moveable Museum unit, where they detect UV rays and then explore ways to block them. The four-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, step-by-step directions, and information about where to obtain supplies. Students make a bracelet from beads that respond to UV light by changing color, and test it in different light environments.