Recommended Website:
Windows Into Wonderland: Hot Colors – Windows into Hidden Worlds
Don’t miss this! The National Science Institute and Thermal Biology Institute at Montana State University have teamed up to offer Yellowstone National Park’s newest Electronic Field Trip that premieres tomorrow, September 8th! Parents and educators are encouraged to visit the website today, and preview the E-Trip (that uses science fiction to teach students about microorganisms found in Yellowstone’s hot springs) before it premieres tomorrow.
In this interactive, multi-media, electronic adventure, a submarine capable of miniaturization has been pirated from the imaginary Yellowstone Ministry of Mysteries – and students are on the mission to retrieve it! While treking through the park’s colorful hot springs students will experience the hidden worlds of microorganisms. These are worlds where human life cannot exist, where organisms draw energy from chemicals as well as from sunlight, where extremes are the norm and where scientists glean clues about life on our planet.
When you get to the website, you will see a brief introduction. Choose the bandwidth you want to view the field trip, and then click on the “Hot Colors” icon to begin the trip that includes scripted dialogue, animations, streaming video and audio content.
Before you begin, you may want to click on the “For Teachers” link to access lesson plans correlated with National Education Standards, quizzes, and links to websites for further study.
While this is designed for a middle school audience — parents may find much of the material and information presented suitable for students of a wide age/grade range. This really is something the whole family can enjoy together.
The program lasts approximately 50 minutes.
A really neat feature of this E-Trip is that students can ask questions of scientists and experts by posting to a message board that will open at 9:00 a.m. MDT on September 8 and will close at 4:00 p.m. MDT on September 10. Participation is free to all, and you will still be able to see all of the questions and answers after the message board closes.
“Windows Into Wonderland” is an excellent demonstration of how the Internet is changing and reshaping the classroom of the future.
By the way, there are 9 other E-Trips archived at this website – if you visit the menu of them
you can also register for free to receive announcements about new e-trips as they become available.
