Online science museums contain many wonderful exhibits, resources for inquiry-based explorations, and links to other Internet science resources. Many exhibits contain detailed educational activities for teaching and learning. The websites usually have outstanding images, maps, and audio-visual connections. Here are some of the best for learners of all ages!

The Ocean Planet, a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition:
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ocean_planet.html

This exhibition draws attention to the world's ocean systems, representing the ". . .over 99 percent of living space on Earth.all habitable by plants and animals." The Smithsonian created the exhibition to share recent research in ocean systems and to promote ocean conservation. The actual traveling exhibition is touring museums around the country from 1996-1999. This online version is wonderful. Start with the Exhibition Overview to see the scope of the exhibit and the wealth of material it contains. There are interdisciplinary lesson plans in an online booklet available for downloading in Adobe Acrobat format. Many activities include opportunities to practice math and writing skills. Be sure to try "There Are Algae in Your House!" in the Ocean Market lesson. http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/education_lesson1.html

Science Learning Network:
http://www.sln.org/

Six noted science museums make up the Science Learning Network, exploring the use of Internet technology in support of inquiry-based science education. The museums are the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, The Exploratorium, the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Museum of Science in Boston, the Miami Museum of Science, and the Franklin Institute. Each museum is well worth a visit. http://www.sln.org/museums/index.html In addition, there is an annotated master list of twenty "inquiry resources" developed by individual museums within the system. Visit this index as a shortcut to searching for online exhibits. The Science Learning Network is funded by Unisys and The National Science Foundation.

The Science Learning Network has recently expanded to include six international science museums. For links to this group, visit http://www.sln.org/info/index.html

Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley:
http://www.lhs.berkeley.edu/Exhibits.html

This museum has a small online component. There is Math Around the World, including two interactive online math games. Another area of interest is GEMS-Great Explorations in Math and Science, especially for children. This site has an extensive annotated list of print resources available through the Lawrence Hall of Science. This site also includes a very long list of links to other science-related materials.

National Geographic Society: Expedition Hall
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/xpeditions/main.html

This amazing interactive exhibit hall connects the geography standards to resources and activities. Because this is state-of-the-art online interactive material, it takes a very long time to load the website and its images. The images allow the user to enter into the exhibit hall and use specific exhibits in a virtual reality experience. If your computer system will support this website, it is well worth a visit.