Earth and Space Sciences

This is another area that has stimulated a lot if activity. Here you can find links that go from the centre of the earth to deep into the universe.

Earth, Space, Water and Ice
Volcano World
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/
One of the pre-emminent Internet sites, if you want to find out anything related to volcanoes go here first. As it notes it has Volcano info, pictures, movies, games, and much more! A must visit. 
AMinerals Education Victoria has a wealth of information at this site including lesson plans, fact sheets, information about teacher PD and mine tours as well as a great section designed just for students. Another must visit site.
Another of the excellent Anneburg sites, the opening animation suggests rightly that this site is well worth a visit. The text is just right for upper school pupils and if you have a good connection, the Quicktime movies are great too.
Rocky The Rockhound
 http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/
oct98/index.html
Made for primary aged children, this very appealing site is chockfull of excellent materials including animations that show how rocks are formed, photos of mineral examples as well as puzzles and games. An excellent site.
A Journey II The Centre Of 
The Earth
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow4/
nov98/index.html
This site is full of earth science facts, fun activities, and much more. About 100 John F. Pattie Elementary students from  four classes participated in the creation of these pages. They hope you have a good time browsing through them! 
Ever wondered what was inside the Earth, this monograph from the US Geological Society has a nice graphic and a concise description of what you need to know.
This self contained package that includes a Hyperstudio slide show, goals and objectives, ideas for hands-on activities and discussion questions and answers covers all of the important concepts in the way the earth was and is still forming. The package even has a quiz to test knowledge. An old favorite.
Geologic Time
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/
msese/earthsysflr/geotime.html
Have you ever tried to guess the Earth's age? Well if you want to find out more about the earth and how long it has been around, go here to find some of the answers.
Earthforce
 http://www.fi.edu/earth/index.html
From the Franklin Institute this is an extensive information and associated links site related to the way the earth is moving and changing all the time.
Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/
tectonics/#
Do you know what plate tectonics are? Well it is not that difficult to understand and explain if you use the excellent Shockwave animation and information available at this site.
Exploring Caves
http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/
teachers/explorecaves_explore.htm
This online exploration looks at caves from a number of different perspectives and includes some excellent information. The only drawback is that it is American based.
New York Underground
 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
nyunderground/docs/nymain.html
Okay so it's not strictly related to Earth science but this fascinating site looking at the layers below New York City shows just how we rely on the dirt under our feet to sustain us. Another winner from National Geographic.
Rockhounds Information Page
 http://www.rahul.net/infodyn/
rockhounds/rockhounds.html
More for true "rockhounds" this site has a huge range of links to sites focussing on rock and mineral collection.
Not sure what is the difference between these two concepts then this USGS monograph should make things clearer.
This is a rather nice collection of some demonstrations of some of the important principles in the control of erosion.
If you ever wondered who Charles Richter was you can find out here as well as a description of the scale that he devised.
Earthquake Hazards Page
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
 Written for kids this has a whole lot of background material as well as some interesting material on how to deal with the trauma of earthquake. Teachers might also like to take the Teachers links as well.
A nice simple site that deals with the causes of both erosion and weathering and contrasts the results of each. The text is easy enough for children to read.
It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it--S.K.Worm, the official annelid, or worm, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service answers students questions about soil. Even their teachers can’t wiggle their way out of this one!
This virtual tour will allow you to visit places of interest at the mine site including mining in the open cut pit, exploration, processing, historical sites and rehabilitation during the mining process.
A onestop site to find all about the natural disaters that affect our planet. This site has some excellent animations and really does explain in detail. The site is designed to support another of the PBS series but stands up well even without the television series.
This is a great animated timeline that looks at how the rocks of Britain have evolved from the time of the Big Bang to the present day. Very interesting use of the technology.
Geoscience Education
http://www.agso.gov.au/education/
 AGSO's Geoscience Education programs aim to increase awareness of the importance of geoscience and geoscientific research to the economic and environmental future of all Australians. Here you will find details of PD activities as well as other materials that AGSO can supply.
Rockhounds Information Page
 http://www.rahul.net/infodyn/
rockhounds/rockhounds.html
More for true "rockhounds" this site has a huge range of links to sites focussing on rock and mineral collection.

StarChild
 http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/
StarChild/StarChild.html
The NASA site just for kids, this is just great if you want to set kids to work. Written at two levels the materials are not only very appealing but can be accessed in a printable format. Visit.
The Space Place
http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/index.shtml
Another really great site for kids, this site contains some very current information on space travel as well as some interesting activities that you or kids can try. 
The Nine Planets
seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/
nineplanets/nineplanets.html
Another of those sites that seems to have been around forever. this site is jam-packed with facts and figures on all of the planets and moons thereof in our solar system. It also has images and much more. A real treasure trove.
Virtual Solar System
www.nationalgeographic.com/solarsystem/
Another of the National Geographic sites that are a real treat. You will need to have the Vidscape plugin and a decent connection but the material is worth it.
Out In Space
http://users.northnet.com.au/
~amcgann/website/Out_in_Space.htm
Another site set up specifically for children where they can explore the solar system or spaceflight. Nice to the point information and easily navigable.
Earth and Moon Viewer
 http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/
vplanet.html
Want to view either a map of the Earth showing the day and night regions at this moment, or view the Earth from the Sun, the Moon, the night side of the Earth, then go here. If you like what you see you can even download a version to run offline.
This is a self-guided tutorial on the sun and its effects on the environment here on Earth. Through this tutorial, you will be able to see the sun in, if you'll pardon the pun, a different light. Heaps of fun and not too bad.
NASA Puzzles and Games
  http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Puzzles/
NASA has a lot of great sites and this one is no exception. Here you can find coloring pages, stories and a an excellent page which enables you to work out how much you would weigh on another planet. Very appealing
Solar System Simulator
 http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/
Another NASA site that this time enables you to get a simulated picture of any planet as seen from any other planet at any appointed time. Scary stuff.
The Satellite Site
 http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/
online/satellite/
Want to know just about anything about satellites, construct a model satellite online, or check out the Satellite of the Month, then go here, it's great fun and suitable for kids too.

Set up sepcifically for schools this site brings together a range of informational and activity resources. These include sets of student activities that are rated according to the (old) CSF, references to the historical development of water services in Melbourne and an interactive story especially designed to be used by children. A very inclusive site.
Maintained by the South Australian Keep Australia Beautifu group the Watercare Club focusses on catchments. It has an excellent interactive section for children and an amazingly detailed teacher's section.
Darby Duck and the Aquatic Crusaders
http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS/kids/DARBY.HTM
Maintained by the US EPA, this site looks at a range of issues associated with water and water pollution. The site also contains some fun activities that children can get themselves into. Very kid friendly it is a really nice site.
Earth's Water
 http://wwwga.usgs.gov/edu/mearth.html
Another site from the US Geological Society it has some excellent information about the earth's water resources. The only drawback is that much of the statistics used are US based.
Water Wonders
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/
eek/earth/groundwater/index.htm
This site is a very kid friendly site with some nice tips and quizzes.
Classroom Antarctica
http://www.classroomantarctica.aad.gov.au/
This page is part of the larger Antarctica Online Site and is chockfull of information and other material that schools might choose to use. Immense.
Project Atmosphere Australia
http://www.schools.ash.org.au/paa1/
 Project Atmosphere Australia On-line is coordinated by Sel Kerans from Queensland. Even if you aren't in time to register for the project, the students, teachers and other links alone are worth the visit.
Annenberg Weather
 http://www.learner.org/exhibits/weather/
A really well structured American site that looks at how the weather is shaped by many interacting factors. While the statistics are American based the site has quite a lot of relevance world wide.
Bubblesphere
 http://www.bubbles.org/
Not sure that this site fits here or not but it does have lots of great information related to bubbles including recipes for perfect bubbles and games to play with them.