The Library of Congress
The learning page... Getting Started section of the Learning Page
primary sources how-to's links site map

Internet ResourcesScience and TechnologyScience

  • Beyond Discovery: The Path from Research to Human Benefit - This National Academy of Sciences site provides articles, written for laypeople, on how basic scientific research has contributed to recent breakthroughs in science and technology.
    http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/

  • Carnegie Institution for Science - An independent nonprofit supporting scientific research, the Carnegie Institution presents science news and research reports, including historic papers by such renowned Carnegie scientists as Barbara McClintock.
    http://www.ciw.edu/

  • The Case Files - The Franklin Institute provides this fun site focused on notable scientists and their work.
    http://www.fi.edu/learn/case-files/index.php

  • Center for History of Physics - The American Institute of Physics presents exhibits on Albert Einstein, Madame Curie, Andrei Sakharov, Heisenberg and uncertainty, and the discovery of the electron. Selected papers of great American physicists are also available.
    http://www.aip.org/history/

  • Chemical Heritage Foundation - WebQuests and other lessons for teaching about the history of chemistry and about the work of noted chemists.
    http://www.chemheritage.org/classroom/class.html

  • Classic Chemistry - A database of classic papers in the history of chemistry, a case study in the scientific method, and a chemistry calendar that provides milestones in the discipline's history for each week of the year. Compiled by Carmen Giunta of Lemoyne University.
    http://web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/index.html

  • The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online - All of Darwin’s publications and many handwritten manuscripts are available at this British site.
    http://darwin-online.org.uk/

  • Contagion: Historical Views of Disease and Epidemics - Harvard University presents an archive of documents on such epidemics as London’s Great Plague of 1665, the outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia in 1793, and cholera in the 19th century.
    http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/

  • Contributions of 20th-Century Women to Physics - UCLA presents biographies of 83 female scientists plus primary sources related to their work.
    http://cwp.library.ucla.edu/

  • Earth/Sky - Listen to the popular radio program or read in-depth articles on such topics as the Piltdown forgery and landmarks in 20th-century science.
    www.earthsky.org

  • Echo Research Center - Searchable data base on the history of science, technology, and medicine. From George Mason University.
    http://echo.gmu.edu/

  • Einstein Year 2005 - The British Physics Institute presents this site celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein's seminal work. Games, experiments, facts, and more help users explore physics and the significance of Einstein’s work.
    http://www.einsteinyear.org/

  • Enrico Fermi and the Nuclear Chain Reaction - A collection of documents from the University of Chicago Library, focusing on the work of Fermi and his colleagues at that university, where the first nuclear chain reaction occurred.
    http://fermi.lib.uchicago.edu

  • Evolution - Another content-rich site from PBS includes primary sources, background information and essays, and lesson plans. A good case study in the power of an idea.
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/

  • Galileo Project - A comprehensive site about the man regarded as the father of modern science. From Rice University.
    http://galileo.rice.edu

  • Historical Activities for the Calculus Classroom - Gabriela R. Sanchis teaches core calculus concepts in a unique way that integrates the historical evolution of those key concepts. Part of the Convergence math collection from the Mathematical Association of America.
    http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/1//?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1581

  • History of Medicine - The National Library of Medicine presents this site, which includes historical documents on the history of medicine, as well as exhibitions. One exhibit focuses on women in medicine and includes lesson plans.
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/about/index.html

  • History of Science Society - Among this site’s most useful feature are articles, teaching ideas, and a guide to history of science resources on the Web, which lists all newsletters, journals, research centers, etc. and provides a searchable database.
    http://www.hssonline.org/

  • History of Technology and Science - Listing of print and electronic resources maintained at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries.
    http://www.library.cmu.edu/Research/Humanities/History/hots.html

  • Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where much eugenics research was done, presents background and documents on the eugenics movement. An excellent case study in the relationship between science and values.
    http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/

  • Interactives: Dynamic Earth - Annenberg Media provides this interactive site that teaches students about geologic processes that have shaped earth throughout its history.
    http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/

  • Internet Resources for History of Science and Technology - Extensive set of links from the University of Delaware Library.
    http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/hsci/internet.htm

  • InterViews - The National Academy of Sciences presents interviews with its members, eminent scientists who reflect on why they became scientists and the work they have done. Also of note from NAS is a weekly podcast called The Sounds of Science.
    http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=INTERVIEWS_Main

  • Intute: Science, Engineering, and Technology - A large data base of resources, including history resources, as well as tutorials.
    http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/

  • Key Documents in the History of Space Policy - The documents in this collection illustrate the interplay between politics and science through a case study of the space program.
    http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/spdocs.html

  • LabLit.com - Aptly subtitled “The Culture of Science in Fiction and Fact,” this site from research scientist Jennifer Rohn looks at the culture of the laboratory—in actuality and as portrayed in popular culture.
    http://www.lablit.com/

  • Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist, Inventor, Artist - This site provides information and activities for learning about the work of da Vinci. From the Museum of Science in Boston.
    http://www.mos.org/leonardo/

  • Mathematicians' Anniversaries Throughout the Year - A list of every day in the year, with mathematicians who were born or died on that day. Quotations from mathematicians are also provided by St. Andrews University, the site sponsor.
    http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Day_files/Year.html

  • The Mind of Leonardo - The Institute and Museum of the History of Science presents this exhibit on the genius of Leonardo da Vinci.
    http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/menteleonardo/

  • The Missing Link - Professor Elizabeth Green Musselman at Southwestern University provides a monthly podcast about the history of science, medicine, and technology. For each topic, Musselman also provides a list of additional reading.
    http://missinglinkpodcast.wordpress.com/

  • Museum of the History of Science: Exhibits - This British museum presents online exhibits on such topics as the drug trade in early modern Europe, Einstein, and the geometry of war.
    http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/exhibits/

  • Museum of Paleontology - This University of California museum presents excellent online exhibits on the history of geology, evolution, and biodiversity over time. The site also presents teaching materials on evolution, fossils, and more.
    http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/

  • National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science - While not directly focused on the history of science, many of the teaching cases in this site’s large collection are historic. Many also stimulate students to consider ethical issues in the practice of science.
    http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/case.html

  • National Institutes of Health Office of Science Education - Features primary resources, lesson plans, newsletters, and exhibits, including many historical ones.
    http://science-education.nih.gov/

  • NobelPrize.org - The official site of the Nobel Foundation provides extensive information on the work of the prize winners in all the disciplines, which students could use to create a history of major developments in physics, chemistry, and medicine in the 20th century.
    http://nobelprize.org/

  • People and Discovery: A Science Odyssey - This companion site to the 1997 PBS series provides biographies of scientists, a comparison of scientific knowledge in 1900 and the late 1990s, and comic-style stories about the history of science.
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/

  • Pieces of Science - The Franklin Institute presents 16 historic artifacts and engages students in exploring the science behind them. Items range from the lightning rod to penicillin.
    http://www.fi.edu/pieces/

  • Profiles in Science - The National Library of Medicine provides access to the papers of several prominent biomedical researchers of the 20th century, including Linus Pauling and Barbara McClintock.
    http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/

  • Science Café - The University of California, San Francisco presents a weekly "conversation about the culture, conduct, and community of science."
    http://www.ucsf.edu/sciencecafe/index.html

  • Science and Engineering Encyclopedia - A British site with comprehensive information about topics related to engineering and science.
    http://www.diracdelta.co.uk/science/source/h/o/home/source.html

  • Science Service Historic Image Collection - The Smithsonian presents thousands of photographs of 20th-century scientists at work.
    http://scienceservice.si.edu/

  • Science as Storytelling - An interesting lesson for teaching students about the nature of science. Developed for a teacher workshop at Carleton College.
    http://serc.carleton.edu/teacherprep/resources/activities/storytelling.html

  • Scientific Revolution Homepage - Historian Robert Hatch of the University of Florida provides a comprehensive resource on the Scientific Revolution. Featured are teacher-developed lessons, study guides, links, discussion groups, background information, and more.
    http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Home/

  • Using the History of Science in the Chemistry Classroom - Standards-aligned lessons and other teacher resources from the Education Development Center.
    http://cse.edc.org/products/historyscience/default.asp

  • The Why Files - Based at the University of Wisconsin Madison, The Why Files “explores the science, math and technology behind the news of the day.”
    http://whyfiles.org/

  • Women Physicians - A large set of sources on the history of women physicians. From Drexel University College of Medicine.
    http://archives.drexelmed.edu/womanmd/

Library of Congress disclaimer icon

Top of Page

The Library of Congress | American Memory Contact us
Last updated 10/24/2008