1. COSI – Columbus, Ohio: COSI stands for Center of Science and Industry. This museum offers more than 300 exhibits and every single one of them are meant to be touched. The museum is organized by age, so regardless of how old your children are, there’s something they will enjoy. Check out the health areas and the great tree house.
2. San Francisco’s Exploratorium: Another great place to take your kids; the Exploratorium has tons of interactive features and programs. They change exhibits regularly, so if you’re a local, you can visit over and over again.
3. Museum of Science, Boston: Boston’s science museum boasts a butterfly garden and a dinosaur dig.
4. Liberty Science Center, New Jersey: The skyscraper replicas here are pretty amazing. And, your kids will dig the wind tunnel.
5. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: The Smithsonian, located in Washington DC is the nation’s premier set of museums. Their Smithsonian Wild exhibits on wildlife are amazing.
6. Natural History Museum, London: The Natural History Museum in London offers the best science museum in the UK. One of their most popular exhibits is the Dinosaur exhibit. They offer visiting exhibits regularly, too.
7. Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago: This is one of the nation’s best museums, in part, because of its dedication to exhibits on industry. They offer some great movies in their Omnimax Theater, too.
8. Deutsches Museum: The Duetsches Museum in Munich, Germany is the world’s largest science museum. They have great exhibits on natural science and on technology, as well.
9. American Museum of Natural History: This museum in New York City changes exhibits very frequently, so no matter how often you visit, you’ll find something new.
10. CosmoCaixa: This museum in Barcelona, Spain, which just opened in 2005, is considered the best science museum in Europe. Their Amazon Forest exhibit is one of the best.
11. Franklin Institute: This museum in Philadelphia is one of the best in the US. Kids and adults alike love the flight simulator and the high wire bike!
12. Discovery World: This museum, located in Milwaukee is not only a great museum, but it’s got a fantastic location, too. Located right on the banks of Lake Michigan, the site is breathtaking before you even go in the doors.
13. Academy of Natural Sciences Museum: This museum, in Philadelphia is the oldest natural history museum in the US. They are also a leader in environmental research and biodiversity.
14. Miami Science Museum: This museum offers a great planetarium in addition to other science exhibits.
15. Marian Koshland Science Museum: This museum, located in Washington DC is fairly new. It opened in 2004, and offers lots of interactive exhibits that both children and adults will love.
16. Harvard Museum of Natural History: This museum, located in Boston is actually part of three research museums. There is one devoted to comparative zoology, one devoted to plants and herbs and one devoted to geology.
17. SciPort Discovery Center: This museum in Shreveport, Louisiana is a must visit if you have kids. They offer great activities like “chocolate science”.
18. MOSI: This is the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida. They offer great exhibits like a butterfly garden.
19. Arkansas Museum of Discovery: Located in Little Rock, the Arkansas Museum of Discovery offers exhibits like information on Indians native to the area and an exhibit on energy. They also offer lots of visiting exhibits.
20. South Florida Science Museum: This museum in West Palm Beach Florida offers more than 50 hands on exhibits and a planetarium.
21. World of Wonders Science Museum, Lodi, California: This is another great place to take the kids. Most of the exhibits are hands on and they are on subjects that appeal to kids – like reptiles!

We could have listed dozens of other museums, too. All over the world, you’ll find great museums dedicated to teaching us, and our children, about the world around us.

General Astronomy Blogs

Enjoy information on a wide variety of subjects related to astronomy and the science of space.

1. Tom’s Astronomy Blog: General information on different subjects related to astronomy and star gazing.
2. Slacker Astronomy: A good, basic look at astronomy, astronomy news and more.
3. Astronomy Cast: Interesting podcast focusing on different issues related to astronomy and astrophysics.
4. Astronomy Blog: Find out about what is happening in the world of astronomy from a U.K. point of view.
5. The Rogues Gallery: An interesting look at the universe, coming from a skeptic point of view. A great place to go for debunking astronomy myths.
6. The Spacewriter’s Ramblings: Enjoy information and thoughts regarding astronomy.

Astronomy and Space News

Keep up with the latest discoveries in space, and learn more about scientists are doing to learn about the development of the universe.

7. Astronomy.com Blog: Latest astronomy news and information. Great headlines regarding space, astronomy and science.
8. The Great Beyond: Breaking news from the world of science, including astronomy news, from Nature.
9. The Daily Galaxy: Cool headlines from the world of astronomy and space.
10. Universe Today: Interesting headlines about space, astronomy and more.  An interesting look at headlines.
11. MarsBlog: Enjoy reading headlines about space and find out about what’s new in space.
12. Space.com News: Find out about what is happening with space, and get the latest headlines about what is happening in space.
13. Skymania: You can read about the interesting things happening in space, and find out more what is happening in the world of astronomy.
14. NASA Watch: An interesting look at what’s happening with NASA. An interesting look at what goes on as NASA.
15. OrbitalHub: News about space, exploration and astronomy.
16. The Space Fellowship: Headlines regarding space and astronomy.

Astronomy Professionals

Learn more about astronomy from scientists who look at the stars for a living. A great look at what is happening from a professional point of view.

17. Starts With a Bang!: A great blog from an astrophysicist teaching at Lewis & Clark College.
18. Bad Astronomy: Former NASA astronomer provides information on space, and blogs about the latest happenings in the world of astronomy.
19. AstroENGINE: This solar physicist offers great insight into the workings of space and physics.
20. One Small Step: This astronomy postdoc student blogs about research, what’s going with space and more.
21. Astronaut Leroy Chiao’s Blog: Read about the life and work of this former NASA astronaut (he flew four missions), as well as get some great insights on astronomy and space.
22. WillGater.com: Astronomer and writer Will Gater offers interesting insights into astronomy and space.
23. The e-Astronomer: A look at astronomy from a professor in Edinburgh.
24. GM=tc^3: This great blog is from a “full time scientist” and offers insights into astronomy.
25. Systemic: A great blog focusing on planetary systems and other aspects of space and astronomy.
26. Orbiting Frog: With a Ph.D. in astrophysics, this blogger offers an interesting take on astronomy and the universe in general.

Astronomy Hobbyists and Star Gazing Tips

You can learn a lot from amateurs who enjoy astronomy. Read about their exploits, and learn some helpful tips that will enhance your start gazing.

27. Sky this Week: A great blog run by an amateur astronomer. Great for those looking for information on star gazing.
28. Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum: Interesting insights from an amateur astronomy.
29. Space for All: This is the HobbySpace Log and it offers interesting insights on what is going on in the world of space and astronomy.
30. Clear Skies on Demand: This hobbyist offers interesting insights on astronomy in this astronomical journal.
31. Visual Astronomy: Get star gazing tips, and learn tricks from this helpful blog.
32. The Urban Astronomer: Great tips, insights and helpful hints on backyard astronomy — when you live in a city.
33. Simostronomy: A look at the stars from a point of view that occasionally includes humor.
34. Homeboy Astronomy Blog: Great tips and tricks that can help you enjoy your backyard astronomy a little bit more.
35. Black Holes and Astrostuff: Great resource for the amateur astronomer.
36. Astronomy for Everyone: An accessible blog about astronomy and space.

Astronomy Images

Get a look at space with help from these blogs, which feature images from the cosmos.

37. Belt of Venus: See interesting images and sketches of different items in space. Includes observation notes from an astronomer.
38. Phil’s Astronomy Blog: Features images of space. A great look at what we see in the sky.
39. Astronomy Picture of the Day: NASA offers a great way for you to see the distant galaxies and stars.
40. Flintstone Stargazing: A great blog with beautiful pictures of celestial objects.
41. Above the Clouds: Image heavy blog with the thoughts of this star gazer.
42. AzSpaceBlog: This astronomer takes lovely pictures of the heavens.

Space Exploration

Astronomy blogs that focus on space exploration can help you find interesting insights for the future.

43. The Martian Chronicles: This blog is all about getting ready for the exploration of Mars. Includes information on planets and other objects of interest in astronomy.
44. Colony Worlds: A look at the latest news and technology that could lead to space colonization.
45. The Planetary Society Blog: Keep up with the latest in planets, astronomy, and what’s next.
46. The Space Review: Read interesting commentary and essays on the future of space exploration.
47. Centauri Dreams: A look at possible space missions, and ideas of space exploration.
48. Riding with Robots: A cool blog that allows you to come along for the ride with the robotic exploration of space.
49. The Space Elevator Blog: A blog that addresses a way that we could have better access to space.
50. Space Pragmatism: Follows different ideas for space exploration.

1. Shareaholic: This extension lets you quickly share web pages and the articles on them with others. You can even share upcoming events by simply sending the page with information about the event to those you think would be interested in attending.
2. Fastest Tube: You Tube videos are often great resources. This app makes finding and bookmarking You Tube videos for later use a breeze.
3. Autopager: Autopager allows you to automatically load the next page of a site in line when you get to the end of the first page. It’s a real time saver when you’re reading through a lot of material.
4. Daily Favorites: This extension loads your frequently visited pages quickly with the touch of a button. No longer will you have to constantly reload those pages that you visit every day. They’ll be right there in a simple list so that you can get to them with one click.
5. Apture Highlights: This is a great tool for doing research for papers. Simply highlight a word or phrase and get instant access to Wikipedia or Twitter or You Tube to help you learn more about the text you highlighted.
6. Split Screen: Split your view between two different web pages with this extension. It’s perfect for comparing material when you’re researching.
7. Note Anywhere: Make notes on any webpage. Then, when you open the page again, your notes load automatically.
8. X Marks: If you have tools and extensions you love at work, you’d probably love to have them at home, too. With Xmarks, you can sync up your computers so that they have the same extensions and tools. It will sync across multiple computers and even across multiple web browsers.
9. Google Translate: When you’re researching, you may run into some sites that aren’t in English. Google Translate translates the site with the click of the mouse.
10. Stay Focused: This application is great for a lot of us who tend to spend a little too much time surfing the web for fun (or have kids who do). You can set it to block certain sites after a specified allotted amount of time. This way you can’t stay on Facebook all day.
11. Vertical Tabs: Like all your tabs organized vertically? That’s what Vertical Tabs will do for you. You get a quick dropdown view of all your tabs at once.
12. Feedly: This is a really fun extension. It organizes your favorite sources into a start page that has a great magazine like format.
13. Google Mail Checker: Being able to check your email right on Google is such a timesaver. This Chrome extension allows you to automatically link to your email account to check for new mail quickly and easily. There are soon to be upgrades that will let you check more than one email account this way.
14. Fastest Chrome: This extension makes everything go faster. Load pages and do searches faster than you ever thought possible.
15. Last Pass: This is a great password manager and form filler tool. It keeps track of all your passwords for you and fills out forms with your info.
16. RSS Subscription Extension: Get your subscriptions via RSS feed quickly and easily with this extension. Monitoring your favorite blogs and websites has never been easier.
17. Remember the Milk for Gmail: The Remember the Milk tools are some of today’s most popular. This version for Google Chrome helps you keep track of everything you have to do so nothing gets forgotten.
18. Instant Image Editor: This image editor works a lot like Photoshop, but it’s free!

With Google Chrome, and all its great extensions on your side, life will be better organized and more productive. There are lots of great ways to use this tool to improve your life in the lab and at home.

2. Grants and Funding website: This is your one-stop resource to find funds for research and training in the sciences. This service is completely free.

3. Science Mag.org has articles on the latest news for every branch of science. Even mad scientists need some fun reading once in a while, and here you can find out how massive a quark really is, read a cheery piece titled “Death by Necroptosis,” and check in on the status of Madagascar’s forests and China’s sustainability efforts.

4. If you’re ready to leave academia and make some money, NewScientistJobs.com is a great job search engine to start with. Upload your resume, browse by discipline, find out who is recruiting or just check out the old-fashioned job search.

5. Lab Support is a job placement website specifically for scientific, engineering and preclinical professionals. The jobs range from contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire opportunities in areas like lab work, Environmental, Health & Safety etc.

6. Kelly Scientific is another job placement website, but with a global scope and offices nation-wide. You can find temp jobs and permanent positions all over the world, and you can use the search for free.

7. For tips on how to research online effectively check out this very scientific article, written by a librarian, specifically for scientific researchers.

8. Scirus is the most comprehensive scientific research tool on the web. With over 370 million scientific items indexed at last count, it allows researchers to search for not only journal content but also scientists’ homepages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional repository and website information.

9. INFOMINE is the search engine to go to when you need to find databases, electronic journals, online library card catalogs, articles and directories of researchers.

10. Intute is a similar free online search service from the UK that specializes in helping people find the best websites for academic research. Browse by subject – like Agriculture, food and forestry; Geography and environment; physical sciences; and Mathematics and computer science to find articles by top researchers. 

Here we present 5 free online web apps for science nuts out there. Hopefully these will help expand our understanding of things and will stimulate the thinking juices of the many budding Einsteins out there.

1. Schoolr – This search engine is a researcher’s delight. It is a great reference resource for information on the many things that a science nut frequently needs. Citations for book reports, plain old search, search on Wikipedia, and even image search. The site links to Wolfram, which is considered by many to be the most ambitious project ever undertaken on the Internet. Wolfram hopes to one day cover all the knowledge that can be systematically computed.

2. Periodic table of the elements – All science students, regardless of their specialization, are exposed to the periodic table. This application is a beautiful one for all science aficionados. It is a superb interactive information source on elements. A simple click takes you from the history of elements to the geology section where clicking any symbol opens up information on the geology of the element. Check it out, even guys who dreaded the periodic table will fall in love with this one.

3. Online Conversion – Simply the mother of all units’ conversion sites online. You can convert just about anything to anything here. You have more than 5000 units and over 50,000 conversions. At some point in time everyone has had to face a conversion conundrum, whether it’s converting weight from kilogram to pounds or checking out your height in meters. The site goes way beyond what you would expect of a conventional conversion resource. All scientific and daily use conversions that you can possibly think of. Informative, educational and also a worthy companion when sitting for exams.

4. Earth Live – A great visual tool for understanding the state of the earth. A beautiful application for all of us, more so for the serious students of environmental science. You can view almost real-time satellite data of the earth’s cloud cover, ocean temperatures, and the water vapor levels. You can remix the elements to get your own worldview and a better perspective of the living earth. You can track events such as the migration path of birds, butterflies, and animals. You can find out what the ocean currents are looking like at any point in time; there is so much more – for the armchair earth warrior to the committed scientist.

5. Health Map – A global disease alert map, ingenious use of information available on the net. The application collates information from different authority sources and brings them together in a global map. You can form your own opinions on the outbreak of infectious disease and their effect on human and animal health based on the information from news sources, personal accounts, and official alerts from organization such as WHO. The information is of great use to the science enthusiast, public health officials, and international travelers. You can search maps of N. America, S. America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Australia, and the World.

These five free web apps are just the tip of the proverbial information iceberg. Here’s a superb resource to search for some outstanding free and paid web applications of tremendous utility for science teachers, students, grads, undergrads, dads and grand-dads. Finally, here’s a funny page for scholastic science nuts. Simpletons like me can chuckle once they figure out what the joke was.