Friday Hot Links for 10/30/09

Young Inventors Contest

Young inventors ages 6 to 19 are invited to compete in "Invention Dimension," a contest in which they submit their own concept for future toys, indoor/outdoor games and sporting equipment.

  

Get details at: www.bkfk.com/inventiondimension/states. Deadline for entries is Jan. 29

Being an American Essay Contest

The Bill of Rights Institute is sponsoring an essay contest on what it means to be an American. There are ash prizes for students of up to $5,000, and the top 27 winners will get an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.

Go to www.beinganamerican.org for entry details. Deadline is Dec. 1. Winners will be announced in late March.

You Don't Pay!

Freebies, software/discounts, supply samples and other items for the classroom such as after-school safety tips, educations CDs for home and school, and government educational resources are available at: www.idontpay.com/teaacher.html

Movie Making

Animoto lets you create 30 second videos for FREE using your own photos. Check it out at www.animoto.com.

Maps and More

At www.education-world.com/1_curr/curr109.shtml, you will find a collection of free items, including maps and materials for science and language arts.

Learn About Ancient Mesopotamia

Scholars from the University of Chicago have conducted excavations and research in Iraq from the end of the nineteenth century until 1990, just before the start of the Gulf War. The Museum’s Mesopotamian collection takes visitors back 150,000 years, and follows the development of human society from nomadic groups to the first cities. The gallery displays 1383 artifacts dating from the Paleolithic Period (around 100,000 BC) to the Sassanian Period (around 400 AD).

You can engage in a variety of interactive explorations!

•                Dig into ancient Mesopotamia

•                Collect and Catalog Artifacts

•                Curate a Museum Exhibition

Go to: http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/interactives/DigIntoHistory.html

Learn about life in Mesopotamia at http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/about.php?a=sitemap

Then, travel into the main Oriental website at: http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/kids.html

Where you can:

• Prepare a mummy for burial
• Find images on a carved relief from an ancient tomb
• Learn more about Egyptian artwork
• Use an interactive timeline

Germs and Diseases

Thinkfinity has tons of resources for teaching kids about germs, diseases, and how they are spread.  Check it out at http://thinkfinity.org/PageHiglights.aspx?showId=Flu_and_Germs

Thanks to Judy Eacker, Washingon district G/T Specialist, for suggesting several of these resources!

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