When you think of natural history museums, you might picture exhibits filled with ancient lifeless things, like dinosaurs or meteorites. But behind that educational exterior, there are hidden laboratories where scientific breakthroughs...

The San Diego Natural History Museum provides dinosaur lovers with plenty of information and fun facts with links to Finding Fossils and Dinosaur Bytes.

This expansive guide to lichens offerings many helpful resources. After a lengthy introduction complete with picture examples, this site offers a lichen guide to lichens on twigs.

A look at what fossil evidence reveals about the life and ecological interactions of the lambeosaurus dinosaur.

A searchable database of the collections of invertebrates at the National Museum of Natural History. You can search by keyword, or in a more scientific way, such as by phylum or expedition.

As an online exhibit on meteorites, this site provides information on both collecting and identifying meteorites. Topics covered include falls and finds, hot desert meteorites, Antarctic meteorites, and more.

Explore the story and history of the ancient city of Petra.

A look at what fossil evidence reveals about life and ecological interactions of the extinct dire wolf.

Brief look at the fossil evidence that reveals the life and ecological interactions of the extinct saber-toothed cat.

Learn more about the properties of minerals.

Travel through Earth's history to learn about the Oligocene time period, which is characterized by the appearance of most of the living families of mammals.

This engaging game about dinosaurs allows students to analyze and interpret fossil data, as well as engage in argument from evidence. The game helps students to understand that fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that...

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, in a section titled "North American Mammals," offers a general overview of the polar bear. Additional content includes detailed drawings, photographs, and a map showing the polar bear's...

The National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian presents an extensive annotated bibliography of works on Native Americans for grades K-12.

A 14-year-old boy found the fossils of a brand new species of dinosaur--the Bambiraptor. Find out the fun facts about what scientists have discovered about the Bambiraptor and how closely it was related to birds with this resource.

This informative site from the Arizona Museum of Natural History gives a good look at the Hohokam and their culture. Find a map that shows where these early Southwest people traded, see examples of their pottery and jewelry, and read...

This terrific site from the National Museum of Natural History gives general information about the Burgess Shale and the fossils found within. Use the links to go the Burgess Shale specimens page where there are drawings of many of the...

Part of a larger online exhibit on the moon and space, this site deals with one's place in the universe. The topics covered include the sun and solar system, the galaxy, and the universe.

A collection of seven rare diamond types, among the most valuable in the world. All but one is a unique color, and each has a special title. Read a short descriptive history of each diamond.

This is an article from The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles about a new tropical "Brown Widow" spider found in Los Angeles; it is followed by 15 self-grading questions.

Detailed instructions, with photographs for every step, for how to build a coral reef diorama.

Learn about the reproductive system of the dogfish shark through a video gallery. Also read about the myth that sharks must constantly swim or they will die. PDF transcripts are available for each video.

Learn all about hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean and how scientists locate them. Then take a virtual expedition to the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the north Pacific and see if you can discover a new deep sea vent.

This Smithsonian website has a brief, but thorough, article on the Ptarmigan. It also includes pictures and an extensive quote from 19th Century naturalist Edward Nelson.