1999 ThinkQuest USA Winners
Best of Contest - Arts and Literature
Pieces and Creases - A Fun Guide To Origami
Piece 'n Creases is a fun guide to origami. It is an inter- active website that encourages the viewers to participate and collaborate on various projects.
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Energy In The Air: Sounds From The Orchestra
On this site, you can explore the unique sounds of the symphony orchestra created by the brass, string, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Over 20 instruments are defined and pictured, and their special locations in the orchestra are identified. The note range of each instrument can be compared with that of the others. A short history of each instrument in included as well. Outstanding music by famous composers featuring each instrument is listed and many of them have links so that you can hear an example of each particular instrument. In the "Sound Is Energy" section the principle of acoustic energy and how instruments make sound is explored. Several instruments can be listened to individually and an image of their unique sound wave is shown. These instruments each play the same composition, so the individual parts can be compared. Finally we combine all of the instruments to demonstrate the way an ensemble is united in playing a piece. Simply classroom activities are presented to explain by hands-on experimentation the scientific principles on which vibrations produce pitch that creates the unique sounds of the four instrument groups. Several educational games are available; including testing the user's ability to visually identify instruments, unscrambling the letter of instrument names, and trivia quizzes using information learned on the site. Links are provided to instrument societies for young musicians taking lessons; and our bibliography lists resources for further study.
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Adventures of Lilo the Green Sea Turtle
Our visitors will explore the adventures of Lilo the green sea turtle of Hawaii. They will journey with her as she is faced with both the dangers and miracles of the Hawaiian ocean. Join Lilo as she encounters the perils of the waters of Hawaii such as pollution, oil spills, ghost nets, and poisonous sea creatures. Marvel along with her as she encounters the beauty and miracles of the Hawaiian waters with its abundant food supply, exquisite beaches, beautiful reefs and sea life. As you follow Lilo on her adventure through the ocean, you will be able to test your knowledge of the dangers and miracles of the sea as well as learn about them. At the end of Lilo's Adventure, you will have an opportunity to apply the knowledge that you've gained about the ocean through some fun activities which includes a fish search, fish match, maze daze, pollution scramble, and dangerous creatures fill in. We hope that when you complete our entry, you will have learned something new about the ocean and the creatures that live in it as well as gain an appreciation for our ocean and all its beauty, miracles, and dangers.
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Creatures of the Night and You
Humans often fear what they do not understand: the dark, monsters, animals that look or behave different than they do themselves. The broad objectives of "Creatures of the Night and You" are to help children understand nocturnal sights and sounds, dispel any fears, and encourage them to enjoy their evenings outside by explaining the night. Our entry does this through descriptions of the biology, physiology, astronomy, and mythology of the night, along with intriguing pictures, participatory activities, and actual sounds. The many different navigational paths allow the student to begin exploring those areas that interest him or her most, yet still be free to return easily to other areas. Areas will help the student understand the physical difference between nocturnal, crepuscular and diurnal creatures, identify constellations and differentiate stars, galaxies, and comets, and recognize the noises of the night as the language of specific creatures
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A Pioneer's Journey to the Frontier
We produced this page to help other elementary students at both our school and other schools learn all about westward expansion and the Pioneers in the 1800s. Our web page provides information about early American Pioneers who traveled to the frontiers. It gives detailed information about 1) who the pioneers were, 2) why they traveled to the frontiers, 3) where they traveled to, 4) some of the trails they used, 5) the transportation they used, 6) the supplies and utensils they took with them on their journey,7) the wagon train and its wagon master, scout, and captain, 8) the adventures the pioneers had on the trails, and 9) their lives at their new homes. The page also has activities including, recipes, pioneer music, and projects other students can make. We have included interactive quizzes about the covered wagon and pioneer music. In addition the page provides a list of children's books about pioneers and a detailed description of the book _Rebecca of Blossom Prairie_ along with an interview of the author. It is our hope that any student who reads this page can learn more about pioneer life and become interested in reading stories about them.
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Yo, It's Time For Braces
Our website is about orthodontic braces for elementary school students like us. It is now recommended that 6 to 7 year olds should be checked by an orthodontist. Braces are not usually considered fun. But when kids get braces and want to learn more about them they will probably look on the Internet for information. There are 3 main pages of general information that introduce other pages with advice, information and pictures about their topic. The 3 pages are: 1) Deciding to Get Braces, 2) What Happens at the Orthodontist's Office and 3) Living with Braces. Fourteen orthodontists provided the team with information, pictures and advice. Seven orthodontists have answered a long survey, written by the team, about their life, education and work. Five of these surveys, as well as a Picture Glossary, are translated into Russian. There is an interview with an oral surgeon. Kids can also learn about the way braces have changed over the years. On the personal side, there is a cartoon drawn by the team members called "Sandy Gets Braces". Madeline's Journal about her experiences with braces includes original artwork. There is a page about celebrities who had braces. Visitors are encouraged to write about their own experiences in the Guestbook. We think that if kids know more about braces then they won't be afraid of them. We hope kids will enjoy our website and use it to find information they need when "It's Time For Braces".
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How Our Hawaiian Islands were Formed
Our web site entry , "How Our Hawaiian Islands were Formed." is broken down in to sections. "How Our Hawaiian Islands are Formed" focuses on the creation and the natural destruction of the Hawaiian Islands. "Pele's Path" is a game with questions and answers based on the story of, "How Our Hawaiian Islands were Formed." The section on "Mo'olelo" deals with the different types of creation legends that children in Hawaii learn while growing up. "Island Tour" is research on the eight major islands that form the Hawaiian Island chain. "Alternative Energy" deals with the positive and negative sides of using geothermal energy as an alternative energy source. "Lava Comparison" enables a viewer of our site the opportunity to see the two predominate types of lava and also a comparison of the two kinds of lava. The pictures section was included to show the things that we saw when we visited the Big Island and visited Volcano National Park.
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Journey To New Worlds: Exploration of Space and Hawaiian Voyaging
Our Earth is getting too polluted so we want to move to another planet. This site will teach our viewers about Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Moon, and Mars. They will learn if there is water, what kind of soil that planet has, and how far it is from Earth to that planet. They will also learn if we could live on that planet. When the viewer goes to the planet or moon, he or she will have to do tests on what kind of soil that planet has, water tests to find out if there is water, and will have to find the distances to the planet. Site visitors will also have to do a lot of thinking and picking to what is the correct answer. We also compared Hawaiian Voyaging with Space Voyaging. We compared the tools they use to navigate, the food they ate, jobs they had, and their daily life on the shuttle and canoe.
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Chess for Kids
"Chess for Kids" is an exciting resource for chess players of all skill levels, from beginners to advanced tournament players. Learning to play chess well has the benefits of increasing many personal disciplines, as well as being a very enjoyable sport. We provide tutorials to understand how to play and improve your chess strength, as well as annotated games to study. Our chess puzzles will challenge you and test your skills.
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Children's Creative Theater
The "Childrens Creative Theater" web site is designed to introduce the visitor to the world of childrens theater. Our major areas of concentration are: theater history (brief), theater terms, theater games, resources, an original skit, and a tour of a real childrens theater. This interactive web technology allows the visitor to choose one's own path of learning. Our original skit, written by the team, provides ideas for costumes and makeup. The team hopes others will submit their original skits and we will publish them on our site. We feel creative dramatics is a wonderful way to make just about any learning come alive! We learn much more by doing and then by teaching others!
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Endangered New Jersey
This entry fills a need for information on endangered species of New Jersey. The only site that has this information are a few pages on the state's site. We had their "blessing" in making our site. This site gives information on each of the over 60 species by categories (mammals, reptiles, etc.) It also has pages on general topic about endangered species (causes, ways to help etc.) Since endangered species is studied in almost every elementary school in the country, we think our site will generate a lot of interest. There is information for teachers & students (a teacher page, TQ site diary, question board etc.)We stressed content over flash and followed the concept of "Think globally, act locally."
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The Shocking Truth About Electricity
We all use electricity 24 hours a day, but most children have no idea what it really is. The Shocking Truth About Electricity was created in order to teach upper elementary school children about the history of electricity, the science behind it, the ways in which our civilization uses it, and major issues surrounding its use. Throughout the site, interactive elements allow for an international sharing of ideas and hands-on experiences to enhance learning.
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Mars Madness
Join us on our journey to Mars by clicking on our spaceship. But first, get your Mars Madness passport.
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Fort Ross: A Piece Right Out Of History
Our site is all about a little-known place called Fort Ross, It was the farthest southern outpost of the Russian Empire, and it was in present-day California. We want to tell you about the people who lived there and about what they did there. Some of the things they did were: making baskets, pottery, marching,and hunting sea otters. We hope that other students will learn a lot about this unusual part of California's history.
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I Want My NTV!
"I Want My NTV" was designed to make students aware of issues surrounding television violence. We wanted to teach kids about the history of violence on television, the effects of television violence on kids, the violence chip and the controversy it has created as well as the television rating system. We provided information on these areas and created activities that kids, parents, and teachers could do to become involved in this issue, regardless of their veiwpoint. We hoped that kids would help us to create a data bank of their opinions through the questionnaire so that we could write our own research article from a kids point of view.
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Human Body
Our web site, "Blending In and Staying Special," was designed to present a different approach to learning about the human body. This site presents seven major body systems. The organs involved in each system are explained and their role in the body is presented. Along the journey through the human body, students not only will learn facts about their body, but will also learn new words and interesting facts. The story of an organ donor and an organ recipient are presented. Facts and information about the transplant and donation process are provided as a means of increasing the awareness of this process.
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Baseball... and Math
Our web site takes a sport that kids love and helps kids to learn math in an exciting way and have fun. We accomplished this by providing mathematical problems that were related to baseball. We have different levels of math for students who want to start at an easy level and then progress to harder levels. In "Baseball and Math" the viewer gets to find out if they are right or wrong in their mathematical calculations. There is a page with baseball bloopers for humor and a word search page and quiz for even more fun. We feel that we have met our objective because others at our school have tried our site and enjoyed doing the math related to baseball. Our site will hopefully continue to help kids learn more by finding out things for themselves so they can develop into a smarter, more reliable people.
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Adventures At Sea
We hope to provide an exciting "Adventure at Sea" for our potential cyber-sailors. Their ultimate goal will be to receive the rank of captain on their own ship. In order for you to do this, you will need to make decisions, analyze data, problem solve, and synthesis designs to build your own clipper ship. You will receive training at Sailor's School, in which there are many opportunities to specialize in various sailor skills . Thes sailor skills include tieing knots, cooking in the galley, building ships, navigating, and reading mariners instruments.
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Wilson Rawls
Our entry is all about Wilson Rawls and the two books that he wrote, "Summer of the Monkeys" and "Where the Red Fern Grows." We have games as well as book reviews. We have a number of Internet sites that have more information on Wilson Rawls. Our objective was to present material on Wilson Rawls and give other kids a place to start finding out about him. We have also invited other kids to send in their pictures and summaries of their favorite parts of Rawls' books.
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Learn To Draw
We show kids how to draw by using simple step by step instructions with graphics. Kids learn how to draw aliens, animals, faces, flowers and fancy letters. We have a quiz about famous artists and other games related to art. We also share some art tips and links to other art education sites. Kids can post their questions about art or share their own ideas on an Art Message Board. Learning to draw will help kids use their imagination and develop their skills to become better artists.
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Cyberstories: Featuring Facts, Fiction & Fun
"Cyberstories" is an E'zine written by and for kids. The content is both educational and entertaining. Three issues are planned: the current one as well as June and Octobers. The upcoming issues will use the stories, poems, art, and opinions of the children visiting the site. Contributors can follow the format of the writing that is already on the site, or they can submit other forms for publication. Some of the departments are: Kids' Problems, Real Adventures, Fantastic Fiction, Poet's Corner, Awesome Art, and Funny Bones. They can leave their opinions about the Kids' Problems, write an ending to a story that has been started, and contribute to a poll about the games they like. Writers can also find help at the site. There is an extensive reference section for getting help on grammar, writing reports, getting ideas, and sentence structure. Each of these sections has many links so that writers can use the Internet as a reference tool for their writing. It is our hope that this site will encourage kids to write, and that they will enjoy reading and sharing the writing of others on the site.
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Words and Tolkien
This site will be for little Hobbits and big Hobbits. Three little hobbits, er humans, have created a web page that incorporates J.R.R. Tolkien and his love for words. On your quest here, you will find information about Tolkien and how his love for words inspired him to create a world--the Middle Earth--where he invented words to describe the people of Middle Earth.
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Project Environment: Kids In Action
This site has four main objectives: 1) to educate kids about the environment and the positive and negative effects they can have upon it; 2) to provide both online and at-home activities to reinforce environmental awareness; 3) to highlight the members of SAVE, a group of high school students who have built an environmentally friendly house and whose goal is to educate students and community members about creating and maintaining a healthy environment; and 4) to allow kids to share the ways they have helped the environment themselves.
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Alaska's Blooming Beauties
Our entry provides an overview of Alaskan Wildflowers, plants in general, and the beauty that can be seen throughout Alaska. In addition to showcasing Alaskan Wildflowers, we wanted to encourage viewers to learn more about plants and Alaska than they knew before entering our site.
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Do We Really Know Dewey?
Librarians everywhere wish there was something interesting for kids about the Dewey Decimal system. We hope this will be their answer. This is a website created to teach kids about the Dewey Decimal System. There are several levels, so it could be used with different age groups. For example, the "Alien" story and the "Pre-Dew Review" sections could be used with earlier elementary levels. They would be a good review for middle grades, and they could also learn a lot from the "Let's Dew It" section. For those students who are ready for more challenging information, there is "Let's Dew it Again". The Book Topics and Websites pages should help kids get a better idea of the kinds of topics in each Dewey category. The test and puzzles will help them remember what they've learned.
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Ancient Egypt: Stayin' Alive
"Ancient Egypt: Stayin' Alive" is a site that has information on pyramids, mummies, hieroglyphics, religion, pharaohs, the Nile, and everyday life. We also have a disco theme with a disco ball on our home page. The disco theme promotes that even though the pharaohs and kings are dead, their history is still "Stayin' Alive" through us. We also have an interactive crossword puzzle for visitors to solve. We have a guestbook and an "About Us" page.
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Aloha Paradise?
Our "Aloha Paradise? Network" is a web site about the endangered and extinct plants and animals of Hawaii, the most endangered species spot on Earth! The site shows others about endangered species and what is happening to our islands' beauty. Our Web site is organized somewhat like a television network with different shows such as the "Extinct Files," "Mynah Winery," "Rescue 5-0," "Hawaii's Most Wanted," "Earthline," and "Animal Squares." Hopefully, we can encourage and move other people to become active in trying to prevent any more species from becoming endangered or extinct, by approaching the issue in an entertaining yet informative way. We would like to decrease the amount of plants and animals that are disappearing before it's too late. Join us in our mission to save our Hawaiian Paradise.
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Surfing in Hawaii
Our site is all about surfing. You can learn about the history of surfing, how a surfboard is made from a piece of foam to the final product, the different types of surfboards, what causes waves, legendary surfers, and how to surf. We wanted to share this information with students who may not have the chance to experience surfing on their own. We wanted to challenge each student to learn by themselves by taking a quiz at the end of the lessons. We also tried to make it interesting and fun so they wouldn't get bored.
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Jump Into a Healthy Life
"Jump Into a Healthy Life " is a web site which teaches kids how to do some of the basic, intermediate and advanced jump rope tricks that Jump Rope Demonstration teams do in their performances. We designed some of our own skills that can be used by other kids. Through our research, we hope to help kids learn about heart health and answer the question "What does jumping rope have to do with a healthy heart?" By creating quizzes and word puzzles, other kids can make the connection between rope jumping and heart health. Links to other healthy heart and jump rope sites are included. We hope that kids around the world will learn to love jumping rope the way that we do.
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Seeing Disabilities from a Different Perspective
Our web site tells about disabilities that affect many people and the abilities that they have. Autism, deafness, blindness, and cerebral palsy are our main focus. In each section we give our perspective on being in a school or a home with kids that have these disabilities. There is also a teacher's perspective about being a teacher of kids with disabilities. In each category there will be reports about famous people and the effects and causes of disabilities. We interviewed many people concerning these problems. There are activities and simulations that kids and teachers can use to help them understand each disability. We have reviews of children's books on disabilities. There is a quiz for kids to try and test what they've learned from our web site. We included an E-mail Us page where the web viewers share their experiences being around kids or adults with these disabilities. We have a glossary so the viewers will see the meanings of some of the words we used in our reports. The educational value in our web site is that kids will get a better idea of what it's like to be in a school with kids that have disabilities. The viewers will get a better understanding and appreciation for people with disabilities. Students can use our site as a reference for reports. The viewers will learn about famous people who put their disabilities behind them and focus on what they love to do.
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Great Inventions and Inventors
Our web site will introduce 12 of the greatest inventors to students and teachers who might be interested in them. There is a report about each of these great inventors. We also have three games and a quiz where you can test your knowledge on what you have learned throughout our site. We have added an inventors time line and Hall of Fame with buttons to help you get to the reports. We also want students who visit our site to share their creative ideas for inventions. We will be featuring the best invention ideas that we receive each month. Our visitors can also add to the site by sending in names of inventors that they think should be added to our site. If we think that their nominated inventors should be in our site, we will add them to our Hall of Fame.
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