Africa Amazon China Latin America Galapagos Arctic

Music Artwork PowerPoints Videos

English Spanish Chinese

The Classroom Package: Links - The Galapagos Islands

Use the links below to access the best resources on the Internet for exploring the Galapagos Islands and related topics. Buen viaje!


Best of the Best

Secrets of the Ocean Realm -- A fascinating PBS exploration of the seas and all its creatures, with activities designed for the classroom, quizzes and even a cool underwater screensaver for your classroom computer!

The Charles Darwin Research Station -- The Charles Darwin Foundation is dedicated to the conservation of the Galapagos ecosystems. The Foundation operates the Charles Darwin Research Station to conduct scientific research and environmental education about conservation and natural resource management in the Galapagos archipelago and its surrounding Marine Reserve.

Discovery Channel School: Explore Galapagos -- Did you know that the Galapagos Islands were once called the Enchanted Islands because they disappeared into the fog and sailing ships could not find them? This is a great educational site, with lesson plans, study tools, quizzes and suggested reading. (Note: Discovery Channel ads at top.)

NSTA Galapagos -- The National Science Teacher's Association examines island wildlife, surveys the landscape and even takes visitors for a ride in the undersea sub used by scientists to explore the Galapagos waters. Classroom Investigations provides downloadable and online activities to use at home or in school.

Scientific American Frontiers' Destination: Galapagos Islands -- Web version from Alan Alda's PBS series. Check the On the Islands section for excellent information about the islands history, geography/geology, wildlife and weather; and the For Students section for related experiments and activities.

Evolution: A Journey Into Where We're From and Where We're Going -- Expansive Web version of the PBS special series. The Evolution Library and Teachers and Students sections on this site are particularly valuable for classroom use.

NOVA: Tracking El Nino -- Explore how this 'little boy,' born in the Pacific waters near the Galapagos Islands affects weather patterns -- and much more -- around the world.

Volcanoes in the Galapagos Islands Region -- Photos of the islands' major volcanoes, from Volcano World. (Suggestion: Visit http://www.volcanoworld.org/vwdocs/volc_images/volc_images.html for comparing with other world volcanoes. Or, have your students start on this page, locate and click on South America on the map, then locate and click on the Galapagos, to arrive at the page with Galapagos volcano photos.)

Voyage of the Odyssey -- Video, audio and image files from the Galapagos leg of PBS's TV series.

NSTA List of Links - From the National Science Teacher's Association: focusing on evolution and the Galapagos -- more excellent sites.

Compare and Contrast

Garden of Eden -- A NOVA exploration of the Seychelle Islands and their Indian Ocean habitat.

Island of the Sharks -- Dive into the shark-infested paradise around Costa Rica's Coco Island (the Galapagos' nearest neighbor) in the Web version of this NOVA special.

Voyage to Puna Ridge -- An international team of scientists explore Hawaii's most spectacular volcano (with learning activities applicable to the Galapagos).

South Georgia Island: Paradise of Ice -- Exploration of this inhospitable Antarctic island from PBS's series The Living Edens.

Palau: Paradise of the Pacific -- Exploration of this Micronesian archipelago of volcanoes and limestone, from PBS's series The Living Edens.

Madagascar: A World Apart -- Exploration of this giant forested African island in the Indian Ocean, from PBS's series The Living Edens.

Borneo: Island in the Clouds -- Exploration of this Indonesian/Malaysian island famous for its orangutans, from PBS's series The Living Edens.

More Excellent Sites

The Galapagos Islands -- Learn about all aspects of the Galapagos Islands: the history, environmental issues, ecotourism, marine currents and weather; with a calendar of main events and profiles of each island.

Galapagos -- Explore the islands as you learn about about birds, sea lions, iguanas, turtles and other marine life.

Printable Map of the Galapagos Islands -- Excellent map (with a link to an enlarged version) on tour company, Discover Galapagos, site (This site markets their product, but also has excellent photos and some information that might be useful in the classroom.)

Interactive Galapagos Map -- Click on an island to read Galapagos facts, from PBS's Cool Science.

The Endangered Galapagos Giant Tortoise -- Giant tortoises live longer than any other vertebrate. And the Galapagos giant tortoises are the largest tortoises in the world -- yet they are endangered. (With a glossary of terms for younger students.)

Amazing Galapagos Animals -- Visit this site to take a Galapagos tour and see terrific pictures of tortoises, sharks, fish, boobies, penguins, sea turtles, sea lions and other amazing creatures! (Note: Site has one ad link, but many incredible photos.)

Galapagos Geology on the Web -- Visit some of the Galapagos islands and their volcanoes with this clickable map of the archipelago.

The Life of Birds by David Attenborough -- The Galapagos are famous for their birds. Learn all about our feathered friends in this site based on the PBS series.

About Temperature -- About Temperature is an excellent, information-packed Web resource for any class studying the physical concepts of temperature. You'll find data on thermometers, gas laws, kinetic theory, thermodynamics, and much more.

Absolutely Volcanic Web Site -- This colorful site is designed to provide quick and easy access to volcanic images. Selections include the most active volcanos, eruptions and lava flows.

Isla Isabela 3-D This is a three-dimensional view of Isabela, one of the Galapagos Islands.

A Sea of Resources -- Visit this Education World page to find links to sites about oceans for all grade levels.

Secret @ Sea -- This site explores topics in ocean science. Meet interesting characters, uncover amazing ocean facts and participate in challenging learning activities. Topics include tides, food webs, salmon, whales and more.

Volcanoes Online -- A ThinkQuest award winner, this site was created by students and designed to educate other students about volcanoes. It delves into many different facets of volcanoes such as what a volcano is, how they are formed, and how eruptions effect each and every one of us. Visitors may test their knowledge of volcanoes with online games and multiple-choice quizzes, search a 'volcano' database and discover links to other volcano sites, book titles and magazine articles for further research.

Volcano World -- From the University of North Dakota, 'the Web's premier source for volcano information,' including a Kids' Door for younger students. Find out about currently erupting volcanoes, take a virtual field trip, read an interview with a volcanologist, and read the archives of an outstanding Ask a Volcanologist question and answer service.

A Science Odyssey: Human Evolution -- When did humans evolve? Who are our ancestors? Why did we evolve? This activity shows the major hominid (human or human-like) species discovered to date, when they lived, and how they might be related to each other.

All About Whales This fact-filled, illustrated site for the youngest researchers presents basic information, including size, migration, behavior and classification. The link to Extreme Whales gives information about the biggest, smallest, fastest, and deadliest.

Candid Camera: Underwater Style -- See how scientists attach miniature cameras to seals to learn what they do in the water beneath the Antarctic ice. Incredible underwater video made by not your typical cameraperson.

El Niño Theme Page -- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration site explains the hows and whys of El Niño.

National Oceanographic Data Center -- The world's largest collection of publicly available oceanographic data.

Ocean98 -- Education, science, cultural, communication and environmental activities for United Nations 1998 Year of the Ocean.

Ocean Planet -- Smithsonian Institution on-line exhibit promotes understanding and conservation of world's oceans.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography -- Research and educational institute for oceanography and related disciplines. Visit the Education Corner to find investigations designed for the classroom of sea horses, plate tectonics and giant kelp.

SeaWiFs Project -- NASA program studies oceans from satellites in space.

American Museum of Natural History Black Smokers Expedition -- Pacific Ocean scientific research expedition to observe and study volcano-like structures.

The Encantadas by Herman Melville -- From the famous author's book, Piazza Tales, the complete text of the short story online.

Penguin Friends Mobile -- A 'reproducible' activity for younger students.

Darwin Texts

Voyage of the Beagle, by Charles Darwin, 1845 -- The complete text of the book online.

The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin, 1859 -- The complete text of the book online.