This resource library is curated by BioBus scientists to support students, parents, and educators in remote learning and STEM engagement.
Make sure to check out our Resources for Understanding Race, Advocacy & Managing Race-Related Stress produced by BioBus Junior Scientist Paul.
Engage from Home: Online STEM Resources
Scientific discovery and exploration don’t stop when schools are closed. Here are some ideas to continue developing your science skills at home:
Get to know your non-human neighbors
There are over 2 million species living on earth, and humans are just one of them! Take a look around your home and neighborhood, and see how many different types of living things you can identify. Here are some online guides that can help you in your exploration:
- Discover Life – ID Nature Guide
- Insect Identification for the casual observer
- All About Birds
- Backyard Tree Identification Guide
- A guide to microinvertebrate life in the leaf litter
- Dendrochronology Resource (recommended by student researcher Nicole)
- If you have a smartphone or tablet, you can use the Seek app by iNaturalist to identify the organisms you come across.
Run your own science experiments
Ask a question, design your experiment, and start collecting data! Nature serves as the best source of inspiration, but if you need more ideas check out the links below:
Connect with scientists
Meet the people that work to expand our understanding of the world. Ask them questions, get feedback on your own progress, and become a part of the science community.
- Skype a Scientist matches scientists with classes or families interested in having a Q&A session with them.
- LabXChange is an online community of researchers, educators, and students that empowers learning, communication, and collaboration.
- 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures connects girls interested in pursuing STEM careers with women who work in STEM fields for one-on-one mentoring, along with coursework focusing on professional skills development.
- The Incubator Blog by RockEDU contains Scientists of New York and Perspectives sections.
- #WhyIScience presents interviews with a variety of STEM professionals at Broad Institute.
Play a science-based game
Play to learn, play to explore, or play to just have some fun!
- Ology Games contains a variety of free games by American Museum of Natural History. Our favorites include Gutsy and Human Microbiome Minecraft Map.
- The Pack is an open-world video game, “where healthy ecosystems have faltered, water and food are scarce, and it’s up to you and your Pack to help fix the environment!” Created by NYSCI and Design I/O.
Join a citizen science project
There are lots of big scientific research projects that need the participation of many people. You can be a part of figuring out the answer to a big question!
- Join Cicada Safari to help scientists map the emergence of Brood X cicadas from their 17-year development stage underground!
- Scistarter has hundreds of citizen science projects and a great search function that allows you to filter them by age groups, topics, whether you can do them online, etc.
- Zooniverse has a large selection of citizen science projects sorted by discipline.
- Examples of citizen science projects supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Take a virtual field trip
You can explore museums, parks, and even planets without leaving your home.
- The Nature Conservancy Virtual Field Trips
- American Museum of Natural History
- The EcoTarium
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams
- Access Mars
- Broad Institute
- Road Trip from Home: Virtual Field Trips (recommended by student researcher James)
Expand your STEM knowledge and skills
- What’s the BioBuzz? A BioBus science journal making real research science more approachable to student readers.
- Ology is a science website for kids from the American Museum of Natural History that has games, videos, hands-on activities, and stories on a variety of topics.
- Resource Center by RockEDU has collections that explore various biology-related topics, such as viruses, the central dogma, and the biochemistry of an egg sandwich
- Code at Home Activities by Girls Who Code provides a variety of online and offline activities that explore coding, as well as introduce pioneer women in tech.
- DNALC Live by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA Learning Center offers lab demos, talks, and lectures for grades 5+ on molecular biology topics and more.
- LabXChange has a rich library of free, high-quality digital content on different science topics, as well as on college readiness and science career exploration.
- Science Time From Space lets you explore some key scientific concepts with astronauts on board the International Space Station.
- Earth Science, Geology and the Formation of Diamonds contains links to informative resources about geology. (recommended by student researchers)
- Discovery UK “How It’s Made” series walks through the process of making common items and more.
More Resources for Students, Parents, & Educators
- Brainfuse HelpNow by The New York Public Library
- Provides academic support to students from elementary through high school, including online homework help and skills building resources
- Use your NYPL card number to log in
- Free STEM Resources Provided By Public Libraries
- Article that explores different ways public libraries can support STEM learning, as well as providing some STEM resources
- Recommended by student researcher Leslie
- At School Resources from NYSCI
- Variety of STEAM teaching resources and educational materials.
- Classroom Discovery Guides by Broad Institute
- Series of NGSS-aligned curriculum guides for high school teachers
- Resources for Educators: The Secret World Inside You
- “The Secret World Inside You” educator’s guide
- Science & literacy activities for grades 3-12
- BHL Resources to Support Distance Learning by Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Free and open online access to over 250,000 volumes from the 15th-21st centuries on a wide range of biodiversity subjects
- Pre-selected sets of materials on a variety of subjects
- A rich collection of over 160,000 free nature images
- Coloring books created from images in the BHL collection
- PBS Kids for Parents
- Many resources for parents of 2-8 year-olds, including educational shows and games, as well as a well-curated Learn & Grow section organized by age and developmental skills.
- Remote Learning Resources by ASD Nest Support Project
- Resources for families and educators of students on the autism spectrum
- 54 Educational Brain Breaks Your Students Will Love by We Are Teachers
- Quick, easy activities to help kids re-energize, refocus and give their brains a boost
- College and Career Pathways by The New York Public Library
- Great resources for students looking for college guidance, career readiness, or adulting skills.
- RTOL – Rapid Transition to Online Learning by The Academy of Active Learning Arts and Sciences
- Free one-hour online teaching course, mostly for K-12, aiming to answer this question: “If a school had just one hour to prepare to teach remotely, what are the most essential things the school leader, IT managers, and teachers would need to know and do?”
- This news article describes the components.
Online Learning Resource Libraries
Below are libraries of hundreds of online learning tools and resources that have a large range of applications. These libraries are mostly intended for use by educators or parents, and some of them allow filtering resources by grade level, subject, and other criteria to help you find ones that best meet your needs and interests.
- 120 Digital Resources for Home-Schooling by Teach.com
- Online Learning Resources by Digital Promise
- Free Tech for Learning by Learning Keeps Going
- Resource Directory for Online Instruction (older version of the directory in spreadsheet form)
- 350+ Amazing Online Learning Resources by We Are Teachers
- Ultimate STEM Resources Bank for K12 Students by Go Science Girls
- The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections by MCN
