Links – UCSB Physics Circus

Home Experiments

Astronomy

Mars Mission Page This is NASA’s home page to the various missions to Mars. There are lots of pictures and links to Mars science pages, as well as a history of Mars exploration and plans for future NASA projects.

History of Software in Space This page tells the history of the computers that made the Apollo missions possible, using links to other sources along the way. You can learn about the beginning of modern computers, the women and men behind the scenes, and the code that took Apollo 11 to the moon.

Photos from Hubble This NASA page has pictures taken by the Hubble space telescope.

Messier Catalog Charles Messier was a French astronomer of the 18th century. He compiled the catalog of nebulae, galaxies, and clusters of stars that can be found on the web page. The pictures are beautiful and there is a short description of the catalog. There is a detailed description for each picture.

Matter

All about atoms This web page teaches you about “atoms,” the tiny particles that make up all matter.

Elements Loads of information about the periodic table and every single element known to exist, plus lots more on applications to science and technology.

General Physics

Physics 4 kids This web page explores basic physics in all subjects, starting with motion and going through thermodynamics, light, modern physics, and electricity.

Motion at Home “Monsters, Motion, and Mechanics” is a web page about special effects and physics.

Educational Science Games Get interactive with any of the cool science games collected at this link. Thanks to our community for finding this awesome page!

Gravity and More! Great introduction to gravity, including examples and images! Thanks to our community for finding these resources!

Special Topics

Optics for kids A web page about light and optics designed for kids.

Ear Guitar The Exploratorium shows you how to build an ear guitar. It also comes with an explanation of how the whole thing works.

Physics of skateboarding At times, skateboarders appear to defy the laws of physics. As this web page explains, this is not so. Learn how skateboarders pull off those ollies and frontside 180s.

The science behind grilling! Learn about heat, temperature, conduction, and all the physics required to cook your favorite burger on the grill. Thanks to our community for sending in this awesome link.

Soap bubbles It turns out that the physics of soap is very interesting. This web page includes a basic explanation of soap and recipes for great bubbles.

Chaos (suggested for high school students) A description of “Chaos” from the Exploratorium. Includes information about their exhibits as well as a glossary of terms and information about chaos and complexity.