Kidtalk. Ages 4 and up. Tabletalk. Ages 8 and up. Sciencetalk. Ages 8 and up. Each card in these three 52-card decks presents an interesting fact followed by an open-ended question that encourages students to express their thoughts and opinions. Kidtalk features general topics; Tabletalk covers a broad range of topics to get students talking with parents; Sciencetalk focuses on science facts that students can relate to in their daily lives. Free Spirit.

Prima Study Packets 1 and 2. Grades 2-3. In these packets students independently research animals and then places. Included are a sturdy vinyl portfolio, a reproducible Student Guide containing step-by-step instructions and forms for the independent study, and a teacher's guide. Engine-Uity.

Artists; Inventors; Musicians. Grades 2-6. Each of these three books contains up to 100 reproducible self-directed activities, as well as a bibliography and a list of reference materials. There is a selection of several "great lives" in each of the books. Zephyr.

WakerUppers. Grades 2-6. Each of the 50 reproducible worksheets presents several brain-stretching activities. Students will write, draw, analyze, describe, and, most importantly, think. Dandy Lion.

Batteries and Magnets Kid Kit (ages 8-12), Science Experiments Kid Kit (ages 9 and up), and Rocks and Fossils Kid Kit (ages 10 and up). Kits include materials needed for the experiments, along with step-by-step instructions. Usborne Books.

The Magic of Ecology: A Handbook for Young Eco-Heroes. Ages 8-12. Young readers are taught 22 magic tricks that illustrate environmental principles and concepts. As students create "The Web Spin," "Vanishing Garbage," "Antigravity Water," "Disappearing Bug," "Water Planet Cards," "Carbon Creatures," "Green Milk," and more, they learn to care about the environment. Free Spirit.

100 Amazing Make-It-Yourself Science Fair Projects. Ages 9 and up. One hundred imaginative projects cover all fields of science, from electricity to ecology, plants to perception, light waves to living creatures, chemistry to the cosmos. Students are given detailed instructions and diagrams on growing crystals, creating a moon craterscape, building a telescope, making a 3-D stereoscopic viewer, taking photographs with a homemade pinhole camera, and much more. Each project uses readily available, everyday materials. Free Spirit.

Create-a-Center Bags. Ages 9 and up. Printed two tasks to a sheet on heavy stock, each bag contains 90 tasks, ready to cut out and make into a center. Grades 3 and up. The centers in the science series comprise the following strands: Astronomy, Earthquakes and Volcanoes, The Human Body, Oceanography, Weather, Dinosaurs, Heredity and Genetics, The Environment, The Future, ReptilesEducational Impressions.

Science Puzzlers: 150 Ready-to-Use Activities to Make Learning Fun. The book is full of many kinds of puzzles - word scrambles and searches, variations on crosswords, mini-problem solvers, brain-teasers, and more, all science-related and all reproducible for classroom use. The puzzles are organized into three sections - life science, physical science, and earth science. They offer a flexible, enjoyable way to build students' knowledge of basic science terms and concepts. Free Spirit.

Wanna Bet?. Grades 3-6. Science questions and activities with unexpected outcomes that challenge students. Summit.

Dig That Site. Grades 3-8. Explores archaeology, history, and civilization on the Internet. There are 32 locations, including lost, ancient, and modern cities - in more than 60 lessons. Zephyr.

Color the Earth Blue and Green - Activities for Ecological Awareness. Grades 4-6. Reproducible information sheets introduce students to problems in energy, the greenhouse effect, ozone problems, endangered animals, solid waste, and more. Students will get first-hand experiences with experiments and projects. Dandy Lion.

Independent Study Kit. Grades 4-8. The reproducible Student Manual takes students through each phase of an independent study, from getting the idea for a topic to evaluating the results. A Planning Board helps students design their project, and Product and Verb Cards lead students to make choices. Engine-Uity.

Question of the Week. Grade 5-7. Thought-provoking science questions on reproducible handouts are in four areas: life science, earth science, physical science, and space science. Each investigation includes the weekly question, vocabulary, alternate questions, challenge activity, and teaching guide. Dandy Lion.

The Brain Kit. Grades 5-12. An accurate, life-sized, ready-to-color model is provided, along with activity cards and reproducible worksheets with puzzles, quizzes, and record sheets. Zephyr.

Explorers (grades 5-8); Philosophers (grades 5-8); Reflections on Women in Monarchies and Democracies (grades 5-12). Each book contains up to 100 reproducible self-directed activities, along with a bibliography and a list of reference materials. The activities focus on several "great lives" in each book. Zephyr.

The Art of Construction. Grades 6-12. This award-winning book contains projects that teach beginning engineering and architectural concepts. The principals of construction - tension, compression, equilibrium, stress - are demonstrated with items such as tongue depressors, straws, balloons, and even eggs. Dale Seymour.

First Sheet Book. Grades 7-12. This book contains 30 First Sheets, each with six research tasks, thus providing 180 short-term, introductory research tasks on topics of interest to older students: aerobic exercise, atoms, astronauts, ballet, Beethoven, birds of prey, clocks, comets, dams, diamonds, Eskimos, Gandhi, golf, grand opera, the Hindenburg, immunization, lasers, Madame Curie, Marco Polo, mime, nuclear power, plants nutrition, origami, otters, Picasso, pottery, rain-making, space shuttles, steam locomotives, and surfing. Engine-Uity.

Eight Project-Centered Social Studies Learning Packets: 1 each of American Revolution, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Archaeology, The Blue and the Gray, The Colonial Period, Exploring New Technologies, and Family Matters. Elementary and middle school. Each packet includes approximately 50 activities on two ability levels, elementary and middle school. 3-hole drilled ready to photocopy. Zephyr.

Nine Project-Centered Science Learning Packets: 1 each of Astronomy, Earth Science, Ecology, Geography, Global Change, Marine Biology, Meteorology, Paleontology, and Science Fiction. Elementary and middle school. Each packet includes approximately 50 activities on two ability levels, elementary and middle school. 3-hole drilled ready to photocopy. Zephyr.

Rats Packs. Grades 7-12. In using these packs secondary students pursue meaningful independent studies while they are learning the skills of information retrieval and reporting. There are individual Rats Packs on American history topics, literature topics, world history topics, science topics, and social science topics. Engine-Uity.

Software

My First Amazing World Explorer. Ages 6-13. This interactive multimedia CD-ROM includes an Activity Pack containing two books, a page of stickers, a poster, a handful of picture postcards, and a jigsaw puzzle. Forty-four animated maps can be accessed. Four hundred pop-up screens contain facts about people, places, and wildlife. DK Multimedia.

Book and CD-ROM - The Way Things Work. Grades 5 and up. The world of inventors, inventions, principles of science, and history come to life in this interactive CD-ROM and book. Macintosh and Windows. Dale Seymour.

Eco Ranger. The student assumes the guise of a game warden in a mythical East African game preserve. The student must solve the problems created by poachers, lack of money, and habitat destruction. CD-ROM. Macintosh and Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Ocean Life: Micronesia. The student gains information about the mating, predation, camouflage, brooding, and nesting habits of 140 underwater species. They will also learn about Micronesia from detailed topographic, relief, and political maps. CD-ROM. Macintosh and Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Ocean Life: Hawaiian Islands. The student is led on an exploration through the waters of Hawaii. An interactive morphology section details anatomical variations that help aquarists and divers identify species. CD-ROM. Macintosh and Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Next Step: Mars? With more than 1,000 space and space-related images, this CD-ROM covers the past, present, and future of space exploration and contains eight special learning activities. CD-ROM. Macintosh and Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Anna Tommy. Two children, Anna and Tommy, pilot their way through the body. As they view inside-the-body footage, they explore the digestive, reproductive, circulatory, urinary, endocrine, respiratory, skeletal, lymphatic, and nervous systems. CD-ROM. Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Mayo Clinic Family Health Book. This CD-ROM contains information on more than 1,000 medical conditions, first aid, exercise and fitness, pregnancy, infant care, nutrition and health, heart disease, cancer, and infectious diseases. CD-ROM. Macintosh and Windows.

Mayo Clinic: The Total Heart. This interactive guide to heart health offers practical strategies and advice on lifestyle, diet, exercise, and reducing heart disease risk factors. CD-ROM. Macintosh and Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Mayo Clinic Family Pharmacist. This interactive reference offers information on brand names, descriptions, proper use, dosage, precautions, and side effects for more than 7,600 prescription and nonprescription drugs. CD-ROM. Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Mayo Clinic Sports Health and Fitness. This CD-ROM draws on the medical knowledge of the Mayo Clinic's Sports Medicine Center and ESPN footage of professional athletes. The program covers general fitness, anatomy and physiology, nutrition, exercise, injury prevention and management, sports psychology, and much more. The Personal Trainer segment helps a student evaluate his or her fitness level, recommends a fitness program, and tracks progress. CD-ROM. Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

The Virtual Body. This program includes a simple, self-guided format; cross-sections and close-ups of the body; 52 of the most frequently asked questions, covering such topics as reproduction, DNA, major diseases; and more than 30 real laboratory experiments, including DNA testing and a simulated heart attack. CD-ROM. Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Body Awareness Resource Network. Interactive learning modules - on AIDS, Alcohol and Other Drugs, Body Management, Human Sexuality, Smoking, and Stress Management - use games, behavior-change strategies, what-happens-next soap-opera simulations, and other high-interest activities to reach students of all levels. Disks for PC, Macintosh, and Apple II. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

ZapZapMap! This game from National Geographic Society invites students to learn the basic geography of the U.S. and the world as they place countries, states, capitals, and geographic features on a map. Macintosh, DOS, and Windows. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.