Center for Cultural Design: Yup’ik Tundra Navigation
Discover the ways Native Americans navigate their way around the Alaskan tundra. Using celestial navigation and landmarks, a Yup’ik hunter navigates across the tundra to find food. Read information about the cultural background of the Yup’ik, and play four games using celestial navigation to see if you can find your way in the Arctic. The instructions for the games are very clear. You will be finding the time of day, month of the year, position of the Big Dipper, known as Tunturyuk in Yup’ik, and the compass direction by using any two pieces of the information to find the rest of the information. A great introduction to using a very recognizable constellation to aid in navigation.
http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/na/tunturyu/index.html
Science of Cycling: Bicycle Physics and History
You don’t have to understand the physics behind riding a bicycle to enjoy a good ride, but if you want to find out how things work, you can’t do better than perusing this site. Divided into six sections, the topics include the wheel, frames and materials, aerodynamics, drives and gears, braking and steering, and probably the most important to make cycling really work, human power. You get a taste of the history of the development of bicycle in each section. The physics parts are easy to read and include some interactive calculations and other activities. Listen to and watch some competitive bicyclists talk about their techniques. Now get out and pedal.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cycling/
