There are gender wars, and then there are casualties. It wasn’t until 2011 that the behemoth toymaker LEGO acknowledged girls’ desire to build with bricks, even though the company had long before made a seemingly effortless pivot to co-branding, video games, and major motion pictures. So it’s little wonder that girls face all-too-real obstacles when […]
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Where Homework and the Internet Meet
Check out the best Web sites for getting your schoolwork done or for just having fun. Launch Point, a regular feature of the Education Page, is a collection of smart resources for students and parents found each Wednesday in The Times. The subjects for Launch Point are taken from the California public schools curriculum and are carefully screened by educational experts for quality and appropriate grade level. This week we are exploring …
Time
Level 1 Web Sites
A History of Clocks
The word “clock” comes from the French word “cloche” which means bell. From sun dials to modern time pieces, learn about different methods for measuring time and the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
http://library.scar.utoronto.ca/ClassicsC42/Gomes/wat.html
Making a Sun Clock
Before there were clocks, people used the sun to tell time. Find out how to make your own sun dial and learn the difference between solar time and standard time.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/sunclock.html
Water Clock
The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Chinese all developed types of water clocks. Try making a water clock of your own and discover how it can keep track of time no matter whether or not the sun is out.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/world/trythis/try10.html
Level 2 Web Sites
Daylight Saving Time
We know that Daylight Saving Time requires us to change our clocks on the first Sunday in April and on the last Sunday in October, but why do we do this? Learn about the history and rationale about Daylight Saving Time as well as how railroad schedules helped speed the adoption of Standard Time in the 1880’s.
http://webexhibits.com/daylightsaving/index.html
Calendars Through The Ages
The concept of a day is based on the rotation of the Earth on its axis while a year is based on the revolution of the Earth around the sun. Learn how astronomy is used to calculate different types of calendars and explore how different cultures throughout history have developed different tools and methods for measuring time.
http://www.webexhibits.com/calendars/index.html
Time Zone Converter
Find out what time it is all over the world through this collection of online time zone calculators.
http://www.timeconverter.com/
Level 3 Web Sites
How Time Works
Why are there different time zones? Where is the International Date Line and what is the prime meridian? Learn how time is measured and view diagrams that show how atomic, pendulum, quartz and digital watches work .
http://www.howstuffworks.com/category-time.htm
A Walk Through Time
Learn about the history of tracking time and find out about the National Institute of Standards and Technology as it keeps the official U.S. time. View illustrations of ancient and modern timepieces, learn about world time zones and find out how satellites broadcast time code that can set clocks within 100 millionths of a second of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/time.html
Nova: Time Travel
Is time travel possible? Explore its possibilities through an interview with Carl Sagan, the written work of Clifford Picover, and animations that demonstrate the theories of Albert Einstein.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/time/
Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times
Original is no longer online. URL was http://www.latimes.com/news/learning/launch/time.htm