Biology & Life Sciences
Learn about the human body, plant life, and the animal world. Come see the resources and ideas we've collected to make learning about biology interesting, easy, and fun. From preschool-aged to high school level, you'll find everything you need here.
Things to See & Do in Indiana
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, authorized by Congress in 1966, is located approximately 50 miles southeast of Chicago, Illinois in the counties of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte in Northwest Indiana. The national lakeshore runs for nearly 25 miles along southern Lake Michigan, bordered by Michigan City, Indiana on the east, and Gary on the west. The park contains approximately 15,000 acres, 2,182 of which are located in Indiana Dunes State Park and managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Miles of beaches, sand dunes, bog, wetlands, woodland forests, an 1830's French Canadian homestead, and a working 1900 era farm combine to make the national lakeshore a unique setting for studying humans and their impact on the environment. Dr. Henry Cowles conducted his landmark ecological studies in the Indiana Dunes. Indiana Dunes is ranked 7th among national parks in native plant diversity. Research conducted over the last two decades has revealed 1,418 vascular plant species within park boundaries, of which over 90 are on the state of Indiana's threatened or endangered list.
Indiana State Museum
Constructed of all Indiana materials including limestone, sandstone, steel, brick and glass, the museum’s exhibit space covers 72,000 square feet, and the organization maintains a collection of more than 400,000 artifacts. Exhibits explore cultural and natural history of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis.
Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo features 43 acres and 1,000 animal species, a train ride, animal contact area, pony ride, and the Rain Forest. Hug a goat in the popular contact area. Take a ride on a pony or the 1860 miniature train. See red pandas, sea lions, penguins, a giant tortoise, and much, much more. Relax in beautifully landscaped grounds and facilities.
Potawatomi Zoo
The Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend has over 600 animals on 23-wooded acres. Highlights include the Australia walk-a-bout with kangaroo, wallaby, and emu. Zoo Farm includes domestic animals such as goat, sheep, alpaca, and pigs. Your safari through Africa features lions, zebras, chimpanzees, warthogs, antelope and three species of old world monkeys. Trek through Asia to view red pandas, tigers, cranes, camels, takins, and two species of leopard. Explore the Americas, home to bison, prairie dog, flamingo, giant tortoise, and alligators. The Learning Center is an indoor building that displays hundreds of animals including reptiles, amphibians, small primates, lemurs and fruit bats.
Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden
At Evansville's Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, you will see more than 500 animals from 200 species roaming freely in natural habitats surrounded by exotic plants, wildflowers and trees. Our beautiful 40-acre park features a Children's Enchanted Forest, paddle boats, bumper boats, a tram, and the Discovery Center, focusing on the world's vanishing
rainforests and animals.
Indianapolis Zoo
The Indianapolis Zoo has approximately 3,800 specimens of 320 species of animals, including 16 endangered species, four threatened species, and 13 Species Survival (SSP) animal species. The Zoo also has more than 1,900 species of plants in its collection.
John Ball Zoological Garden
The John Ball Zoo is located on the hillside of a beautiful 140 acre park on the west side of Grand Rapids. Currently the animal collection at the Zoo includes 237 species and 1,183 individuals.
Activities & Experiments
Considering God's Creation
Life science truly comes alive with this 270-page lap-book style notebook for 2nd-7th graders. A Charlotte Mason type discovery approach is easily implemented with creative activities, music and topical Bible studies, making this program a perfect choice for a homeschool family or a classroom. It may be used as a stand-alone science course or as an invaluable supplemental resource for any other program.
Arbor Day National Poster Contest
Join over 74,000 fifth grade classrooms and home schools across America in the Arbor Day National Poster Contest. The theme chosen will increase your students’ knowledge of how trees produce and conserve energy. The free Activity Guide includes activities to use with fifth grade students to teach the importance of trees in producing and conserving energy. These activities correlate with National Science and Social Study Standards. The Guide also includes all of the information you need for poster contest participation.
How I Teach a Large Family in a Relaxed, Classical Way: Science
Family style learning is a great way to tackle lots of different subjects, including science.
ExploraVision
ExploraVision is a competition for all students in grades K-12 attending a school in the U.S., Canada, U.S. Territory or a Department of Defense school. Homeschooled students are eligible to enter. It is designed to encourage students to combine their imagination with their knowledge of science and technology to explore visions of the future. Teams of students select a technology, research how it works and why it was invented, and then project how that technology may change in the future. They must then identify what breakthroughs are required for their vision to become a reality and describe the positive and negative consequences of their technology on society. Winning ideas have focused on things as simple as ballpoint pens and as complex as satellite communications. The student teams write a paper and draw a series of Web page graphics to describe their idea. Regional winners make a Web site and a prototype of their future vision.
Handbook of Nature Study
Based on Charlotte Mason's method of education, this website offers ideas and resources for incorporation nature study into your homeschool.
Featured Resources
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Black Books Galore's Guide to Great African American Children's Books
"This is a great resource that fills a tremendous need. It should be on parents' shelves at home as well as in every school." —Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D. Harvard Medical School These are exciting times for African American children's literature. Never before have there been so many titles available. Now the three mothers who founded Black Books Galore! —the nation's leading organizer of festivals of African American children's books —share their expert advice on how to find a...
Noah Webster's Reading Handbook
This is the historic text (originally called the Blue-Backed Speller) that has been updated to teach phonics/beginning reading. The blends and words in this reader are arranged to correlate with the sequence in which the special phonics sounds are taught. This reader is an invaluable teaching tool for children who need extra practice in the application of phonics rules. Find out more here.
The Absorbent Mind
In response to the crisis in American education, more than five thousand public and private schools across the nation have adopted the timeless Montessori Method of teaching, of which this book is the cornerstone. Written by the women whose name is synonymous worldwide with child development theory, The Absorbent Mind takes its title from the phrase that the inspired Italian doctor coined to characterize the child's most crucial developmental stage: the first six years.A new foreword by John Cha...
Homeschooling 101: A Guide to Getting Started
Homeschooling 101 gives you the steps to help you get started on your homeschool journey. This guide lays out how to get started, choose and gather curriculum, scheduling, organizing your home, and finding the joy in homeschooling. This book is perfect for new homeschoolers who are looking for real help in taking the first step.
Idea Book For Cuisenaire Rods At The Intermediate Level
Grades 2-5. Idea Book designed for use with Cuisenaire Rods.