What's the buzz at TMA?
^ Back to TOP ^
CT Flu Watch (State of Connecticut) - news and tips for preventing and treating influenza, particularly H1N1 ("Swine Flu").
Swine Flu (KidsHealth from Nemours) - information on the H1N1 virus and tips for avoiding infection, written for kids.
Infection - Detection - Protection (American Museum of Natural History) - fight swine flu in fun, interactive games: "How Lou Got the Flu," "Bacteria in the Cafeteria," etc.
^ Back to TOP ^
Achievers! This Year's Theme at TMA!
During this academic year, students will give special attention to individuals, past and present, from around the world who have made notable achievements. We will consider their inspiration, learning, creativity, discovery, and inventions; how their strengths, resources, and challenges affected their endeavors; and the significance of their work for us today. In addition to general and individual biographical resources in our print library, our electronic resources include a wealth of information about both famous and lesser-known individuals and can be searched by name, nationality, areas of endeavor, historical periods, and many other classifications.
920 Biography Resource Center - biographies of more than 340,000 individuals from dozens of respected biographical reference encyclopedias, sources with related full-text articles from hundreds of periodicals, as well as tens of thousands of images and links to hand-picked web sites. [E] [I] [U] 
920 Biography - Offical site of A&E's Biography television series. Includes the searchble text of 15,000 entries from The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia. [E] [I] [U]
920 Biography Center - Index of web sites with more than 10,000 biographies of prominent public figures, including politicians, authors and entertainment celebrities, browsable alphabetically, by category, popularity; some out-of-date links. [E] [I] [U]
920 World of Biography - biographies of approximately 200 prominent individuals, organized by category, searchable by life span or term. [E] [I] [U]
Below are resources for some of the Achievers classes are studying:
Galileo at the Franklin Institute - online images of Galileo's inventions and instruments, plus a video featuring astronomer Derrick Pitts, documenting the journey of the Galileo telescope from Florence, Italy to the Philadelphia museum.
400 Years of the Telescope (PBS) - companion site to television documentary
973.3 America's Founding Fathers: Delegates to the Constitutional Convention (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) - biographical sketches of the 70 individuals appointed by the original states for the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
Turtle: Submarine Photo Archive (NavSource Naval History) - drawings of David Bushnell's Revolutionary War invention, plus modern replicas.
Meet Amazing Americans! (America's Library: Library of Congress) - Discover the inventors, politicians, performers, activists and other everyday people who made this country what it is today.
A. Einstein: Image and Impact (American Institute of Physics) - historical essays about Albert Einstein, photographs, audio clips of Einstein explaining his theories, and links to other sites.
Einstein's Big Idea (PBS) - the story behind the world's most famous equation, E = MC ˆ2; includes articles, audio, interactive programs, and teachers' resources relating to Nova program.
Invent Now! The National Inventors' Hall of Fame - searchable database of inventions and inventors, with some online exhibits
"14 Inventors We Love" (2009) - Slide show from website of Inc.: The Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs
^ Back to TOP ^
Galilean Nights & Meteoric Astronomy
TMSC Obseratory Night & Planetarium Show (23 Oct., 6-8 p.m.) - highlights include waxing crescent moon and Jupiter.
Orionid Meteor Shower (20-22 October)
Leonid Metoer Shower (17-18 November)
^ Back to TOP ^
Hispanic Heritage - free resources from Gale Cengage
Hispanic Heritage Month (Fact Monster) - information, games
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage (Scholastic) - biographies, games, teacher resources
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Education World) - fun facts on Hispanic heritage in American culture, classroom activities in math, geography, art, etc.
Hispanic Heritage Month Teaching Resources (History Channel) - biographies and history from the early explorers to the Mexican-American war.
National Hispanic Heritage Month (Library of Congress) - information, images, audio & video about Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.
Hispanic Heritage Teaching Resources (Smithsonian) - biographies, images, activities for the classroom.
^ Back to TOP ^
Alan Bean Visits Talcott Mountain
Reservation for Dinner (12 Oct.) and Order Form
Biography of Astronaut Alan Bean (NASA)
Alan Bean: First Artist on Another World - online gallery and personal web site of the Apollo 12 Lunar Module Pilot and Sky Lab commander.
"Color the moon.(lunar missions)." / Edmund A. Fortier. Highlights for Children 62.1 (Jan 2007): 22(2). 
General OneFile. Gale. 
"A New View of the Ocean of Storms. (The Moon; THE MOON)." Time 94.23 (Dec 5, 1969): 47. 
Academic OneFile. Gale.
"Our surprising new satellite. (Apollo 12 Mission)." Astronomy 31.1 (Jan 2003): 30. General OneFile. Gale.
"Alan Bean." Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 22. Gale Group, 2002.
Reproduced in 
Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009.
"Alan L. Bean." Contemporary Newsmakers 1986, Issue Cumulation. Gale Research, 1987.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009.
^ Back to TOP ^
National Chemistry Week (18-24 October)
National Chemistry Week (American Chemical Society)
You Be The Chemist Challenge (Chemical Education Foundation) - national competition for students in grades 5-8
^ Back to TOP ^
Jump Start for Academic Success
"Tips from an Ex-Procrastinator: How to Stay On Task When Homework is the Last Thing You Want to Do" (Scholastic) - tips for staying motivated.
"Find Your Time Management Style" (Scholastic) - online quiz that analyzes your personal approach to time management.
Math and Reading Help (non-profit org, co-sponsored by ALA) - Your guide to math, reading, homework help, tutoring, and earning a high school diploma; study tips, tips for parents, test prep.
10 Tips for Good Study Skills (FamilyCorner) - organizational strategies for parents and kids
A Guide To Creating Chapter Outlines (Mr. Lazaroff, Staples High School) - shows basic method and rationale for outlining material.
Study Guides and Strategies (Joe Landsberger) - time management, problem-solving, cooperative learning, thinking skills, review tips, classroom participation.
Overcome Procrastination and Get the Job Done (EduGuide) - tips to stay motivated and on top of your work.
Cliffs Notes - free online study guides for literary works, with author biographies, glossary, character analysis, critical essays, etc; also support for study of math, science, history, Spanish, etc.
Spark Notes - free online study guides for literary works and many other subjects.
^ Back to TOP ^
Mathematician's Lament and Chaos Game (Mathematics)
Mathematician's Lament / by Paul Lockhart, Ph. D. (2002) - a teacher at St. Anne's School, Brooklyn, NY, and assistant professor at Brown University, Dr. Lockhart critiques modern systems of mathematics education as ; ideas are expanded in a 2009 book, A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form (Paul Lockhart and Keith Devlin).
The Chaos Game (Boston U.) - rules & interactive version of game.
InterActivate: The Chaos Game (National Science Digital Library) - online version of game proposed by Michael Barnesly to illustrate geometric patterns formed by randome events.
Chaos Game (Wolfram Math World) - illustrations and mathematical formulas related to Chaos Game.
Sierpinski Gasket Via Chaos Game (Alexander Bogomolny)
^ Back to TOP ^
Gale Free Teaching Resources - classroom activities, biographies, synopsis of selected literary works, historical timeline, quiz
Women Exploring Oceans (Oceanographers.com) -
Engineer Girl (National Academy of Engineering) - career information for women in engineering
Nerd Girls (School of Engineering, Tufts U.) - current women in engineering demonstrate their enthusiasm and options for math/science students.
Heidi Hammel Homepage (I Was Wondering) - companion website to biography of Dr. Hammel in the Women's Adventures in Science series, Beyond Jupiter: The Story of Planetary Astronomer Heidi Hammel / Fred Borz. National Academies Press (2006); includes games, interactive information tools, and fun facts.
Cool Science and Technology Jobs: Girl Power! (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services) - national public education campaign to help encourage and motivate 9- to 13- year-old girls to make the most of their lives; includes information on careers in exercise science, engineering, oceanography, piloting, web design, zoology, meteorology, computer animation, robotics, chemistry, and forensic science.
^ Back to TOP ^
Presidents of the United States
The Inauguration of President-elect Obama and Vice-President-elect Biden (Presidential Inauguration Committee) - images and press releases concerning official plans for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.
"I Do Solemnly Swear . . ." Presidential Inaugurations (Library of Congress) - historical images and texts from inauguration of U.S. Presidents from Washington to the present.
Presidential Inaugural Gala 2008 (Corcoran Gallery of Art) - live online images of inaugural celebrations.
The Presidents (American Experience, PBS) - companion website of TV series about Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, and Bush; teacher guides, online viewing, and classroom resources available.
American President (Miller Center of Public Affairs, U. of Virginia) - extensive collection of biographical information about each president.
The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden (Smithsonian Institution) - objects relating to Ameircan presidents from the museum collection, with classroom resources.
First Lady's Gallery (White House) - information and images illustrating the place of presidents' spouses in our history and our culture.
National First Ladies' Library -
^ Back to TOP ^
National Geographic Bee (National Geogrpahic magazine) - entertaining and challenging test of geographic knowledge for students grades 4-8
Geography Action! 2008 (National Geographic) - interactive games, tools, and maps for geographers.
My Wonderful World - resources for parents and students
Geography Awareness Week (Smithsonian Air & Space Museum) - "Geography from Space" contest, images, and links for geography.
Teaching with GIS (mapping software) - rich resources illustating computer mapping tools to study Asia
GAW 2008: Mapping the Americas - games and resources for students and teachers
^ Back to TOP ^
Connecticut Science Fair, 9-13 March 2010
Intel Internatioanl Science and Engineering Fair (9-14 May 2010, San Jose, CA)
Connecticut Science Fair (9-13 March 2010, Quinnipiac University)
TMA Reference Library includes more than a dozen books with guidelines for preparing and presenting science fair projects
Citation Styles for Research Paper
507 IPL Kidspace Science Fair Project Resource Guide - guide with links on the scientific method, choosing a topic, completing the project, and displaying the project.
What Makes a Good Science Fair Project (Cal. State Science Fair)
Science Fair Success / Krista West. Scientific American Explorations, 4:1:38 (Winter 2001).
[Abstract] Provides tips to parents on how to provide help to their children who are interested in participating in science fairs. Assessment of potential projects; Provision of basic logistical support; Following of teacher's guidelines concerning the fair; Determination of level of complexity of a project; Avoidance of roadblocks; Proofreading of child's display.
The Big 6... and Science Fair Research / Kay Hudson. Library Talk, 13:3:13 (May/June 2000).
CyberFair: The Virtual Science Fair (Mankato, MN Public Schools) - shows information and images of elementary and middle school science fair projects; includes tips for planning, conducting, and presenting science fair projects.
All Science Fair Projects (ScienceHound) - ideas and tips for elementary, middle, and high school science fairs.
Surviving Science Fair: Elmer's Guide to Successful Science Fair Projects (Discovery Channel) - how-to guide on developing and conducting experiments for science fairs, with specific tip sheets for astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, and physical science.
Mr. McLaren's Science Fair Survival Page (Cole Junior H.S., RI) - planning and preparation tips, plus links to dozens of other pages with ideas.
Virtual Science Fair (Candian) - online exhibition of award-winning projects from grades K-12.
Science Fair: From Idea to Exhibit - a student's guide to science and engineering fair projects.
Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, & Tools for Serious Students (Science Buddies)
Super Science Fair Projects: Ideas, Topics & Experiments
Math Ideas for Science Fair Projects (Math Forum, Drexel U.) -
Connecticut Invention Convention (2 May 2009, U. of Connecticut)
^ Back to TOP ^
School Library Media Month (April) & Talcott Mountain Book Fair (20-24 April)
School Library Media Month (April) - celebrate our revitalized school library!
Talcott Mountain Book Fair (20-24 April) - an excellent selection of books for children and adults available for purchase in Top o' Tech in the Student Technology Center; plan gifts for graduation and summer reading fun; presented by Book Fairs by BookEnds.
^ Back to TOP ^
Math Counts - national enrichment, coaching and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement
7 February 2009 - Hartford, CT Chapter Competition at University of Hartford (Connecticut Society of Professional Engineers)
14 March 2009 - Connecticut State Competition at University of Hartford (Connecticut Society of Professional Engineers)
7-11 May 2009 - Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition will be held in Orlando, Florida!
^ Back to TOP ^
Hans Schepker "The Geometer" Field Trip
Glass Geometry: My World of Mathematics and Art (Hans Schepker)
Mathematica Graphics Gallery (Wolfram Research) -
Geometry Through Art: What Can Children Learn About Art and Geometry (Norman Shapiro, The Math Forum)
Geometry Step-by-Step from the Land of the Incas (Antonio Gutierrez)
^ Back to TOP ^
2009: International Year of Astronomy & Lincoln Bicentennial
International Year of Astronomy 2009 (International Astronomical Union) - resources to inspire, educate, and celebrate
Galileo at the Franklin Institute - online images of Galileo's inventions and instruments, plus a video featuring astronomer Derrick Pitts, documenting the journey of the Galileo telescope from Florence, Italy to the Philadelphia museum.
400 Years of the Telescope (PBS) - companion site to television documentary
Teaching Abraham Lincoln (EdSITEment, NEH) - background information, links, interactive learning tools and lesson plans.
Connecticut Lincoln Bicentennial (Yale U.)
Civil War Encampment at Connecticut Historical Society (3 Oct. 2009)
Other library resources on this site
On Campus • Off Campus • Writing Reports • Student Contests & Competitions
About the Library • Celebrations of Learning Calendar
Policies for Use of Information Resources at TMA
Periodicals • Author! Author! • Distance Learning & Continuing Professional Education
Alumni and Faculty Authors Bibliography
Secondary School Information • Resources for Teachers • Resources for Parents • About the Library