Planet Oit is an online computer role-playing game in which the students play interplanetary explorers as a means to teach the concepts and principles of physical geology. Planet Oit has been designed as a coherent geophysical space where geological regions (desert, mountains, plains.) contain plausible phenomenon (mesa, playa, cave) which are populated with plausible objects (outcrops, boulders, ... Full description.

This National Geographic news article from December 2001 outlines the eruptive progress of Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico. The article discusses the difficulties of evacuating locals during volcanic disasters because of their overall beliefs that the volcano is their "friend." Users can also link to other National Geographic news stories, special news series and the main National Geographic site. Full description.

The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and the US Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program. The project provides up-to-date worldwide volcanic activity information. Users can access regional maps as well as a map of volcanoes discussed each week. New eruption information is provided ... Full description.

Volcanoes of Other Worlds explores and compares volcanism on other planets. What do we know about plate tectonics on other planets? Planetary bodies highlighted include the Earth's Moon, Mars, Venus and Jupiter's moon Io. Users can also link to Volcano World, an excellent web-source of volcano information. Full description.

This archived Universities Space Research Association Earth Science Picture of the day highlights the Dent de Morcles geologic formation. The photo shows an example of the complex processes that often take place during mountain building. For more information about the Dent de Morcles, geology of Switzerland and mountain formation, users can follow links to external pages from this Picture of the Day. ... Full description.

This National Geographic News article discusses how a scientist uses tombstones to track environmental changes. Geomorphologist Tom Meierding visited more than 700 cemeteries and measured 15,000 tombstones to see what kind of environmental changes they might reveal. Full description.

A Golden Opportunity for Science is an educational exercise developed by the Bureau of Land Management. This exercise uses activities about gold to teach science, centering on the following information: how the pursuit of gold shaped society; metaphors, myths, lores and legends about gold; the mineral properties of gold; lode deposits and placer deposits; mining and recovery of gold; and the technology ... Full description.

The Ideas for Resources: Geology Lab Manual is highlighted as part of the Starting Point Teaching Collection. This site contains a partially-fleshed-out list of questions and situations dealing with water, minerals, and public policy intended to be incorporated into role-playing activities. It is designed to accompany a course on resource geology or environmental geology. Its message is that access ... Full description.

This Starting Point page describes a virtual tour of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming featured on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) website. In this tour, students act as park rangers to research geological features of Yellowstone, locate these features on maps, and describe and define associated geologic terms. The features discussed include geysers, hot springs, canyons, waterfalls and mudpots. ... Full description.

Eruption! is a volcanic crisis simulation model that showcases a series of villages that surround an active volcano and is part of the Interactive Models for Geological Education Online (IMGEO) series. The goal of the exercise is to preserve as many people and as much property as possible in spite of the threat from the volcano. Students role-play as villagers, the governor, volcanologists, and the ... Full description.