Science can be a dirty business鈥攁ll rubber gloves and fume cupboards.
But if you鈥檝e always fancied experimenting without the hassle of actually being
a scientist, help is at hand. The joy of scientific discovery divorced from the
daily grind of life at the bench can be found in 鈥渧irtual laboratories鈥�.
Would-be geophysicists can see the Earth move at
http://vcourseware5.calstatela.edu/VirtualEarthquake/VQuakeIntro.html.
The site trains you to pinpoint and measure a simulated earthquake.
Persevere and you get a certificate to print out and cherish.
If biology is more your thing, visit the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at
www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/vlabs.html. Try out the tools of modern
biology鈥攆rom state-of-the-art DNA sequencing, to examining heart
patients鈥攊n your virtual consulting room or lab. The site is aimed at
students.
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At the Virtual Fly Lab at
http://vcourseware5.calstatela.edu/VirtualFlyLab/IntroVflyLab.html
you can design your own fruit fly breeding
experiments. Mendel鈥檚 laws of inheritance come to life as you customise male and
female flies to have various mutations, and see what happens when they breed.
And if all that talk of mutants has awakened the Victor Frankenstein in you, visit
http://198.95.129.67/kids/multimedia/monster.html and build your very own
monster.
The Fantastic Typing CyberMonkey
http://205.229.75.99/staff/dfox/monkey.html will warm the hearts of probability
buffs everywhere. Ever wondered whether a monkey pounding a typewriter would
really ever produce the complete works of Shakespeare? Watch the CyberMonkey
type out its random masterpiece. All this virtual experimentation might inspire
you to try something real. If so, visit the edible/inedible experiments archive
from the Mad Scientist Network www.madsci.org/experiments. You can collect your
own micrometeorites (inedible) or make a baking powder volcano (not all that
edible). Have fun.
