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Welcome to Ask A Biologist. This site has a large collection of biology learning materials that includes stories, games, activities, videos, and a podcast.
Living things need to be able to sense the world around them to avoid danger, find food, find mates, and for other important activities. Learn about the five senses used by many animals to sense the environment.Also in: Français
In many fairy tales and folktales, the temperate forest is a place for discovery, adventure, and maybe a little magic. What makes this biome so special in our minds? Maybe it's the animals, the quiet that can be found there, or the way the leaves change color with the seasons.Also in:…
Very strange things have been taking place lately. Dr. Biology and his team need your help to solve the mystery and piece together what's been happening in the lab.
Even though we live in a modern world how we act and what we do many times is controlled by our Stone Age brain. This impacts our diet, friendships, love and more. Dr. Biology sits down with authors Doug Kenrick and David Lundberg-Kenrick to get the inside story…
Building Your Own Ant Farm (Part 2 of 2). Ask A Biologist video with Dr. Biology and Rebecca Clark on how to build an ant farm with recycled CD cases. Watch part one.
Dr. Biology interviews research scientist Kate Ihle at Barro Colorado Island in Panama. BCI is part of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Dr. Biology gets the skinny on our largest organ - our skin. Professor and author Nina Jablonski talks about the important ways our skin works for us each day.
Venom!
Play the Venom! GameThe shape of a molecule is very important. It’s what makes it possible for proteins to interact with other parts of the cell. In this…
Bird Finder
Test drive our Bird Finder tool based on our virtual bird aviary of the southwest. A great way to learn about birds in your own backyard. Image of Northern Cardinal above by Robert Shantz.
Catch and Sketch Plankton
Learn to focus on detail and make keen observations that could be overlooked in a picture in this lesson on scientific sketching.
Ant Gallery (Get up-close to ants)
Now is the time to check out these amazing animals from the safety of your own computer.
Plankton Zoom Gallery (Plankton up-close)
Plankton comes in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few of the thousands of examples.
Bone Zoom Gallery (Up-close Inside Bones)
Take a look at the microscopic world of bone in our virtual bone histology lab. Just pick a microscope slide from below and click on it to view under the virtual microscope.
Ant Farm
Farming ants might sound like a crazy thing to do unless you might like to eat chocolate covered ants. It turns out we can learn a lot from ants and the best way is to build your own ant farm.…
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Metamorphosis – Nature’s Ultimate Transformer
Transforming robots are favorites of television and movies, but nature has some of the best transformers. Animals that can change in ways that almost seem unbelievable. Also in:…
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Ants
There are so many types of ants that it's funny the animated movie about them centers on one type that doesn't exist: a male worker ant. In this story you can explore some of the types of ants…
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Face to Face with Ants
Imagine being the size of an ant. Be careful - a face-to-face encounter with an ant would be scary and potentially life-threatening! But, if you avoided being eaten, you could learn a lot about…
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