Home >> Awards >> Past >> The Journey North

Search form

Home > "Best Of" Series > 1999 > Education Site Reviews > Top 20 Review

T O P     2 0     R E V I E W

Best of '99 Header


The Journey North
https://journeynorth.org/
GRADE LEVEL: K-12

CONTENT:
The Journey North is an outstanding collaborative Internet project that involves classrooms in the study of wildlife migration and the changes to the environment as spring moves north across Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A sister site, Journey South, gathers similar information in the fall and prepares students for the spring's Journey North.

AESTHETICS:
Warm colors and engaging graphics add to the site's appeal.

ORGANIZATION:
The site features a set of rune-like icons at the top and bottom of each page to help navigate. Users can also click on the Journey North logo to return to the main page.

REVIEW:
The project will track spring's Journey North and the migratory patterns of a dozen species. Students share their own field observations and are linked with scientists who provide their expertise directly to the classroom. Several migrations are tracked by satellite telemetry, providing live coverage of individual animals as they migrate. As the spring season sweeps across the hemisphere, students note changes in daylight, temperatures, and all living things as the food chain comes back to life. A database of information is gathered as students report their data and sightings of migratory creatures. Students can access archived data from past years to examine long-term patterns and possible causes for shifts in those patterns. Classes interested in the spring's Journey North are encouraged to participate in the Fall's Journey South activities, such as planting tulips for spring observations and collaborating with classrooms in Mexico about the migrations of monarch butterflies. Don't miss this one!

RELATED REVIEWS: