By using the Internet, we can access science encyclopedias from the comfort of our homes. We don’t have to travel to the library to review the reference section for books that we aren’t allowed to remove from the building. There are thousands of sites referring to science encyclopedias on the web. Below, we will discuss a few of them.
The first site we will review is http://www.oup.co.uk/oxed/children/oise/. This site belongs to the Oxford University Press and is named the Oxford Illustrated Science Encyclopedia. The home page is a beautiful array of object and color. Having special selections for children, this site will keep you jumping from one category to the next. Check out the “Test Your Knowledge” section. You might be surprised at just how much you remember from school! This is one of my favorite sites, because it is easy to use and very visual. It also boasts free pictures.
WWW.allrefer.com does just what its name implies. It refers you to another site which refers you to another site which refers you to another site, and so on. While there are some interesting items to be found on this site, I am not particularly crazy about the sterility of the site. It is also ad-driven and pop-up dominated. Therefore, be sure you have your pop-up blocker installed and turned on. Otherwise, your attempt to find information will be futile.
Eric Weisstein’s Treasure Troves of Science offers a comprehensive science encyclopedia and can be found at http://www.treasure-troves.com. You can view such topics as astronomy, math and music. This site does not use pop-ups and is easily navigated. However, the graphics are minimal, to say the least. I would suggest this site for the more advanced user. Since it does not contain very many pictures, it may not hold a child’s interest as much as it would an adult’s. I found this site to be very informative and useful.
One of the sites I reviewed is http://www.science.enotes.com. This site is not free, but it is certainly worth the $9.95 per month to use the “science pass”. The “science pass” will give you full access to all the information you require. When you pull up the information, the site only allows a tidbit to be revealed thus requiring the pass. It would be much more lucrative to purchase the yearly pass for $29.95. There is also an option to purchase passes for the entire http://enotes.com site. This informative site would be well worth the money.
A great reference guide for science and technology can be found at http://www.refdesk.com. This site supplies great references and graphics.
Though these are just a few of the thousands of other sites when it comes to dealing with all the science encyclopedias that are available on the net, I hope this information has helped will help you make an informed decision on your first stop at the World Wide Web.