Just for Fun

Welcome to Just for Fun - a place where we have collected a variety of resources and things for you to do that we think you will enjoy. If you have suggestions of other things you'd like to see added to our collection, please let us know! The links below provide links to games and interactives, our multimedia collection, our Ask a Scientist collection where you can browse previous question and answers and post new ones, our Journal tool, our Virtual Postcard interactive that you can use to send postcards to your friends, Citizen Science activities and links to other online resources. Enjoy!

Play our <a href="/earth/climate/carbon_cycle.html&edu=high&dev=1">Carbon Cycle game</a> and follow the path of a carbon atom as it moves between reservoirs in the Earth system. For millions of years you were underground in fossil fuels. Now, you have been released into the atmosphere as humans burn fuels. Your objective is to get to all the places that carbon is stored. Earn extra points by correctly answering the carbon challenge questions at the yellow stars.<p><small><em></em></small></p>Like the Earth's environment, the space environment is getting more and more cluttered. There are currently MILLIONS of man-made orbital ruins that make up "space junk". Play our <a href="/games/junk_intro.html&edu=high&dev=1">Junk in Space game</a> and find out about all the junk in space, and how it got there. Your objective is to capture all the junk you can - but be careful - don't catch a satellite, spacecraft, or an astronaut! Three strikes and you're out!<p><small><em></em></small></p>Does any planet have a stronger magnetic field than Mars? Which planets have a greater mass than Jupiter? Which are denser? Which are larger? Find out while playing the Solar System Edition of <a href="/games/order_planets_intro.html&edu=high&dev=1">Order It Up</a>! Measures of size and scale help us understand the magnitude of objects. Play with scales while trying to arrange planets by magnitude of mass, size, temperature, density, distance, gravity or magnetic field. Correctly order the planets and you unscramble a mystery picture!<p><small><em></em></small></p>Play our <a href="/games/sudoku/sudoku.html&edu=high&dev=1">Eight Planets and a Dwarf Sudoku</a>! The regular rules of Sudoku apply - each planet can only appear once in each column or row, and only once in each 3x3 box. Learn more about the planets, too! You can vary the game from very easy to challenging.<p><small><em></em></small></p>The <a href="http://www.starcount.org">Great World Wide Star Count</a> is an international Citizen Science campaign. The purpose of this event is to encourage everyone to go outside, look skywards after dark, count the stars they see in certain constellations, and report what they see online. This Windows to the Universe Citizen Science Event is designed to encourage learning in astronomy! Have fun everyone!<p><small><em></em></small></p>Explorers, both from long ago and today, use journals to record where they travel and what they discover. With this <a href="javascript:wb_onclick();">online journal</a> you can keep a record of the places you have been, the things you have seen, and what you have learned within the Windows to the Universe web site!<p><small><em></em></small></p>

Explore Just for Fun

Fun & Games

We've collected our games here for you to select from. Note: Many of the games are written ...Read more

Multimedia

Access wonderful captioned photos, illustrations, videos and interactives that will inspire and excite you. ...Read more

Ask a Scientist

Over the years our scientists have answered over 1000 questions! Browse the questions and answers ...Read more

Windows Journal

Use this online tool to record your thoughts and discoveries. You can even add pictures! ...Read more

Citizen Science

Learn how you can participate in science projects that are helping us better understand our planet ...Read more

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that the Sun produces a wide range of radiation, in the form of electromagnetic radiation as well as particle radiation?

Did you know that the majority of water on Earth is held in the Earth’s ocean?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Quaternary
xQuaternary : The Quaternary is the geologic time period comprising about the last 1.65 million years.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

A Star Is Born... But How?

Created in the first three minutes after the Big Bang, hydrogen and helium gave rise to all other elements in the universe.  Stars made this possible. Through nuclear fusion, stars generated elements such...Read more


Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA