by Evelyn Beck

To celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Wright brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., the Franklin Institute used its museum website to help high school students discover the thrill of science and engineering. As part of a competition, students studied historical weather patterns for the area, learned the 12 different steps involved in forecasting, and then predicted the weather for the Dec. 17 anniversary. What that activity did-and what the best educational websites do-is involve students in a way that helps them become producers of knowledge. "We gave them pictures of the Wright Brothers' artifacts, but that's not enough to make it their own," says Karen Elinich, director of educational technology programs for the museum, which is located in Philadelphia. "The ability to reflect, embrace and then produce something is the key to remembering."

Finding such sites is a challenge, but putting them to good use is even more demanding. Here are some destinations that might make for good virtual field trips for the creative instructor:

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