We try to make the highly technical stuff of scientific research as accessible as possible to anyone who wants to learn why and how we conduct research, what discoveries we make, and what are their real and potential uses.

Browse below for ARS' online and downloadable resources: 

• For students and educators—
• at our Science for Kids web site
• at other sites at ARS, including the National Agricultural Library, a unique part of the agency.
   
• For everyone—News, features, photos and videos.

At right are links for educational resources at other USDA agencies and other organizations.

Resources at Science for Kids

• Sci4Kids (en español, Ciencia Para Niños)—Designed for kids 8-13 but great for all ages.

• Dozens of stories about how agricultural research is wired into everyday life.

• Science fair project ideas.

• Science careers (including a fun quiz).

• The Teachers Desk—Downloadable resources to print and use in the classroom! A coloring page, the Whiz Kid Packet (reproducible masters featuring quizzes), AG-tivities (ideas for classroom projects) and more.

• Science Knows No Boundaries—Highlights the international nature of science and the importance of math and science education.

• Agriculture Is Fun!—Information on careers, trivia, fact sheets, coloring pages and quizzes, as well as educational resources for teachers and parents.

• Hot Links for Teachers—Cool Sites for Kids 

Other Resources for Students and Educators

• Science in Your Shopping Cart publication and 14-minute video—Learn about the scientific know-how that finds its way to our supermarket shelves. Popular classroom resources for upper elementary through high school.

• First Step Online—Ten complete mini-research units designed for middle-school students by teachers and ARS scientists.

• Kids' Science Page (National Agricultural Library)

• Student and summer employment

• Teachers' and Parents' Educational Resources (National Agricultural Library)

• Kid's Corner—Fun facts, quizzes, and games on cows and dairy products. (Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory, Beltsville, Md.).

•  Ag-tivities for Soil-Minded Citizens—Activities and experiments on soil for elementary through high school students. (Coastal Plains Soil, Water & Plant Research Center, Florence, S.C.).

• Weed Wizard—Weed identification game (North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, Morris, Minn.).

• Just for Kids!—What insects eat... and who eats THEM, and more. (Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, Mont.).

Resources for Everyone

For everyone we offer online news, features, newsletters and other publications, streaming video and digital photography. Among the highlights:

• Agricultural Research—Use our monthly magazine to keep abreast of what's new, search by key words to find stories dating to 1996, and find out how to subscribe to printed issues of the magazine.

• Research News—Each weekday brings news of  recent ARS scientific discoveries and activities. Daily or weekly, you can get the news delivered free by e-mail—in Spanish or English. You can also search our online news archive for stories that meet your interests. 

• Image Gallery—Hundreds of our best downloadable color photographs for use in reports, projects, web sites, and bulletin boards. The gallery and our entire online catalog of thousands of images are searchable by key words. Most are available in both high- and  low-resolution  formats. 

• Video news and features—You can view these over your Internet connection; some are also available in VHS or Beta format. The Video archive provides links to brief news stories as well as features such as the video version of  Science in Your Shopping Cart. Another feature, Research for the Growing World, is an in-depth introduction to ARS and our goals and accomplishments.