Summer Learning Fun: Online Science Mysteries

Mysteries are a natural way to combine logical thinking and problem-solving with engaging stories, suspense, excitement and fun. Mysteries written with a focus on science content and methods are an ideal way to immerse students in the learning process. The Web allows stories to be more visual, interactive, and non-linear, which make the mystery more engaging and fun. Science Mysteries are unique in the way they integrate science into the storyline. Each mystery takes the form of an illustrated short story, with the reader included as a character in the narrative. The reader can conduct virtual experiments, question characters and experts, receive email replies, and so on. The story builds to a “solve-it” page, where the reader is asked to submit a solution to the problem. Doing so directs the reader to an individual appropriate outcome and an exciting conclusion to the story (or in some mysteries, the next episode). http://www.sciencemystery.com