By: Sue Piper

CNR's website “CityBugs” has won the San Francisco Exploratorium's Ten Cool Sites Award for Educational Excellence. CityBugs, a collaboration between UC Berkeley, the Interactive University and the Oakland Public Schools, provides teachers with ideas for developing their K-12 science curriculum. Using hands-on classroom activities and internet-based projects, the program recruits insects as a toll for teaching children about the principles of life science, science literacy and biodiversity. Students and faculty from the Insect Biology Division and Essig Museum answer e-mail questions about insects that are sent by curious web surfers, and help to develop a database that assists students with local insect identification. CityBugs earned the Chancellor's Award in September, as well. Debbie Lenz is the project coordinator for CityBugs. Visit the website at www.cnr.berkeley.edu/citybugs.