Sometime when I was a kid, an aunt bought my family a subscription to National Geographic for the year for a Christmas present, and to my glee, she has renewed it ever since.  The magazine is utterly satisfying in and of itself –the heavy pages with full color illustrations, the map inserts, the incredibly eclectic mingling of ancient history with pages of beetles with the state of modern-day Russia, etcetera etcetera.

To my equal satisfaction, the National Geographic website is similarly detailed, thoroughly engaging, and very likely to envelop your attention for hours once you start clicking on related links and intriguing pictures.  Deaf dolphins, dark energy, the history of ether–you name it, you can probably find something related to it on their website.  A treasure trove for the interdisciplinarily minded–and if you haven’t got the patience for the articles, there’s still a wealth of beautiful pictures, wallpapers, and ‘photos in the news’ to get your curiosity energized.  Or go visit the kids’ site, play the stack-attack game (horribly addicting, do not try this at work unless you have a very good excuse!), and troll the assorted stories, activities, and ‘cool clicks’ to find inspiration for your next lesson plan, program, or bulletin board.

Hint: There are also a range of newsletters you can opt-into, including ones focused on travel, photography, educators, and geography.  They do a great job of highlighting what’s new and cool on the site if you haven’t got time to put the site into your regular rotation of places to surf.