Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 8-12 Subject: Multidisciplinary/Research

The Nobel Prize

In October, the Norwegian Nobel Institute announced the 2001 Nobel Prize winners for Literature, Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, and Peace. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Oslo, Sweden on Monday, December 10.

This year's ceremony marks the centennial year of the Nobel Prizes, awarded to those who, in the words of founder Alfred Nobel, "have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind." The prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma, and a prize amount.

In this week's online lesson you will learn about the men who were awarded Nobel Prizes for 2001, about the men and women who have been awarded prizes in the past, and about founder Alfred Nobel.

Nobel e-Museum

Begin this week's lesson by paying a visit to the Nobel e-Museum, the official web site of the Nobel Foundation which administers and manages the assets for the awarding of the Nobel Prizes. When the page opens you will see a list of the 2001 Laureates (winners) in each of the six categories. We'll get to them in a minute. First explore the links for each of the prize categories along the top navigation bar.

Start with Physics and read the introduction. As with all of the other category pages, this one is divided into three sections: Laureates, Articles, and Educational. Click Laureates to learn about the people who have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics this year and in the past. Have you heard of any of them? How about 1921, Albert Einstein? Click his name to get to his page. In the gray navigation bar on the right you can read his Presentation Speech, a brief Biography, and other resources. Similar information is available for each of the other Nobel Laureates.

Return to the Physics page and click Articles. Here you will find a collection of articles written by Nobel Laureates and others. Click and read The Nobel Prize in Physics 1901-2000. This article by Erik B. Karlsson traces the history of advances in physics during the 20th century, with an emphasis on the contributions of Nobel Laureates.

Return again to the Physics main page and click Educational. This is one more way for you to explore and learn about a century of advances in the field of physics (or play a game). For example, click Explore the interior of Matter. Choose a topic from the drop-down list and click Go. Here's about a year's worth of physics instruction all packed into one little tutorial, with animated graphics to boot!

Now click Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economics to keep exploring.

Cisco Nobel Programs

Cisco Systems is a technical partner with the Nobel programs. As such they have developed a cool web site to support the awards. The best thing about this resource is its videos and interactive features. Go to Cisco Nobel Programs and start with A Century of Innovation on the right. After the intro click Enter Timeline. To follow the timeline, drag the timeline marker on the bottom from left to right. Highlights are marked in blue boxes; click more>> below of each one for additional details. For example, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. Click more>> below his name. On the top right, click Related Video to watch a brief video about her achievement. Return to the timeline and explore the achievements of other winners.

Nobel Centennial

For more interactives and videos visit CNN's in-depth special, Nobel Centennial. Under the Video heading on the left, click Vignettes. Here you will find a collection of short video segments about Afred Nobel and various Nobel Laureates. Watch the video about Alfred Nobel, and then watch any other vignettes that interest you. Return to the main page and click Flashback, the next link down under the Video heading. You'll find more videos of past winners here, including Niels Bohr, Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, and Albert Schweitzer. Not sure who they are? Watch the video and find out.

For one final stop click Overview, the second link in the left navigation bar. This article is simply a commentary about Nobel's legacy and a century of honoring top achievers. It also reviews some of the history of the Nobel Prize and its establishment, and gives some interesting biographical information about Alfred Nobel, who, because of his legacy, is likely the best-known Swede in the world.

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Learners Online, Inc.