Frogs

Barbara J. Feldman

Years ago, while standing in my driveway at night, a frog hopped onto my foot. I probably screamed (wouldn't you?) but when I saw what it was, I bent down to pick him up. We kept the frog for awhile, feeding him live crickets and naming him Hoppy, before releasing him into a wetlands preserve near our house. These sites are for you, Hoppy. Wherever you may be.

All About Frogs for Kids and Teachers

4 stars

Oodles of frog facts organized as questions and answers make All About Frogs an excellent first hop on our online frog tour. Beyond the Q's and A's you'll find fun frog crafts, songs and poems, original froggie clipart (free for non-commercial use), and links to lesson plans for K-8 teachers. Although the bulk of this site is for elementary students, middle and high-school students will find links to sites with more in-depth coverage under More Frog Facts and Information.

CGEE: A Thousand Friends of Frogs

4 stars

In August 1995, students from the Minnesota New Country School found deformed frogs near the Minnesota River. A research scientist from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency wondered what else might be found if thousands of kids were looking in their backyards and so A Thousand Friends of Frogs was born. To study frogs in your hometown, click on Students/Get Involved. There is a data sheet you can use to collect your findings, and lots to learn about frogs as bio-indicators in the Science section.

Exploratorium: Frogs

5 stars

My pick of the day comes from The Exploratorium museum of San Francisco. Visit to enjoy the well-written articles, illustrated with photos and video clips. The lead feature, The Amazing Adaptable Frog, is a must see, as is the click-and-hear (ribbit, ribbit) Frog Tracker exhibit. For something a little different, venture beyond biology with Tales and Tours, where you can become acquainted with Frog City, Louisiana or learn about Frog Myths Across Cultures.

Froghoo!

5 stars

Does this web directory of all things froggie look a little familiar? Perhaps it reminds you of another rather-well known web directory. In addition to being useful as a frog search engine, Froghoo! is just plain fun to explore. Of particular note are the Kids Stuff category, the Species Search (look to the left of the Froghoo! logo) and frogs in the news (to the right of the Froghoo! logo.) Species searches can be customized by keyword, state, vulnerability ( from secure to critically impaired) and level of federal protection.

Frogwatch USA

4 stars

Frogwatch USA is a frog and toad monitoring program managed by the National Wildlife Federation in partnership with the United States Geological Survey. Instead of actually counting frogs, scientists listen for their calls, and record call density on a scale from zero (no frogs heard) to three (a full chorus of continuous frog calls.) To view graphs for your area, click on your state, then choose a site from the left-hand column. Running down the right-hand side, you'll see links to local species guides, provided by eNature.com.