NCSE is delighted to congratulate the Understanding Evolution website, which, with its companion website Understanding Science, received a Science Prize for Online Resources in Education award for 2010. Twelve SPORE prizes are awarded annually "to encourage innovation and excellence in education, as well as to encourage the use of high-quality on-line resources by students, teachers, and the public."
Understanding Evolution, a collaborative project of the University of California Museum of Paleontology and the National Center for Science Education that provides information about evolution, launched in 2004. Originally aimed primarily at teachers, in 2005 it was broadened to appeal to the general public as well. Understanding Science, a project of the UCMP that provides information about the nature of science, launched in 2009.
In their essay "Science 101: Building the Foundations for Real Understanding," published in the December 24, 2010, issue of Science, Anastasia Thanukos, Judith G. Scotchmoor, Roy Caldwell, and David R. Lindberg describe the motivations, development, and successes of the two websites. Understanding Evolution, they report, "now averages more than a million page accesses per month during the academic year."