"Are We Alone?" is a project that was created in response to student discussions regarding the existence of life beyond Earth. I wanted to give my students a perspective beyond that of television and the cinema.

Using the Internet, we invited nearly 400 scientists to our web site. We asked them to take our survey and address, if they desired, student questions. We received 38 responses from scientists from 22 universities/institutions in 3 countries.

The project was a wonderful tool to discuss an abused topic, collect and analyze data, reinforce concepts taught in class, learn concepts not covered in our textbook, and connect middle grade students with the scientific community.

Included in this Teacher Resource section is information regarding the project and how it was accomplished. My hope is that this web site informs students and teachers, promotes discussions about survey results and scientist responses, and gives other educators ideas about the Internet and its uses in the classroom.