Images, Sounds, Video and Animations
TOOLBOX RESOURCES
FOR EDUCATORS
Image Resources on the Internet
Free Images Sites
The following sites offer images that can be freely used on most Web sites and other
publications. However, many of these images are not in the public domain and have
some use restrictions. Be sure to check the use restrictions at each of these Web sites.
If you use any of these images, be sure to provide credit to the source, which should be
noted underneath the image as well as a full citing on a separate page.
Image Collections
http://bubl.ac.uk/link/types/images.htm
An unbelievable annotated list of image resource sites appropriate for education—132 different
sites at last count. When using these images for purposes beyond your classroom, be sure to
check each site’s use restrictions. Although many of these sites contain images that are in the
public domain or are freely available for non-commercial use, some have restrictions on their use.
Also see its subject index (not just for images): http://bubl.ac.uk/link/menus.html.
Microsoft* Clip Gallery Live
http://dgl.microsoft.com/
“Provided for the purpose of granting rights to licensed users of Microsoft Office… Examples of
permissible use include, but are not limited to: newsletters, brochures, web sites, presentations,
flyers, postcards, trade show materials, newspaper advertisements, product catalogs, and
reports.”
Images of American Political History
http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/index.htm
A collection of over 500 public domain images of American Political History.
FreeFoto
http://www.freefoto.com/
“FreeFoto.com is one of the largest collections of free photographs for non-commercial use on
the Internet. The site features 40 main sections with over 600 sub headings. The photographs are
free to private non-commercial users and for sale to commercial users. FreeFoto.com contains
over 12,000 images with new pictures being added every week.” Credit images used to the
FreeFoto.com web site using its logo linked back to freefoto.
FreeStockPhotos.com
http://www.freestockphotos.com/
Download stock photographs absolutely free. Arranged in a variety of categories. Use in any
website or publication you wish - personal or commercial, but must include the domain name:
FreeStockPhotos.com along with each FreeStockPhotos.com picture used.
Zettweb Photo Site
http://www.zettweb.com/grab-a-picture/
More than 3000 jpg pictures arranged by subject. Non-commercial use: web site, online, and
multimedia designs; advertising and promotion campaigns; presentations and brochures;
packaging for anything except software, books, CDs and cassettes, and videotapes. For all uses
of images at this site, provide a credit: "Image © 1999 ZettWeb. All rights reserved." to appear
adjacent to the images or in a credits comment.
AICT
http://www.mcad.edu/AICT/index.html
AICT is a royalty-free image exchange resource for the educational community. Arranged in the
following categories: Ancient, Medieval Era, Renaissance & Baroque, and Non-Western.
Lantern Slides of Classical Antiquity
http://csanet.org/lanterns/lantindx.html
Bryn Mawr College grants the right to use these images for non-profit, non-commercial use in
educational or academic settings to any scholar or student. The College does, however, retain
the right to control use of these images in any printed product or for any commercial or fundraising purpose.
The Society of Architectural Historians
http://www.sah.org/imagex.html
Somewhat difficult to navigate, but has a huge amount of resources for photographs and
drawings of historical buildings. Most images can be used for non-profit educational use;
republication must preserve the original credit for the source of the image. If any image is
identified as “PR” (permission required), those images cannot be used without permission from
the image provider. For easier access, categories are listed below:
World Survey, Ancient through Medieval, plus early non-Europe:
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts1.html
World Survey, Renaissance through Modern
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
American Survey
[1600-1779] [1780-1849] [1850-1899] [1900-1944] [1945-1976] [addendum of less consensual
pedagogical favorites].
NIX (NASA Image eXchange)
http://nix.nasa.gov/
“Photographs are not protected by copyright unless noted. If copyrighted, permission
should be obtained from the copyright owner prior to use. If not copyrighted,
photographs may be reproduced and distributed without further permission from NASA.”
Making of America
http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/MOA/
The Making of America collection is comprised of the digitized pages of books and journals. This
system allows you to view scanned images of the actual pages of the 19th century texts. All
materials selected in the MOA project are no longer covered by copyright.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
http://www.thinker.org/fam/multilingual.html
The Thinker Imagebase is a fully keyword searchable database; it contains 75,000 images from
the collections of the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor. “If you would like to use an
image from the ImageBase, or would like to request a publishable quality copy of an image in the
ImageBase (35mm slide, 4x5 transparency, 8x10 print) please send email to
imagebase@www.famsf.org. Truly non-commercial uses are encouraged. We would, however,
like to hear about them, mostly because we'd like to highlight your innovative educational uses of
the collections. A non-commercial use is anything which does not include resale and is usually
personal or educational in nature.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Photo Library
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/collections.html
Well-organized site containing albums and catalogs of over 16,000 images. Great site covering
18 different subject categories. “Most NOAA photos and slides are in the public domain and
CANNOT be copyrighted. Although at present, no fee is charged for using the photos credit
MUST be given to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of
Commerce unless otherwise instructed to give credit to the photographer or other source.”
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pictures/Images
http://pictures.fws.gov/
http://images.fws.gov/
Most the images on our Web pages are in the "public domain" (which means they have no
copyright restrictions). If an image on our Web site is not restricted and does not say it is
copyrighted, then you can assume it is in the public domain. You may download and use those
copyright-free images in your print and electronic publications. There's no fee to pay (i.e., they're
free), and no need to get permission from the Service for reusing them.”
Pics4Learning
http://pics.tech4learning.com/pics/index.htm
“The Pics4Learning collection is intended to provide copyright friendly images for use by students
and teachers in an education setting. The original photographers of each image retain the
copyright to these images and have graciously allowed their use in this collection. Images in the
Pics4Learning collection may be used by teachers and students in print, multimedia, and video
productions. These could include, but are not limited to, school projects, contests, web pages,
and fund raising activities for the express purpose of improving student educational
opportunities.”
American Memory
http://memory.loc.gov/
“The nature of historical archival collections means that copyright or other information about
restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Whenever possible, the Library
provides information about copyright owners and other restrictions in the catalog records, finding
aids, special-program illustration captions, and other texts that accompany collections. The
Library provides such information as a service to aid patrons in determining the appropriate use
of an item, but that determination ultimately rests with the patron.”
American Memory: Selected Civil War Photographs
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphome.html
“There are no known restrictions on these photographs.”
American Memory: America from the Great Depression to WWII (1935-1945)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html
“Photographs in this collection were taken by photographers working for the U.S. Government.
Generally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright
protection in the United States. While the Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright in the
FSA/OWI Black-and-White Photos, there is a narrow possibility that a very small number of items
may have copyrights associated with them Suggested credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints &
Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USF35-1326]”
American Memory: Map Collections 1544-1999
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html
“The maps in the Map Collections materials were either published prior to 1922, produced by the
United States government, or both (see catalogue records that accompany each map for
information regarding date of publication and source). The Library of Congress is providing
access to these materials for educational and research purposes and is not aware of any U.S.
copyright protection or any other restrictions in the Map Collection materials.”
FDR Library & Digital Archives
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/photos.html
Copyright-free pictures of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, the depression and New Deal, and
World War II.
U.S. Air Force Photos
http://www.af.mil/photos/
“Information presented on Air Force Link is considered public information and may be distributed
or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.”
U.S. Navy Online Library
http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org11-2.htm
“To the best of our knowledge, all Online Library pictures are in the public domain and can
therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose without requesting permission.”
Discovery School’s Clip Art Gallery
http://school.discovery.com/clipart/index.html
Permission is granted to download no more than ten different clip art images for non-revenueproducing use on hard copy documents or on Web sites with the following restrictions: Any
reproduction must be unaltered from its original downloaded form. This includes, but is not limited
to, colorization, cropping, or editing. Any use of clip art images on Web sites must credit
Discoveryschool.com or include a link to the Discoveryschool.com Web site.
Icon Bazaar
http://www.iconbazaar.com/
Lots of clip art and animations. “Limited permission is granted for institutional use of up to twenty
(20) images in toto from these archives by WWW developers representing not-for-profit
organizations, governmental organizations or educational institutions. Copyright notification
should be included wherever appropriate.”
Graphics Libraries
http://www.net-ads.com/development/graphics.html
Nice list of links to graphics libraries with extensive annotations of each.
Amazing Instant Online Animated 3D Text Maker
http://www.3dtextmaker.com/
Creates a text banner with your own text, then you can save the image as you would any other
online image (right-click...). Animations only work on Web pages and PowerPoint 2000 (and
PowerPoint 97 if you have a special plug-in).
Image Services
MIRA
http://www.mira.com/
Mira, which stands for Media Image Resource Alliance, is an online stock image service offered
by Copyright Clearance Center, the largest licenser of reproduction rights for text in the world.
MIRA provides image buyers with the opportunity to license high quality, rights-protected images
for a wide variety of uses. Includes photos from the Washington Post and cartoons from the New
Yorker. Free image research is available from their archive experts.
ArtToday
http://www.arttoday.com/
The largest graphics resource on the web—at last count, 1.2 million images. 3-day free trial or
$29.95/year for unlimited downloads. Includes clip art, photos, fonts, WebArt, and sounds.
Although ArtToday content can be used in commercial or noncommercial projects, see usage
restrictions at: http://www.arttoday.com/PD-0025110/Main/company/Main/company/usage. Note
underneath the image used: © 2000-(current year) www.arttoday.com
Aurora Photos
http://www.auroraphotos.com/
Aurora Photos is a one-stop solution for researching, finding and buying images.
Corbis Images
BizPresenter http://www.bizpresenter.com/
Royalty-Free http://www.corbisimages.com/search/ReadyToBuyEvents/fstDefault.asp
The sections of Corbis that allows use of its images on the Web and other publications (for a fee).
See terms and conditions at http://www.bizpresenter.com/termsconditions.asp, including the link
to the BizPresenter License Agreement.
Artcyclopedia
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/index.html
The fine art search engine. Search by artist name, artwork by title, or art museums by name or
location. Or browse by movement, medium, subject, or nationality. Wow. Images are not
copyright-free. See each individual museum site for usage restrictions.
Smithsonian
http://www.si.edu
The Smithsonian Institution ("SI"), and its Office of Printing & Photographic Services ("OPPS")
image files are made available for non-commercial, personal use. Copying or redistribution in any
manner for personal or corporate gain is not permitted. Images may be put on a file server in
one’s school, company, museum, etc. only if there's no charge for the user. All the accompanying
text information, caption, etc. must be included, and must be presented completely and
unchanged. Images cannot be placed on a CD-ROM, public domain or otherwise. See additional
usage rules at: http://www.si.edu/siphotos/CAPTIONS/oppsrules.html
Music and Sounds
Audio
Sounds and music found through the resources listed below can usually be used in your
classroom under the Fair Use provision, but not necessarily for wider publication (like
posting on the Web). Be sure to check the use restrictions at each of these Web sites
and/or to the sites they link to. If you use any sounds from these sources, be sure to
provide credit.
Sound Search Engines
Lycos Multimedia Search Engine
http://multimedia.lycos.com/
Click on "Sounds" and type in the sound you want to find (e.g., thunder).
AltaVista Audio Search Engine
http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?cn=med
Click the radial button next to "MP3/Audio." Note: MP3 files can not be imported into PowerPoint.
Lycos Multimedia Search
http://multimedia.lycos.com/
Click on the Sounds radial button.
Go.com Image Search
http://www.go.com/
Click the audio/video radial button before clicking search to search.
Sound Archives
Big Chalk's Multimedia Audio Resources
http://www.bigchalk.com/cgibin/WebObjects/WOPortal.woa/17/wa/BCPageDA/sec~STU~39804~~
Great resource for a variety of educational audio files: historical, international, interviews,
lectures, literary, music, nature and culture, news and commentary, professional and special
interest, science, sports, and miscellaneous.
Note: Although links are not a part of Big Chalk, they are framed within Big Chalk. Be sure to note
the actual URL listed at the top part of the window when citing your source. Check copyright and
usage restrictions for each site.
Web Places: Sound Clips
http://www.webplaces.com/html/sounds.htm
Sites with sounds to download, listed by category and type of sound files available.
Fine Art & Multimedia
http://sunsite.sut.ac.jp/multimed/
A collection of images, sounds, and animations.
Classical Midi Archives
http://www.prs.net/midi.html
Midi files categorized by classical composers
Digital Audio Files
http://www.weblust.com/sounds/SoundTop.html
Sound files in the following categories: historical sound bytes (Neil Armstrong first steps on the
moon, etc.), sound FX (a smattering of smashes, crashes, buzzes, rings, and other effects), and
music bytes.
Acadia Sound Archive
http://plato.acadiau.ca/sandbox/ppt/sounds/sound.htm
Midi World
http://www.midiworld.com
Lots of resources and links for midi files.
Microsoft Sound Downloads
http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?url=/downloads/topic.asp?url=/msdnfiles/028/000/124/topic.xml
Free sound downloads from Microsoft (wav and midi).
Annie's Place
http://www.buffnet.net/%7eambrosia/home.htm?
Specializing in music wav clips from the 50's and 60's
Guide to Animal Sounds on the Net
http://members.tripod.com/Thryomanes/AnimalSounds.html
The Daily WAV
www.dailywav.com
Music and sound clips. Not organized by category so may be difficult to use unless you know
specifically what you're looking for, but has some very funny sound clips. Has both wav files and
good quality midi files.
The Looney Tunes Sound Source
http://www.nonstick.com/sounds/
Name says it all.
Zettweb Photo Site
http://www.zettweb.com/grab-a-picture/
Video Clips
Video clips found through the resources listed below can usually be used in your
classroom under the Fair Use provision, but not necessarily for wider publication (like
posting on the Web). Be sure to check the use restrictions at each of these Web sites
and/or to the sites they link to. If you use any videos from these sources, be sure to
provide credit.
Video Search Engines
Lycos Multimedia Search: Pictures, Movies, Sound
http://multimedia.lycos.com/
Click on the radial button next to movies and enter a search term.
AltaVista Video Finder
http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?cn=med
Click on the radial button next to video and enter a search term.
Yahoo’s Multimedia Video Collection Sites
http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Multimedia/Digital_Video/
http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Multimedia/MPEG/
A list of Web sites that collect videos. Not specifically searchable.
Go.com
http://www.go.com
Click on the radial button next to audio/video and enter a search term.
Video Archives
Space Movie Archive
http://graffiti.u-bordeaux.fr/MAPBX/roussel/anim-e_07.shtml
A fabulous, amazing site with every type of space-related video/movie that you could want.
Literally 100's of movies with space as the topic. Scroll down to the categories. Here's a partial
listing: Solar eclipses, Meteorology, Science-Fiction, Star Trek, Shoemaker-Levy, Solar system
bodies, Satellites, rockets and space probes, Space, STS Flights, Apollo missions. Most movies
are MPEGS.
QuickTime Videos (.mov)
http://sunsite.sut.ac.jp/multimed/qtanim/
Uncategorized list of unrelated movie files.
MPEG Videos
http://sunsite.sut.ac.jp/multimed/anim/
Uncategorized list of unrelated MPEG files.
Financial Multimedia
http://fisher.osu.edu/fin/clips.htm
Pictures and video clips that cover finance topics. Free for educational use.
NCSA: Science Theater Animations and Images
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/newtest/index.ncsa.html?Info=http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/
SDG/DigitalGallery/DG_science_theater.html,Nav=/newtest/ncsaNav.html,navIcon=
ncsaNav,infoIcon=infoNode
Very nice site from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) that includes
mpeg videos of science-related animations. Click on the thumbnail image to go to a page that
describes, in detail, the animation as well as the downloadable MPEG file (click on image to
download). Videos for earth science, fluid dynamics, medical science, planetary science, and
volume visualization.
Apollo Mission Movies
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/movies1.html
A collection of avi and mov video clips from the Apollo missions .
The Electronic Universe Project: Galaxy Gallery Page
http://zebu.uoregon.edu/movie.html
Movies that show a variety of encounters in the galaxy. e.g., "encounter between two equal mass
galaxy disks which interact via different orbital plane geometries."
Warsaw University, Poland: Index of /multimedia/mpeg
http://mambo.ucsc.edu/psl/thant/arc.html
A variety of mpeg movies. No type of order.
Saturn's Ring System: Animations
http://ringmaster.arc.nasa.gov/saturn/saturn.html#ANIMATIONS
QuickTime movies of Saturn's rings. One .qt file and two .mov files. Also includes images and
other references.
CSU Hayward Student Animations Winter 94
http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/tebo/Anims/README.html
Original digital videos created by students at Calif. State University, Hayward. If used, definitely
needs full copyright citing.
3D volume morphing
http://graphics.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/alumni/tolis/personal/getpage.cgi?morph.html
Includes mpeg movies of image morphing, the construction of an image sequence depicting a
gradual transition between two images.
Chemist's Art Gallery
http://www.csc.fi/lul/chem/graphics.html
Visualization movies (MPEGs) and animations in chemistry done at the Visualization and
Animation Laboratory at Center for Scientific Computing (CSC), Finland. Plus links to other sites.
Movies and Animations
http://astrowww.astro.indiana.edu/animations/
Astronomy animations.
Computer-Enhanced Science Education: The Whole Frog Project
http://george.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/Whole.Frog/Whole.Frog.html
The site where you can interactively dissect a (digitized) frog named Fluffy, make movies, and
play the Virtual Frog Builder Game. Includes a Rotating, Transparent Frog Movie.
Robot Demos (MPEG)
http://www-robotics.cs.umass.edu/robotics-mpegs.html
A list of demo movies culled from the Web showing robots in action. Each movie is also listed
with its accompanying parent page, so you can find out more about the video clip.
The Robotics Video Gallery
http://www-robotics.cs.umass.edu/video-gallery.html
Jet Propulsion Lab Images and Videos
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/proto/images.html
Images and videos by category: Earth, solar system, stars and galaxies, technology, spacecraft,
and deep space network.
"JPL images are available for use by the public free of charge... JPL's image release policy is
located at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/policy/index.html."
NASA JPL - Ocean Surface Topography from Space: Gallery
http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/gallery.html
Includes ocean-related videos. "JPL images are available for use by the public free of charge...
JPL's image release policy is located at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/policy/index.html . The
credit line should read 'Courtesy of NASA/JPL/Caltech'. We would also really appreciate copies of
publications where you use our imagery."
Modified from the Intel Teach to the Future program.