BEST OF THE BEST “The People’s Vote,” co-sponsored by the National Archives, National History Day and U.S. News & World Report, invites Americans of all ages to vote for the top 10 documents that changed the course of history and the nation. Voters can select from a list of 100 landmark documents chosen by historians and the National Archives or write in their own selections. Ballots are available at www.usnews.com/vote;  ballots will be counted in mid-December and a rundown of the results will be included in American Ideals, a collector’s edition of U.S. News & World Report that will hit newsstands in February.

SMART SHOPPING Graduate students at the University of Massachusetts have teamed with the AFL-CIO to build an online database listing all goods and services produced by U.S. union members. The first phase of the new site will be a travel planner, where vacations and business trips can be set up using everything from unionized hotels and restaurants to theaters and transportation. The database will soon offer thousands of union-made products for home and business use—including clothing, automobiles, groceries, insurance and healthcare. The site, which replaces an older online database, will make its debut early in 2004. For details, visit www.unionlabel.org/do_buy.asp.

DRUG SENSE “Mind Over Matter” is a series of informational magazines for grades 5 to 9 that deliver an anti-drug message by examining the science behind drug addiction. The publication, produced by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, also includes a free teacher’s guide that can be downloaded in PDA format. The publications detail effects of major drugs on the brain and include summaries on ongoing research into drugs and addiction. For information on “Mind Over Matter” and other classroom materials offered by the institute, visit www.teens.drugabuse.gov.

EVERYDAY MYSTERIES Why do joints “crack”? How come geese fly in a “V” formation? These and other real-life mysteries are solved at a new Web page from the Science, Technology and Business Division of the Library of Congress. The page, titled “Everyday Mysteries,” is located at www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/mysteries-home.html.  It gives illustrated, easy-to-understand answers to commonly asked questions and offers leads to other Web sources for further investigation. The site already has archived more than 20 questions and answers. New items will be added regularly, and users are encouraged to use the site’s “Ask a Librarian” feature to pursue their own investigations.

ESSAY CONTEST High school students are invited to enter the 2004 Holocaust Remembrance Project, a national essay contest designed to encourage and promote the study of the Holocaust. The contest seeks essays of 1,200 or fewer words analyzing why it is so vital that the remembrance, history and lessons of this tragedy be passed to a new generation. Scholarships up to $5,000 will be awarded to students, and the 10 first-place winners will participate in an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and other historic sites. The entry deadline is April 30. Complete contest rules, guidelines and entry forms are available at www.holocaust.hklaw.com.

SMALL WORLD The Creative Connections Project links classrooms around the world with partner classes from the Amazon rain forest, Africa, the Galapagos Islands, the Arctic and China. Now, the project offers free resources for teachers at www.ccproject.org/resources.html.  Teachers can take students on language arts-based adventures to exotic locations, take online field trips to schools and towns around the world, and look at student artwork from many nations. More than 740 classes have participated in the Creative Connections Project, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts.

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