Tool Soup is an integrated suite of computer-based tools stewed together to support the task of scientific inquiry in middle and high school classrooms. Tool Soup provides tools for data acquisition, data visualization, systems modeling, and the reflection upon work accomplished by the student. It is the linkage of the tools through a pool of common student-created artifacts that provides the environment in where the students' own questions about the environment around them can be answered through science exploration. Working with real world data and situations, students are challenged by complex scientific problems which unlike textbook excercises may not have straightforward answers.

Tool Soup was created as a little sibling to our flagship tool, Symphony. Tool Soup is implemented in the Java 1.1 programming language and can be run on most current computers. The Soup contains the same set of tools for collecting and visualizing data and modeling systems as Symphony, with less inter-tool support and integration. Each tool is implemented as a scaffolded set of steps in order to teach students about the task of interest.

The DataWarehouse is a tool which allows students to browse our database of environmental data for the state of Michigan, using a graphical interface to construct their requests. Our database,   accessed over the internet, contains air pollution, water pollution  and weather data for the previous twenty years. Students may also  add their own datasets with the data from our sources, allowing them to  compare and contrast their local data with related sources statewide. In DataWarehouse, students choose data type, location and time constraints in order to create a spreadsheet of information for analysis and use in other tools.

Vizit supports the learners' exploration of the environmental data set by providing the means to visualize their data. Learners can build different graphs which are appropriate to the data sets which the learners are exploring. Students can create a graph by choosing a set of data to graph, choosing the type of graph most meaningful to their inquiry, and formatting the graph to present meaningful results.

Model Builder (beta) is a dynamic modeling tool which allows students to take a systems-level approach to their analyses. After observing phenomena through DataWarehouse and Vizit, students may construct models of the relationships which they've observed in order to test their hypotheses and extrapolate trends. Students use Model Builder (beta) to create factors and relationships, and simulate interactions between factors graphically.

NetEdit, provided by the Divya Corp. is a free tool included in the Tool Soup suite in order help students reflect upon their research and organize their results. It also allows students to generate reports and logs for review and publication.

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