Inner Learning Online

Study the anatomy of the human body. Inner Learning Online is fun, interactive, and an ideal reference site for students or those who want to know more about the human body. The site provides a closer look at systems, such as, skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, reproductive and more. Each topic has animations, 100’s of graphics, and thousands of descriptive links.
Grades 9 thru 12+

Helping Children Succeed in School

The average child spends about 1,000 hours per year in school. So, helping children enjoy learning and being successful in school is an important goal for parents, other family members, and schools. It takes the home and the school working together to successfully educate a child. Helping Children Succeed in School is a program written by University of Illinois Extension educators that gives successful strategies for parents and caregivers to help their children succeed in school.

GetSmarter.org

Free, animated, interactive site for elementary, middle & high school students – privately assess math & science skills, compare performance with students worldwide, and access hints, tutorials & links to improve performance. The site also includes GetSmarter, a tool for exploring careers in math, science and technology. Tips for parents available!

Grades 3rd thru 12th

National Youth Violence Resource Center

The events of the last few days have brought to the forefront of many of our minds the safety and protection of our young people. The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center website was designed to serve as a user-friendly, single point of access to Federal information on youth violence. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other Federal partners, the Resource Center provides current information developed by Federal agencies or with Federal support pertaining to youth violence. A gateway for professionals, parents, youth and other interested individuals, the Resource Center offers the latest tools to facilitate discussion with our youth, to resolve conflicts nonviolently, to stop bullying, to prevent teen suicide, and to end violence committed by and against young people. Resources include fact sheets, best practices documents, funding and conference announcements, statistics, research bulletins, surveillance reports, and profiles of promising programs. The site also provides contact information to communicate with a specialist in the area of youth safety.

Earth Observatory

Are you a science buff? Then you have to take a look at this website. It doesn't matter if you love to delve into the details or just look at our beautiful earth, the Earth Observatory is worth a visit. The articles are excellent and the imagery is delightful. The purpose of NASA’s Earth Observatory is to provide a freely-accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth’s climate and environmental change.

Campus Tours: Virtual College Tours

CampusTours.com provides virtual college tours of over 850 colleges and universities. Although not a substitute for an actual campus visit, CampusTours presents an online alternative to the college view book, and is one of the most popular online college guides with students. Used in conjunction with the College Exporation Exercise at YouthPlay.org, these tours can be an eye-opening experience for young people contemplating college.

Ology

Ology means the "study of." The American Museum of Natural History presents Ology-an interactive website where you can explore the many "ologies" such as arachnology (the study of spiders) or volcanology (the study of volcanoes). The site map provides a quick overveiw of the scope of this colorful website. Put on your thinking cap before visiting this site.

Pre-K thru 12+

Who Wants to Win $1,000,000?

The Who Wants to Win $1,000,000? educational game is just plain old fun. You can spend hours in front of your computer with your kids playing this game. Test your knowledge of math and science as you work your way to the million dollar level! The questions you will answer are real. Unfortunately, the money, is not. Again, the money is not real! Curious of how other players are doing? Wondering if your high score is still a high score? Take a look at the list of previous winners and high scores.

Grades 5 thru12

Occupational Outlook Handbook 2006-2007

Have you ever wondered about the diffence in pay for a veternarian and physician? The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals--young and old-- making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations. Its the perfect starting place for those undertaking serious career exploration. This free resource is compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ThinkQuest Library

Its been awhile since we have run across a powerhouse like this one. The ThinkQuest Library consists of over 6,ooo websites created by from around the world. The ThinkQuest competition inspires students ages 9-19 to think, connect, create, and share. Students work in teams to build innovative and educational websites to share with the world. The website is a showcase of the talent of our young people.

National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art has something for all ages!! Join Lizzy and Gordon on a musical art adventure and examine the work of several artists through activities and projects in the NGAkids section; take an online tour and explore painting, sculpture, decorative arts, or graphic arts collections; or visit the education section and find out about educational programs, internships and fellowships. At a time when school art programs are on the cutting board, the virtual exhibitions and online tours at this site are a godsend.
Grades Pre-K thru 12+

KidSpace @ The Internet Public Library

This site could put me out of business, but its so wonderful I have to share. The Internet Public Library truly has something wonderful for visitors of all ages. I especially enjoy the enticing, colorful KidSpace section. In addition to KidSpace, the website features a TeenSpace section. The site is full of resources, such as, special collections, reference materiels, reading rooms and more. The Internet Public Library is a public service organization and a learning/teaching environment at the University of Michigan School of Information.

Ask Dr. Universe

This site boasts that you can ask Dr. Universe almost anything--and visitors to the site really make them meet that challenge. Dr. Universe is willing to go Washington State University's great team of researchers for her information. She'll follow them out to the field, or into the laboratory or library, to find your answers. If you'd like to contact any of the faculty members who have answered questions for Dr. Universe about their research, scholarship or creative work, just e-mail the Dr. and she'll put you in touch with the person behind the answer! Ask Dr. Universe also links to a great selection of favorite links; it is unusual for a site to actually link to sites that might provide real competition. That says a little something about the quality of the website--they're not worried. Ask Dr. Universe is brought to you by University Relations at Washington State University and is made possible through generous support from Microsoft Corporation.

The New York Times Learning Network

Want to keep your young person informed? The New York Times Learning Network offers a news and information service for students in grades 3 thru 12, educators, and parents. The site features several activities for young minds, such as, News Summaries, Who's Who and What's What, On This Day, Word of the Day, Science Q & A and more. Rival newspaper, The Washington Post, also has a wonderful section for young people--KidsPost.
Grades 3 thru 12

Exploratorium

Online since 1993, the Exploratorium was one of the first science museums to build a site on the World Wide Web. The site now contains over 18,000 award-winning Web pages exploring hundreds of different topics. Exploratorium is a collage of hundreds of science, art, and human perception exhibits. Our favorite area of the site is full of Snacks...but they're not the kind you eat. They're the kind you can learn from and have fun with. Exploratorium Science Snacks are miniature versions of some of the most popular exhibits at the Exploratorium--San Francisco's Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception. And for goodness sake, don't miss the 10 Cool Sites section. It's some kinda treat.

Online Games

It is the holiday season and with all the fervor surrounding the PS3 I thought that rather than featuring a site today, it might be better to feature a genre--online games. The year before last I was bombarded with requests for the likes of PlayStation 2, XBox, and Game Cube. I bought a Toshiba M35X-51142 laptop and pointed my child to the worldwide web. So whether the need is to write or research a paper, email friends, download music, or play games, its covered. As a heads up, Bonus.com, the Zone, and Gameboredom are frequented game sites, and there are hundreds more. Well, let me go see if I can find a PlayStation 3. Just joking.

Decades of Discovery

I'm a nut for the details. I hate to read an article and really not understand what it means. What was the significance of decoding the human genome--what did it mean for me and my child? For the past two-and-a-half decades, the Office of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy has been at the forefront of scientific discovery. Staff and colleagues have identified 100 or so of the most important discoveries supported by the Office of Science. In addition, they have provided links to resources that help us to understand what those discoveries mean to the everyday person. Decades of Discoveries is a goldmine for those who of us that need just a little more detail.

BasketMath Interactive

The newly upgraded Science Academy Software BasketMath InterActive is one of the first interactive math applications on the web. Math is one of those disciplines where mastering the basics is key to tackling the higher levels . The BasketMath InterActive tools provide the necessary practice for building a solid math foundation. And, it adds new twists and a bit of fun.
(Grades 4 thru 10)

SanDiegoZoo.org

I am a zoo lover. And, I would not dare try to convince anyone that an online experience is anywhere near as wonderful as a day at a real zoo. But if a visit to a really nice zoo is not a feasible option, then there is probably no other experience as close to the real thing as the virtual experience at the San Diego Zoo online. You can look a baboon dead in the eye, which may not be the wisest thing to do at a real zoo. You'll find well-written descriptions of dozens of animals. Web cams and dozens of videos also can be viewed by visitors. The site allows visitors to send free e-postcards with images of some of the zoo's more famous residents. In Kid Territory you can print zoo-themed recipes, play nine different online games, read about a zookeeper's daily work, and view Q&As. Love this site--love it, love it, love it!

Prongo.com

Our slogan at YouthPlay.com is "How I Choose to Play is Serious Business." Prongo.com is in keeping with our belief that play can be just as beneficial as reading, writing and arithmetic. Prongo.com is an educational website for kids offering lots of free, fun, interactive, and educational games. For teachers, Prong.com also offers Quizstation, an tool for creating online quizzes (The Bronze Level is free to use). The site also offers kids clip art, e-cards, wall paper, jokes, screensavers and more. Its a wonderful place to find a little downtime. Prong.com provides hours hours of learning and fun for kids and resources for teachers and parents as well. This site also annotates the appropriate age levels for various activities.
Grades Pre-K thru 12