Links to Various Sites
Ask Jeeves for Kids Age Range 7+ Overview This is, unusually, a search engine designed to be used by children. It is the sister site to the original Ask Jeeves. Verdict Not the answer to all searching problems but well designed and definitely worth a try.
Site Address www.ajkids.com | Tate Online Age Range 6+ Overview This is the portal for the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives galleries. Provides access to over 50,000 images and a range of other resources. Verdict It's a great resource for research or simply browsing to see what great artists have produced. You can find out about forthcoming exhibitions.
Site Address www.tate.org.uk |
Techno Games Age Range 7+ Overview This is the companion site to the BBC television programme of the same name. Verdict Children who enjoy Robot Wars and Techno Games will also enjoy browsing this site, learning about all things robotic.
Site Address www.bbc.co.uk/science/robots/techlab | The River Ribble Age Range 7+ Overview This is a journey through the English countryside, using photographs and text, which takes you from the source of the River Ribble to where it meets the sea. Verdict It has been specifically created to support the National Curriculum geography topic on rivers. Site Address http://members.lycos.co.uk/gdeanict/ribble |
Mega-transect at National Geographic Age Range 8+ Overview Ecologist Michael Fay and photographer Michael Nichols went on a 2000-mile journey across Africa between Congo and Gabon, surveying the wildlife as they went. Presentation lasts approx. 8 minutes. Verdict Spectacular, well-designed and engaging. You will get an insight into the area of Africa visited.
Site Address Magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/08/01/html/ft_20010801.5.html | Centre for Mars Exploration Age Range 10+ Overview This is a serious science website with a lot of material suitable for keen older children. Run by NASA, it's packed with news, articles and photographs. Verdict This is a great site for space enthusiasts of all ages - as long as they have enough time to browse.
Site Address http://Cmex-www.arc.nasa.gov
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Beano Town Age Range 7+ Overview As the official Beano website, this provides news, activities and competitions. Verdict No educational value, just a bit of fun for all Beano readers!
Site Address www.beano.co.uk | The Official Bagpuss Site Age Range 5+ Overview A comprehensive look at the whole concept from the characters to the stories. Verdict Straightforward and engaging. You don't need a lot of time or effort to get interest and enjoyment from it.
Site Address www.smallfilms.co.uk/bagpuss |
The Rabbit Welfare Society Age Range 6+ Overview Information and ideas for all those interested in rabbits, from people just thinking about buying their first to owners with specific questions. Verdict Fairly straightforward deign with useful content.
Site Address www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk | Prehistoric Planet Age Range 7+ Overview A real enthusiast's site, with a very wide range of features. Also includes links to other dinosaur-related sites. Verdict Lots to see and think about in a well-designed and attractive site.
Site Address www.prehistoricplanet.com |
Microsoft Design Gallery Live Age Range 7+ Overview Provides free access to huge amounts of clip-art (pieces of artwork you can download for free) and sound and video clips. Verdict Straightforward and works well.
Site Address http://dgl,microsoft.com | The Discovery Channel Age Range 7+ Overview Gives access to huge amounts of natural history and current affairs articles, based on but also extending the Discovery Channel. Verdict Easy to use and thoroughly absorbing. You can come back to this site again and again without running out of things to look at.
Site Address www.discovery.com |
Official Royal Air Force Age Range 8+ Overview Official RAF site containing a great deal of information on a braod range of relevant topics from hardward specifications to airshows and displays. Verdict Obviously not designed with children in mind, but still well worth a visit, with lots that will be of interest to anyone who likes planes.
Site Address www.raf.mod.uk | Science Year Age Range 9+ Overview Gives access to two separate pages - Solar System, which gives a virual tour of our Sun and planets, and World Builder, which allows you to construct your own planet and release it into or solar system. Verdict Top-notch visuals and educational into the bargain.
Site Address www.scienceyear.com/wired/index.html?page=/planet10 |
Bullying Online Age Range Parental Discretion Overview A comprehensive site dealing with just about every conceivable aspect of bullying, with some information aimed at parents and some at children. Verdict An interesting site with some useful sections. Can only form one part of the solution to this problem.
Site Address www.bullying.co.uk | Fireman Sam Age Range 4-6 Overview An extensivesite based on the television series, with fire safety advice, games, stories, etc. Verdict A high quality site which will provide a lot of fun and information for younger websurfers.
Site Address www.firemansam.co.uk |
Official Harry Potter Site Age Range 8+ Overview Everything the self-respecting Harry Potter fanatic needs to know about the film, trading card game, etc. Produced by the company responsible for the film. Verdict Be aware that there is a heavy commercial angle to this site. However, it is visually impressive and appealing.
Site Address http://harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk | Encyclopedia Titanica Age Range 9+ Overview An in-depth, multimedia site with huge amounts of information about the structure of the Titanic and the people on it. Verdict A very impressive site in terms of presentation and particularly content. Fascinating.
Site Address www.encyclopedia-titanica.org
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The Aztecs Age Range 7-11 Overview A broad and engaging introduction to this infamous culture. Covers agriculture, the Conquistadors, Aztec gods and more. Verdict A straightforward and accessible site which children will find useful.
Site Address http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/aztecs.htm | Newsround Age Range 7-11 Overview Provides a round-up of the current big news stories, plus some interactive features. Verdict A typically well put together BBC site, carefully targeted at a specific group of children.
Site Address www.bbc.co.uk/newsround |
Webmonkey Age Range 10+ Overview This site aims to teach you how to build your own website, providing help for experts and beginners alike. It looks at text, graphics tables, etc. Verdict It won't make you an expert overnight, but if you are really keen about web-authoring, this is an excellent place to start.
Site Address http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey | Freefoto Age Range 5+ Overview An archive of thousands of top-quality images available for you to use free, as long as it's for personal rather than commercial purposes. Verdict Extremely useful.
Site Address www.freefoto.com |
Bluemountain Age Range 6+ Overview A free service which allows you to send electronic postcards via email for birthdays, religious festivals, passing of driving tests and anything else you can think of. Verdict So good it's surprising they don't charge!
Site Address www.bluemountain.com | Yahooligans Age Range 6+ Overview Acts as a jumping-off point to a huge range of websites arranged in categories, as well as supplying many of its own child-related features. Verdict Well put-together and bursting with interest.
Site Address www.yahooligans.com |
How Stuff Works Age Range 7+ Overview A collection of clear, well-researched ariticles on a huge range of topics, explaining how machines, systems, natural phenomena, etc. work. Verdict A good idea with a well-run site.
Site Address www.howstuffworks.com | Walking With Dinosaurs Age Range 6+ Overview Companion site to the BBC television programme, containing large amounts of information, activities, links, games and quizzes. Verdict Very well presented and designed with bags of activities and detail - very appealing to young dino-entusiasts.
Site Address www.bbc.co.uk/dinosaurs |
Mamamedia Age Range 6-11 Overview A versatile site which is very child-oriented, providing games, quizzes, activities, weblinks and more. Verdict A great deal of thought has gone into this excellent site, which has as its top proirity getting children involved and interacting.
Site Address www.mamamedia.com | The Brownies Official Website Age Range 6-10 Overview A guide to the organisation, explaining its aims, activities and history. Verdict Thoroughly informative and attractively set out.
Site Address www.girlguding.org.uk/members/brownies |
The Worldwide Fund for Nature Age Range 6+ Overview A collection of resources, information and contacts for all things ecological. Verdict Very good design plus absorbing content - excellent.
Site Address www.panda.org | Homework Elephant Age Range 7+ Overview A huge bank of resources and links designed to help children research information and find answers for homework. Verdict Impressive amount of material, reasonably well designed. Well worth a few visits to see if it suits your child's way of working.
Site Address www.homeworkelephant.co.uk
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The History Net Age Range 7+ Overview A collection of history resources covering a huge range of subjects, plus large numbers of links to related sites. Verdict Well designed with resources you don't find on many similar sites.
Site Address http://history.about.com | BBC Robots Age Range 7+ Overview A really in-depth look at the history, current practice and future of robotics. Verdict Another outstanding example from the BBC of how to make websites fun and easy to use.
Site Address www.bbc.co.uk/science/robots |
The Natural History Museum Age Range 7-11 Overview A broad overview of everything going on, including current exhibitions and news. Verdict Very professional in terms of design and user-friendliness.
Site Address www.nhm.ac.uk | The London Chess Centre Age Range 10+ Overview An enthusiast's site, with huge amounts of information about the current events in world and UK chess. Verdict Not brilliantly put together, but the content makes it worthwhile site.
Site Address www.chess.co.uk |
Weather Images Age Range 10+ Overview A total enthusiast's site with loads of top-notch weather-related information gathered from around the world. Verdict Offbeat but worth sorting through.
Site Address www.weatherimages.org | Science Shack Age Range 7+ Overview Companion site to the BBc series presented by Adam Hart-Davies. Contains rundowns of each episode plus associated interactive activities. Verdict Well presented with no filler, just interesting information and workable experiments to try.
Site Address www.open2.net/scienceshack |
The History Net Age Range 7+ Overview A collection of history resources covering a huge range of subjects, plus large numbers of links to related sites. Verdict Well designed with resources you don't find on many similar sites.
Site Address http://history.about.com | BBC Robots Age Range 7+ Overview A really in-depth look at the history, current practice and future of robotics. Verdict Another outstanding example from the BBC of how to make websites fun and easy to use.
Site Address www.bbc.co.uk/science/robots |
The Natural History Museum Age Range 7-11 Overview A broad overview of everything going on, including current exhibitions and news. Verdict Very professional in terms of design and user-friendliness.
Site Address www.nhm.ac.uk | The London Chess Centre Age Range 10+ Overview An enthusiast's site, with huge amounts of information about the current events in world and UK chess. Verdict Not brilliantly put together, but the content makes it worthwhile site.
Site Address www.chess.co.uk |
Weather Images Age Range 10+ Overview A total enthusiast's site with loads of top-notch weather-related information gathered from around the world. Verdict Offbeat but worth sorting through.
Site Address www.weatherimages.org | Science Shack Age Range 7+ Overview Companion site to the BBc series presented by Adam Hart-Davies. Contains rundowns of each episode plus associated interactive activities. Verdict Well presented with no filler, just interesting information and workable experiments to try.
Site Address www.open2.net/scienceshack |
Sikh Home Page Age Range 7+ Overview A clear overview of the Sikh faith, providing explanations of its origins, practices, gurus, writings, terminology and more. Verdict A very professional, well-presented and rich site.
Site Address www.sikhs.org/topics.htm | Apollo 17 Homepage Age Range 7+ Overview Part of the huge official NASA website, this contains large amounts of technical data and photographs. Verdict A fascination window into ne of the greatest adventures humankind has undertaken.
Site Address http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo17info.html |
The Heart: An Online Exploration Age Range 8+ Overview Actually created to complement an exhibit at the Franklin Institute, this is a great source of technical information on one of the body's most fascinating organs. Verdict Lots of in-depth material presented clearly.
Site Address http://sin.fi.edu/biosci/heart.html | The Virtual Body Age Range 6+ Overview This site is located within a commercial healthcare site and consists of explanations and illustrations covering the human heart, brain, skeleton and digestive system. Each sectionhas a simple tour, a 'zoom-in and describe' tool and a related game. Verdict It is a clear, well-planned and engaging. It contains lots of information which you can get hold of without wading through pages of text.
Site Address www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp |
Babelfish Age Range 6+ Overview The site is an online translation tool, allowing you to change either single words or blocks of text up to 150 words long from English to another language and vice-versa. Verdict A simple, straightforward but effective website which could save an enormous amount of time and effort for non-specialists in languages.
Site Address http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr | Eskeletons Age Range 7+ Overview This site is a technical resource aimed at scientists studying primate anatomy. It allows you to examine in detail the skeletons of baboons, humans and gorillas and also compare them. There is a large database of high quality photographs which you can view side by side to discover similarities and differences between species. Verdict A peculiar but incredibly high quality site. So much hard work must have gone into it that it's hard to believe you can visit for free.
Site Address www.eskeletons.org |
Java Arcade Emulator Age Range 7+ Overview A personal site created and run by Norbert Kehrur, both as a homage to many of the classic arcade games of the 1980s and as a showcase for his programming abilities. Here he has recreated replicas of the games, which you can play for free. Verdict This website reminds us that the web is still home to eccentrics, and can be a great source of free entertainment. There are lots of seemingly simple yet very playable and engaging treats here.
Site Address http://web.utanet.at/nkehrer | Eyewitness to History Age Range 7+ Overview This history resource site covers a range of topics and eras. Periods include ancient world, middle ages, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include wars, international events, scientific discoveries, etc. Verdict Although there are more holes than topics, those here are good quality and definitely worth a look, either for something specific or just to browse.
Site Address www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/index.html |
Ask Jeeves for Kids Age Range 7+ Overview This is, unusually, a search engine designed to be used by children. It is the sister site to the original Ask Jeeves. Verdict Not the answer to all searching problems but well designed and definitely worth a try.
Site Address www.ajkids.com | Imperial War Museum Collections Age Range 10+ Overview This contains a comprehensive database of the museum's exhibits. Interviews, photographs, documents and paintings can be viewed online, although film clips can only be viewed at the museum. Verdict If you have the time to browse at length, there are some absorbing insights here.
Site Address www.iwmcollections.org.uk |