These sites have been compiled by the Children and Technology Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

Animals   

Animal Cams! – links to live cameras in zoos, aquariums and animal shelters.  Features farms, penguins, bats, sharks and more.

Animal Diversity Web – collection of pictures and information about animals.

Bat Resource Area – includes bat facts, photos, pictures and fascinating bat trivia.

Children’s Butterfly Site – pictures to color, facts to learn.

From A to Z – birds, mammals, marsupials and reptiles.

Sea World/Busch Gardens Animal Information Database – download cool animal facts, teacher’s guides, quizzes and activities.

Whale Songs – natural histories and information on different types of whales.

Dino Dictionary – database of dinosaur sites.

Monterey Bay (Calif.) Aquarium Online

National Aquarium in Baltimore

National Zoo, Washington, D.C.

The Arts    

The @rt Room – includes bibliographies of art book, exhibits of kids’ art from different parts of the world and facts about famous artists.

Imagination Factory – ideas and clear directions can be found for painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, fiber arts and crafts from recycled media.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York – includes family guides, museum hunts and art games.  Features special sections on artists.

Origami – clear instructions and elegant models in the traditional Japanese art of paper folding.

Biology

Cells Alive – what do disease, sourdough bread, biological weapons and gold mines have in common?

Conchologists Information Network – everything you wanted to know about shells and the mysterious creatures that live inside them.

Desert Life – general introduction to the complex and delicate desert ecosystems.

Wonders of the Sea – highlights different animals with text and images.

Chemistry and Physics

Chem4Kids – has data on atoms, elements and matter as well as biographies of  famous chemists.

Cultures of the World

Countries – resources and information about countries throughout the world.

Country Library – information on countries of the world.

National Geographic.com Kids – one of the best resources for information about the world, its people and its wildlife.

For Younger Children (age 8 and under)

Between the Lions – early literacy site.  Appealing characters, terrific songs and fun games.

Fun with Spot – fans of Eric Hill’s Spot books will enjoy playing these games and reading the animated versions of some of these books.

Goodnight Stories – this is the place to come if you want to curl up with a good cyber book or just play a game.

Sesame Street Central – activity pages with your friends from Sesame Street.  Play games with Prairie Dawn, Elmo and Cookie Monster.

Thomas the Tank Engine Page – stories, games and fun.

Games and Entertainment Sites

Boomerwolf – join the Boomerwolf Detective Agency and help solve a case.  Designed for children, amusing characters but sound science.  

Chess is Fun – learn how to play chess.  Fairly easy lessons.

Chess Kids – learn to play chess with interactive lessons, quizzes, games and puzzles.

I Spy – collection of image searching games.

Nickelodeon

Owl Kids Online – based on the magazine.

PBS for Kids – games and activities connected to programs including Arthur, Between the Lions and Sesame Street.

General Science

About Rainbows – answers questions about one of the most spectacular light shows observed on earth.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Fun On-Line Page – provides not only interesting information but also engaging activities such as creating a multimedia puppet show and designing your own space station.

Consumer Reports Online for Kids – tests and rates toys, games and other products aimed at kids.

Exploratorium – hands-on exhibits like the science of hockey, tracking severe weather and how to dissect a cow’s eye.

How Stuff Works – treasure trove of useful information such as how a digital camera works.

National Geographic for Kids

Playing with Time – allows viewers to observe specific places or events over many different time periods.  View a forest, in real time, minutes, hours, days, months or over the course of a year.

Geography and Maps

GeoGlobe: Interactive Geography – ever wondered which continent has the most countries?  Do you know how deep the ocean gets?  How plants survive in the tundra?  Which waterfall is the highest in the world?  If you’re curious about world geography, this is the right place.  

Place the States - an interactive site to practice placing the states on a map

Individual Author Sites

Jan Brett’s Home Page – everything from trolls to armadillos.

Official Eric Carle Web Site – Very Hungry Catepillar, Do You Want to be My Friend, and Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.

Roald Dahl Home Page – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Virginia Hamilton – House of Dies Drear, The People could Fly, M.C. Higgins the Great, Planet of Junior Brown and Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush.

Katherine Paterson Web Site – explores the work of the author of Bridge to Terabithia, the Great Gilly Hopkins, Lyddie and Jacob Have I loved.

Gary Paulsen – Hatchet, Dogsong, The Crossing, and the Winter Room.

Robert Quackenbush – Henry Babysits Sherlock Chick and the Giant Egg Mystery.

Literature and Language

Aesop’s Fables – contains 638 fables.

Arthur Page – popular site for children who love the character created by Marc Brown.  Features games and children’s art.

Berenstain Bears – includes activities and lists of books.

Children’s Storybook Online – read lots of exciting stories like “Round Bird Can’t Fly”, “Grow Your Own Gargoyle”, and the “Wumpalump”.

Guys Read – author Jon Scieszka makes suggestions that connect boys with books they want to read.

Random House Kids – explore online with your favorite books and characters, you can even submit your own book reviews for online publication.

Stories from the Web – using story starters or going solo, children can write their own tales, poems, or book reviews and hang them in the on-line gallery.  Or, read a story from one of your favorite authors.

Look It Up

Fact Monster.com – find information about a variety of subjects ranging from weather facts to homework help to quizzes and games.  

Kids Connect – point and click your way to Web Sites that have been most helpful for K-12 students.

Maryland 

Maryland Kids Page – everything you want to know about Maryland on a site sponsored by the Maryland Secretary of State.

Mathematics

Coolmath.com – allows the user to sharpen basic math skills, play math concept games and explore new math concepts.

Flashcards for Kids – online flashcards with a variety of mathematical puzzles to help build kids’ skills.

Museums

National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. – contains resources about flight, airplanes and space travel.

National Gallery of Art for Kids – explore stories in art, take a post card tour of one of the galleries, get directions for art activities.

National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. – study of the life, languages, literature, history and arts of Native Americans.

News and Current Events

Time for Kids – connects youth with up to the minute news and current events.  The site includes a dictionary, country information and games.

Politics and Government

Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids – a variety of information about basic aspects of the United States and its government, such as how a bill becomes law.

Sports

Little League Baseball

Major League Baseball – information on National and American Leagues as well as statistics, photos and league leaders.

National Baseball Hall of Fame – provides a valuable history of the game of baseball.

NBA.com – contains information on games and players.

Sports Illustrated for Kids

United States History

Black History – supports students as they explore topics related to Black History and African American issues.

Native American Sites on the WWW – extensive list of home pages of Native tribes.

Native Web – series of links on nations, peoples and geographic locations.

American Civil War – learn about the American Civil War Battles, life stories of important participants, re-enactments and more.

Civil War Women – diaries, documents and letters revealing women’s lives and experiences during the Civil War.  Links to great historical photos.

Colonial Williamsburg – see life in a Virginia colony of 250 years ago.  Includes a large educational section on Colonial America.

Lewis and Clark Expedition – a wealth of biographical and historical information about the time and the major and minor participants in the trip.  In an interactive tale, you’ll have an opportunity to play the roles of Lewis and Clark yourself.  

Oregon Trail – story of the trail and those who traveled it.

Underground Railroad – you are a slave in the South before the Civil War.  Should you risk escape with Harriet Tubman’s help through the Underground Railroad?

Weather and Environment

Eco Kids Online – discover cool things about science and nature, wildlife and environmental issues.

Hurricane: Storm Science – learn about what happens inside a hurricane.

World History

Rabbit in the Moon – information on ancient Mayan culture and offers the chance to learn to write your name in Mayan glyphs.

Secrets of the Lost Empire: Medieval Siege – learn about life in medieval castles and how to operate a catapult

Writing

Young Writer's Club – fun, instructive and designed to build a writer’s confidence.