As part of my work as a Teaching Assistant for a "Children and Media" class (T314) at Indiana University, Bloomington I compiled a list of outstanding children's websites after extensive research and web surfing.
Please note that most of these websites have heavy graphics, animation and interactivity - and hence you might need a fast internet connection to view them for an optimal experience! Happy viewing.
Top Websites (of Media Outlets and other Brand Names) for Children
Top Websites for Kids!
Entertainment / Education / Games
Mega Portal for kids that is a subset of Yahoo.
Sesame Street has a pretty big and impressive website – great interactivity and storytelling elements
Offers fun, creative projects and activities for kids to do
Filled with games, message boards, articles and more, this site is very popular with kids and teens
Educational and interactive website for kids K-8 filled with quizzes and games
Offers Preschool to 6 th graders fun, interactive, online, and educational games
A fun and safe space for kids to explore and communicate using technology
A fun learning environment for kids – that promotes other cool sites. Pretty small and basic website, but ranks high all the same!
Targeted at kids up to the age of 10, has over 700 educational and kiddy games, as well as other activities.
Offers kids and teens a zillion things to do – ranging from games, to safe chat rooms, to reading entertaining articles about sports, media and music, as well as educational, environmental friendly issues.
Extremely well made educational website for kids about inventions. Uses a lot of animation and interactivity.
Educational site about wind power for kids.
This is “Ask Jeeves Kids” – where kids can ask any question and the interactive website comes up with answers!
America's coolest weekly news magazine for kids- with news, travel, food, animals, and crafts. Also includes an area for parents and teachers.
Extremely well made educational site, targeted at kids aged 6 to 9. Filled with colorful animation, graphics and high interactivity. The website complements the book and TV series brought out by Scholastic on the “Magic School Bus”.
Offers exciting FLASH games for kids – educational, creative and fun
Features games, activities and cartoons for kids aged 3 upwards
Nintendo’s Mega Pokémon website featuring all things related to Pokémon – from games, news, free downloads to trading cards and other information related to the Pokémon phenomenon.
A fun site featuring educational games promoting early reading skills and more. Targeted at kindergarten to 4 th grade children.
Mega portal featuring a series of six online learning portals designed for grades K-2, 3-5, middle school, and high school. With functional online tools such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, a calculator – the portal also has activities, games, study kits, news and more.
Mega homework information portal that features the very best K-12 homework-related sites together with high quality homework resources and a reference center. The portal also features fun things to do other than homework!
Largest free reference site just for kids. Features a lovely interface and is filled with educational facts, homework help, games, quizzes and more.
Explains hundreds of subjects, from car engines to lock-picking to ESP, using clear language and tons of illustrations. All ages.
An award winning interactive tour of the inner workings of the atom and the tools for discovery.
University of Illinois Extension Kids Site
A lovely educational website belonging to the University of Illinois Extension that is filled with animated stories and activities that are both educational and fun. Targeted at young kids.
Explore the splendors of the sea and the wonders of the universe through sights, sounds, information, and interactive games. Fun and informative website for all ages.
Educational website that teaches the basics of Chemistry - for kids.
The Smithsonian website for kids is filled with information, games and fun!
An online destination for kids aged 9-13 created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Using kid-friendly lingo, games, quizzes, and other interactive features – this is a not to be missed website!
Environmental Kids Club lets kids aged 5-12 explore their environment and learn how to protect it. Filled with articles, games, pictures, and stories about the environment this is an educational and fun website.
A math help site for grades 5 to 8 featuring interactive math lessons, homework help, worksheets, puzzles, forums and more.
Fun interactive math projects, math art and crafts, math writing contests, math
story problems, even a magic chalkboard!
A large collection of interactive worksheets that allows kids K-4 to practice basic math skills.
A very cool math site for kids featuring interactive math lessons, games, fun characters and more
Youth audiences act as architects in this highly interactive website targeted at kids aged 11 to 14 using their imaginations to create their own design solutions. This website offers sophisticated architectural design and visualization tools using Flash, Director and Shockwave 3D.
Animated, interactive and fun website that teaches kids about the importance of saving, the value of money, setting a budget, and understanding credit.
A fun place for children to learn about money and banking.
Fun with words! Offers kids a fun and interactive dictionary, buzz words, word scramblers, homework help and more.
Mega site belonging to the United Nations that promotes education about international issues and the United Nations. It offers stories, games, coloring activities, questions, and an online story to help kids learn about the world.
Provides educational information geared for children about the President, the White House, and the President's pets and animals!
Divided into K-5 and 6-12 grades, FBI Kids allows you to follow a case through the FBI, explore a day in the life of an FBI agent, provides safety tips, history of the FBI, games and more!
A weekly e-zine with national and world news, science, history, sports, entertainment, and US government news. The site also features games, stories, informational articles and more.
Teen experiences of war told in first person.
ASPCA’s Animaland website is a fun site to learn all about animals. Featuring games, cartoons, polls, stories, and pet care guides for kids – this is one cool site!
A young and lively educational website filled with doctor-approved articles, animations, games, and resources to help kids and teens learn more about their bodies and stay healthy.
A nicely put together website featuring information and advice for kids, and teenagers who are concerned about drugs.
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program gives kids the life skills they need to avoid involvement with drugs, gangs, and violence. The website complements their objectives by providing motivational stories, games and informational articles.
NASA Kids is filled with stories, activities, games and more cool stuff. This is a fun and colorful website that is worth checking out. If you go to the main NASA home page there are additional mega links for students by grades – starting from Kindergarten till post secondary!
Keith Haring’s website just for kids – encourages art appreciation and learning in a creative, colorful, fun and highly interactive manner
A place for children of all ages who want to learn and create art. The site features numerous art projects, has a k ids art gallery, contests, articles about artists and more.
A brilliant FLASH based website for kids interested in art, filled with interactive elements and high doses of creativity and imagination!
Another awesome FLASH based website that helps kids look at art in new ways. Kids learn the language of art, explore artist materials and even create their own art!
| **If you notice any broken links or think I have missed out on a great children's website, please do send me an email and let me know so that I can update them right away! |