MENTION government websites and everybody yawns. That is because most folks have never seen the amazing websites that US government agencies have developed for kids. Created to help American schoolchildren learn about the missions of various organizations funded by US taxpayers’ dollars, these websites offer a lot of learning and fun to children everywhere.
Kids.gov (www.kids.gov) is the official kids’ portal for the US government. It links to over 1,200 Web pages from government agencies, schools and educational organizations, all geared to the learning level and interest of kids. Kids.gov is organized into three audiences: Grades K-5, Grades 6-8 and Educators. Each audience tab is divided into educational subjects such as arts, math and history. Within each subject, the websites are grouped as either government sites (federal, state, military) or other resources (commercial, non-profit, educational). The sites listed under the other resources category are maintained by other public and private organizations. When users click on these links, they are leaving Kids.gov and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside websites.
Not every website accessible through Kids.gov is equally amusing and some are really only interesting to children living in a particular geography. That noted, there are some wonderful sites not to be missed. Start with Bam! Body and Mind from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bam! Body and Mind (www.bam.gov) tells kids all they need to know about all the stuff that matters. Got a question about fitness, disease or peer pressure? Find your answers at Bam. There are interactive features at the site that help kids make healthy lifestyle choices.
Once kids know themselves a little better, they can learn more about the world around them through the NASA Kids’ Club (www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html). Bring the Earth into the PC. Listen to an earthquake rumble. Look in the eye of a hurricane. Find out why the wind blows. Make complicated science fun. Guarantee: If kids spend some time at this site, they’ll learn some things most adults don’t know.
And while we’re discussing knowing the basics, did you know that most kids haven’t a clue where the milk they drink comes from? Visit www.aipl.arsusda.gov/kc/cowfacts.html to learn some neat facts about cows. Then take a trip to the Washington DC’s National Zoo (http://nationalzoo.si.edu/default.cfm) where there is still hope that Giant Panda Mei Xiang might be having a cub. Next, be creative. At the National Gallery of Art try the interactive art (www.nga.gov/kids/zone/zone.htmh) or play games courtesy of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (www.nga.mil/ngakids/kids/games/index.html).
Moving on to the really unusual, kids can learn all about being a spy through the kids’ resources made available by the US Central Intelligence Agency (www.cia.gov/kids-page/index.html). The website does point out that the CIA gathers intelligence or information in a variety of ways, “not just by spying like you see in the movies or on TV, though we do some of that, too.” At the website read about the CIA, play games and solve puzzles to hone those sleuthing skills.
And what a surprise! The CIA is not the only US intelligence agency with kids resources. The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) sponsors the CryptoKids club for kids at www.nsa.gov/kids/. The club teaches kids about cryptology, which is the making and breaking codes. At CryptoKids, learn about codes and ciphers, play lots of games and activities, and get to know each member of the team — Crypto Cat, Decipher Dog, Rosetta Stone, Slate, Joules, T.Top and, of course, the leader CSS Sam.
“It’s so cool. We make codes so we can send secret messages to our friends. And we try to figure out what other people are writing about by breaking their codes. It’s a lot of fun,” advises the website.
Exploring cryptography is cool, but remember that this is the NSA and of course it wants to get out its own message to children. The site also gives kids an opportunity to “learn about the National Security Agency/Central Security Service — they’re America’s real codemakers and codebreakers. Our nation’s leaders and warfighters count on the technology and information they get from NSA/CSS to get their jobs done. Without NSA/CSS, they wouldn’t be able to talk to one another without the bad guys listening and they wouldn’t be able to figure out what the bad guys were planning.”
Even in the US, there has been a lot of discussion about exactly who the bad guys are. That is why kids should check with their parents first before accessing any of these sites. There is nothing particularly wrong with a website peddling propaganda, as long as it is clear to all that it is propaganda and not education.