Great
Websites to Click onto
CHILDREN'S
TV
|
The Big Breakfast
bigbreakfast.channel4.com |
|
| Life may start at seven, but if you are not up that early you
can always catch up on your fill of the Big Breakfast on this site. It has
profiles of and interviews with the presenters and of course a run-down of
what is going to be on the show this week. There are wallpapers and sounds
to download, and you can take part by submitting your bulldog photos or your
very own vital, and totally useless, statistic. The only thing it lacks is
footage of the actual shows. |
Blue Peter
www.bbc.co.uk/bluepeter |
|
| There isn't a person in this land who doesn't have memories of
good old Blue Peter. But while the show has been accused of being out of
touch, the BBC has brought into the Internet age with its own site. Sadly,
this is a fairly bog standard site. Yes, it is colourful, packed with information
and throwing games and competitions around like there was no tomorrow. But
then it doesn't really get the imagination going - something a kids programme
should. |
The Simpsons
www.margsimpson.com/simpsons/simpsons.htm |
|
| Don't you just love the Simpsons? If you can't do without your
daily dose of the show, then you should visit this site. It opens with a
huge map of Springfield and you can then explore the various settings, Bart
and Lisa's School, Moe's Bar, the Kwik-E Mart and of course the Simpson household
itself. In each place you will find details of the characters themselves,
as well as taking a test in the Simpson's to help Bart get out of Fourth
Grade. |
Teletubbies
www.bbc.co.uk/education/teletubbies |
|
| Eh-oh! What exactly is the attraction of these fat little characters
for small children? Perhaps with the exception of students most adults find
them truly awful, but the fascination they exert on small children cannot
be underestimated. This BBC Education website is built around activities
and games you can do with your child on the PC, such a jigsaws, games of
hide and seek and adjusting the Tubby Control Panel so that it makes animal
noises. You can even print out pictures of the teletubbies to colour in. |
CITV
www.citv.co.uk |
|
| All the ITV shows have their sites on this supersite. There's
not much information on each of the shows, but there are some other parts
you'll want to have a look at. There's jokes and online chat, competitions
and games to play on the site. One nice touch is the Never Bored section,
which tells you what events are going on in your area. You can then mail
the site and tell them what you thought of your day out. |
Tweenies
www.bbc.co.uk/education/tweenies |
|
| Tweenies are the new education program for pre-school age children
and as you might expect, it has lots of extra activities that parents can
do with their smaller children. So there is supplementary information on
the stories and lots of songs that can be downloaded to sing along with.
There are games to play and suggestions of things to watch on television.
For parents there is also a new service, bringing you all the latest articles
and advice by education specialists. |
Get Live and
Kicking
www.bbc.co.uk/kicking |
|
| This site is packed full of everything that is on the show. So
you will find interviews with celebrities, such as Joe Absolom from EastEnders,
lots of showbiz gossip, games and competitions. There are features on the
presenters - even Mr Blobby and the Leprechauns get their own sections. One
of the best features, however, is the huge number of wallpapers featuring
celebrities such as Five, Scoochy and Supergirly, that you can download from
the site. It'll even tell you how to install them. |
Newsround
www.bbc.co.uk/newsround |
|
| If you want to keep up with the latest news from around the world,
the best place to come is the Newsround site. The BBC news coverage is excellent
and so is this site. It has all the stories of the day, but also fills you
in on some of the background behind the stories, so you can find out all
about the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, but also about the
Northern Ireland situation and why so many people in the world are starving. |
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KID'S
INTERNET |
yahooligans
www.yahooligans.com |
|
There are plenty of categories covered on the site, everything
from sport to learning maths, games and puzzles to screensavers to the latest
sites on Pokemon. Everything that a kid could want is here.
The database is easy to search, either by category or by the search
button and sites are often given a 'cool shades' mark to show those sites
that are definitely worth visiting.
There are plenty of online chats on all kinds of subjects: Cuba,
NASA and martial arts. And to make sure you do not miss a thing there are
upcoming events posted well in advance. There are even parents' guides and
teachers' guides to show the oldies how to get the most out of the net. Finally
there is a featured celebrity on the site - when we looked it was Britney
Spears - together with pictures and plenty of pop trivia. |
Compuserve Kids
www.compuserve.com/gateway/kids/default.asp |
|
| This excellent
links page concentrates on fun stuff rather than on school studies. So there
are sections on TV, movies and videos, as well as music and sport. There
are even a list of hot sites and kid's favourites sites covering everything
from Harry Potter to Rugrats. |
Enchanted Learning
www.enchantedlearning.com |
|
| Enchanted Learning
produce educational websites. A whole range of subjects are covered, everything
from dinosaurs to astronomy, as well as taking in the traditional science,
maths and languages. |
ePlay
www.eplay.com |
|
| ePlay links up schools and kids in an environment where they can
learn and have fun. So there is a serious homework assignment area, but also
a fun games section, and a message centre where kids can communicate with
other children around the world. |
Freeserve
www.freeserve.co.uk |
|
| Although there is no actual kid's section on Freeserve, there
is plenty of information here for them. There is homework help in education,
games, cartoons and of course Freeserve's excellent guide to what is on locally
for kids. |
Yahooligans
www.yahooligans.com |
|
| This portal is designed specially for kids, and so it is crammed
full of the kind of sites kids want to see. It covers everything from arts
and entertainment to sports and recreation and of course there is an education
section. |
Handbag.com
www.handbag.com/family |
|
| This is more one for mums than for the kids themselves. It has
the same event selector for finding days out in your local area as Freeserve,
but also has a good links page for kids websites. |
AOL UK Kids
Channel
www.aol.co.uk/channels/kids |
|
| There are not a huge number of links on this channel, just a list
of top five sites and a section on a particular subject. The sections do
change on a regular basis, however, so it's worth keeping an eye on. |
Bonus.com
www.bonus.com |
|
| Bonus.com calls itself the supersite for kids. There are loads
of links here on everything from the earth to space travel, dinosaurs to
how things work. And in each case there is a little summary of what you will
find on the site. |
The Junction
www.the-junction.net/index.htm |
|
| The Junction is an online magazine aimed at teenagers. It has
loads of links, covering subjects as diverse as advice, football, music and
technology. It also has a few columns, although these just link to about.com. |
National Geographic
Kids
www.nationalgeographic.com/kids |
|
| This site is less of a portal and more of an all-round resource
and activity centre. There is plenty to find out about, including all about
NASA's plans to send people to Mars. There is also a great section on amazing
facts, like why clouds float. |
Surf Monkey
www.surfmonkey.com |
|
| This site not only has games, bulleting boards and chat rooms,
but it also has an extensive list of sites that are safe and cool for kids,
covering everything from sports and toys to art, science and space. |
UK Plus
www.ukplus.co.uk |
|
| UK Plus is one of the few portals to have a dedicated kid's section.
As UKPlus is still in its infancy there is not a great deal here as yet,
but hopefully it will grow in time. |
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KID'S
REFERENCE |
FunkandWagnalls.com
www.funkandwagnalls.com |
|
Its English counterpart, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, outstrips
it in sheer scope, but F&W's 22,000 articles stand it in good stead against
its many rivals. From Nietzsche to nanotechnology, the range and depth of
the entries is impressive, set in a bright, uncluttered layout that aids
speedy research. The basic encyclopaedia function is usefully supplemented
with a dictionary - courtesy of the folks at Random House - and an international
news service, updated hourly. Again, while the multimedia trappings look
prosaic in comparison with the slick service offered by Encarta, the slideshows,
photos and audio files that are included are more than adequate. The serious
researcher will not be deterred by the lack of showy pyrotechnics and will
find more than enough raw information in the thorough, considered entries,
which are crucially updated each month. But the real advantage, of course,
is the generous pricing policy in a market crammed with expensive alternatives.
If you'd shelled out for the latest print edition of Funk and Wagnall's New
Encyclopaedia, you'd be $189 worse off. |
3D Atlas Online
www.3datlas.com |
|
| If you have ever got stuck on your geography homework, or just
wondered where Botswana is, then this is the place to come. It has a fully
searchable list of countries and for each country listed you see a few words
about the country, giving information on the geography, population and main
industries, plus a photograph and a picture of the national flag. There are
links of other sites on the web and a map can be downloaded. A word of warning,
though - it can take forever to download the graphics. |
Ask Jeeves for
Kids
www.ajkids.com |
|
| Ask Jeeves is a search engine with a difference. You ask Jeeves
a question, such as 'why should I eat my vegetables' or 'why do clouds float'
and Jeeves will come back with a list of sites where you can find the answers
to these questions. Alternatively you can take a 'tour' around a certain
subject, such as earthquakes, pets, or the body and find plenty of sites
with answers to all the questions you may want to ask, all presented in a
neat and tidy format, but then what else would you expect from Jeeves? |
Lets Find Out
www.letsfindout.com |
|
| Lets Find Out is divided into 16 sections, taking in such things
as the body, art, aviation, dinosaurs and science. Behind each subject is
a list on entries, and each entry has a couple of paragraphs explaining what
that thing is. There is also an alphabetical index of entries if you are
not sure where to look things up. The site is not as comprehensive as it
could be and some of the articles are a little too short to be a huge amount
of help, but it is a good starting point. |
Little Explorers
www.enchantedlearning.com/Dictionary.html |
|
| Little Explorer's is another of the Enchanted Learning sites.
The dictionary is illustrated throughout with small sketches rather than
photographs. While it is in no way comprehensive, for example there are only
52 entries under G, it is easy to read and informative. In fact many of the
entries have so much information that you think it is not a dictionary at
all, but a kind of mini-encyclopaedia. It also links well with the other
Enchanted Learning sites. |
Encarta Online
www.encarta.msn.com |
|
| This online version of Microsoft's famous encyclopaedia is the
concise version and is not as detailed as the deluxe online version for which
you have to subscribe, but it is still packed with informative articles and
plenty of pictures. The information is easy to search by category, or alternatively
you can use the search button to go straight to the article you are looking
for. However it is always worth having a look through your favourite categories
as different articles are spotlighted regularly so something might catch your
eye. |
Reference Centre
www.freeserve.net/reference |
|
| The Freeserve reference centre is precisely that. It is made up
of a dictionary (the Oxford Compact English Dictionary), an encyclopaedia
(the Cambridge Encyclopaedia Database) and a world atlas. You can do a power-search
across any of the titles and it will come up with any suitable articles,
or you can do a media search if you are just looking for pictures, audio
files or animations. |
Encyclopaedia
Britannica
www.britannica.com |
|
| Encyclopaedia Britannica is without doubt the best place to look
for anything you want to know about. It has a fantastic reputation for being
both reliable and for giving you in-depth content that is also easily absorbed.
It is finally fully searchable on the web and is fully hyperlinked so you
can move from the article you first looked up to others that are related
at the click of a button. It also has a great news section, links to articles
from other publications and its own great list of links. |
Kid's Almanac
kids.infoplease.com |
|
| This Almanac includes all sorts of interesting facts and figures.
You can for example find out about the largest deserts in the world or the
longest rivers. Alternatively you can find out about dating and marriage
and the different traditions in the wedding ceremony around the world, all
in a quirky lifestyle section. There are some fun features as well. When
we looked there was one on Harry Potter and another one on the most popular
pet names. |
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KID'S
VISITS |
|
The surrounding
countryside in Devon, Dorset and Somerset is full of wonderful attractions.
This Site shows them all. A must for those school holidays |
Alton Towers
www.demon.co.uk/magpie/altontowers/altontowers.html |
|
| If you are after thrills and spills, this is the place to come.
The park claims to have more rides than any other in the UK including the
infamous Black Hole, Nemesis and Oblivion. Alton Towers is also opening a
new 3D interactive world this year. This site has all the information you
need on getting to the park, tickets, and even information on staying there.
The site does not look as good as the rides, however, being a little bit
rough around the edges and not showing a great deal of design flair. |
KidsNet
www.kidsnet.co.uk |
|
| If you are short of ideas on what to do for your day out, then
take a look at this site. It has listings for all kinds of attractions, from
museums to amusements parks, taking in zoos, farms, parks and just about
anything else you could think of along the way. Many of the attractions are
based in the SouthEast, however, and the site's sports section only mentions
London facilities. However if you are planning a trip to London, it will
tell you the opening times and prices of all the attractions. |
TimeOut
www.timeout.com |
|
| Time Out is the London listings magazine that tells you everything
that is going on around the capital. On their web site they cover other cities
around the world, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin. The Kid's section
of each city covers such necessities as playgrounds, swimming pools and animal
encounters, as well as letting you know about all the events happening for
kids in the city in that week as well as covering the usual tourist attractions. |
Eureka!
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Eureka_Museum |
|
| Most museums make you keep your finger off the exhibits, but at
Eureka in Halifax, you can touch and play with whatever you want to. You
can find out how the human body works, how TV programmes are made and even
how the loo flushes, all through interactive exhibits. On this website there
isn't much of the museum itself on show, but there are details of tickets,
location and opening times, plus information on special events that are happening
at the museum so you can plan when you are going to go. |
Tower of London
www.camelot-group.com/tower |
|
| There is much, much more to this site than just ticket information
and opening hours. You can get a tour of the Tower itself, given by Tom the
beefeater, which tells you all about the history of the tower, and then you
can pop off to see the crown jewels. There are also plenty of pages on the
things that everyone wants to know about: the ghosts, the prisoners and the
executions. You an also find out all about the beefeaters, including an interviews
with one, and about the ravens. |
Freeserve Kids
Event Selector
freeserve.eventselector.co.uk/kids |
|
| If you want to know what is going on in your local area, this
is a great place to start. Simply type in your nearest town or city and the
event selector will come up with a huge range of activities. We tried typing
in Leeds and the results were impressive: 26 events came back, with everything
from an RSPB reserve to karting, taking in storytelling in a bookshop to
a theatre show in between. |
Kids Travel
www.kidstravel.co.uk |
|
| Bored during the holidays? Got nothing to do at the weekend? Then
take a look at this site. Divided into six regions, and then in sections
including theme parks, zoos and safari parks, caves and caverns and attractions,
this site has loads of ideas of where to spend your days out. Each attraction
has ticket prices, opening times and its location listed, together with a
telephone number so you can ring ahead to double check they are going to
be open. Each one also has a description of what you will find there, so
you can decide whether or not you like the look of it. |
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KID'S
WORKS |
How Things Work
rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW |
|
| This site is written by a professor of physics at the University
of Virginia and is about the physics behind everyday life. The articles in
here are not comprehensive 'how things work from a to z'. Instead the prof
answers people's questions. So if you click on the balloon topic button,
you will get a lot of questions answered, such as how large a helium balloon
would have to be to lift a girl off the ground. |
Intelligent Child
www.intelligentchild.com/index.html |
|
| Don't let the title of this website put you off - it is not just
for brain-boxes and swats. It is instead a good collections of how the things
you want to know about work. So there is a section on subjects all related
to space, astronomy and general science, such as how you drive a satellite
or what is a moonwalk. Most the articles have plenty of information in them
and some groovy pictures, but others simply answer one question very briefly,
such as how big is Jupiter. |
Bonus.com How
It Works
www.bonus.com/bonus/list/n_howitwor.html |
|
| This excellent site has all kinds of articles on things that you
an do to find out how things work. So you can pick up some HTML tips to build
your own website, or look at the anatomy of a banknote, learn sign language
or learn how a toilet works. All the articles are linked to other sites,
so this overall website is more of a collection point than one big site.
Most of the articles are easy to understand and as you always stay on the
bonus.com website and the other sites open in the main window, naviagation
is easy. |
How Stuff Works
howstuffworks.com |
|
| This site is packed with explanations of how everyday objects
work. So if you have ever wanted to know how the TV works, or how a car engine
works, then this is the place to come. The site is divided into 22 sections
covering such diverse topics as aviation, music, power and food. All the
articles are comprehensive, going into a great deal of detail, but they are
always easy to understand. |
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| TOYS |
Actionman
www.actionman.com |
|
| There is plenty of action on this site. Not only can you find
out about the figures and the all important equipment you will need, but
you can also play secret agents yourself. There is a game to play on the
site and you can pass secret messages to other agents out in the field. You
can even gain access to a special agent part of the site which is reserved
for existing agents. |
Lego Mindstorms
www.legomindstorms.com |
|
| Lego Mindstorms is Lego that you can build into robots by first
screwing the parts together, then programming it to do something. If this
sounds fiendishly difficult, don't worry. There is loads of information on
this site about how you can program your Lego and plenty of technical support
questions are answered too. If you need inspiration, then just look at some
of the robots that other people have made, including one that will play Mary
Had a Little Lamb on the piano. |
Mr Potato Head
www.mrpotatohead.com |
|
| Learn about the life and times of Mr Potato Head in this bright,
fun site. You can look at the Mr Potato Head scrapbook to find out about
the most important events in Mr Potato Head's long and illustrious career,
or you can click through the timeline of pictures showing Mr Potato Head
over the years. You can then go to the fun corner page, where there are two
lots of activities: one for little kids, including colouring in and word
jumbles, and one for big kids, including a section where you can make your
own Mr Potato Head and a trivia quiz. |
Barbie
www.barbie.com |
|
| Every little girl wants a Barbie doll. On this site you can find
out what the fascination is. There are details of all the products, including
special limited edition dolls, such as the Millennium Princess Barbie and
the Tango Barbie. But there is much more to this site. You can dress Barbie
in an online fashion show, print out pictures to colour in or colour them
in online and meet her friends and family. You can even design your own Barbie. |
Toy City
www.toycity.com |
|
| Toy City is a massive online supplier of toys. You can search
the massive catalogue by age, by brand, by price or by any other way you
want. And if you still can't find what you want you can always try the tips
on how to search the database. There are special offers on the front page
and if you want to get news of more special offers you can sign up to Toy
City's VIP service. |
Creatures
www.creatures.mindscape.com |
|
| Creatures are those little Norns who live in your computer and
want constant attention if they are going to learn to behave well and grow
up able to look after themselves. You can find out about all the Norn's environments
here and about the various creatures. You can also find out how to look after
the Norns. But there are no tips on this site as to how to get more out of
your creature or what to do when you hit problems. |
Furby
207.226.169.244 |
|
| The Furby site pulls out all the stops in its efforts to be entertaining.
When you enter the site you will see a map of Furbyland, including the library
where you can colour in pictures, learn the story of Furbys or look at an
English-to-Furby dicationary. Or you could go the post office, where you
can send animated postcards to your friends. Or you can go to Babyland to
find out about the new Furby babies, including the story of when they were
born. |
ToysRUs
www.toysrus.co.uk |
|
| If you want to order your toys online without having to go to
the bother of traipsing round these huge out of town warehouses, then you
should come to the ToyRUs site. It has a full online catalogue and you can
order any of the products online. There are pictures of all the products,
although they are very small, so they are not as clear as they might be,
but at least the catalogue is quick to scroll through. |
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