Archive

Current and past selections of exemplary sites--browse month by month through every year. When sites are no longer available, they are not listed as Digital Dozen winners.

June 2003

A month full of family classic Digital Dozen award winners! The kids are getting out of school and some families are heading off on trips while others are looking for educational fun. Use these 12 web sites to engage in summer learning with kids of all ages.

1. Alien empire
   Grade(s): 2 - 12 ENC#: 019005
   Synopsis: The aliens have landed--right in our own backyards! Find out about real-life flying creatures all around us: bumblebees, May flies, termites, Monarch butterflies, and other fascinating creatures. Explore the anatomies of these intricate organisms, learn how moths and bumblebees can fly, and play games and puzzles like Insect Scramble, where you've got to put insects back together!
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
2. Brookfield Zoo: go wild
   Grade(s): 7 - 12 ENC#: 018800
   Synopsis: Even if you don't live in Chicago, you can take online advantage of some of the cool things its zoo has to offer. Try your hand at training dolphins, check out some of the fun outdoor activities kids everywhere can enjoy , or go in search of knowledge and understanding on the Ways of Knowing Trail, an interactive animated adventure through the Ituri Forest in Africa.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
3. Count on
   Grade(s): K - 12 ENC#: 021056
   Synopsis: You can count on this site to make math exciting and educational at the same time! Play to learn with the wide assortment of mathematically themed games; tour virtual galleries of technological marvels; or explore what's in a number in the magic squares of Numberland. You can even send mathemagical e-cards to friends and family.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
4. Creative Java puzzles
   Grade(s): 6 - 12 ENC#: 012954
   Synopsis: Take the Knight's Tour and become one of the few to master this challenging puzzle of covering all squares of a chess board in only legal moves. Or, see how well you can manipulate tangrams to replicate pre-designed patterns. These and still more puzzles are waiting to be tackled at this site, which requires the java plug-in.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
5. Earth science picture of the day
   Grade(s): K - Post-Sec. ENC#: 019570
   Synopsis: They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the pictures at this site definitely have something to tell us. Each day, a different image provides a graphical representation of a topic in Earth science, along with an informative caption and links to additional information about that topic. An archive is available of past images and captions.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
6. Figure this!: math challenges for families
   Grade(s): 5 - 8 ENC#: 016884
   Synopsis: Find a dozen math challenges that involve using concepts and objects found in everyday life--how fast your heart beats, what shape holds the most popcorn, how much of me shows in a mirror, for example. Each challenge has an initial problem with hints, a complete explanation of the answer, and related problems around the same challenge. Resources for further investigations are suggested. The site also offers ways parents can help their children learn mathematics.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
7. Funbrain.com: where kids get power
   Featured in ENC Focus  
   Grade(s): K - 4 ENC#: 011932
   Synopsis: This games site offers a fun way for elementary students to practice important learning skills. Each section of this interactive site contains a game designed to help students improve their math, spelling, or writing. Kids have an opportunity to play baseball, that all-American pastime, while practicing their computation skills. Other games emphasize making change, memory skills, and the parts of speech.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
8. Kids' corner
   Featured in ENC Focus  
   Grade(s): Pre-K - 5 ENC#: 020757
   Synopsis: Belly on up to the Alien Juice Bar and learn how to whip up fizzy concoctions for your interstellar guests while learning about acids and bases, pH, and identifying chemicals. Or, if you prefer, play music on online bottles filled with water and learn how they work. These are just some of the activities, online and off, that kids are sure to enjoy at this site.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
9. Math cats magic chalkboard
   Featured in ENC Focus  
   Grade(s): 1 - 8 ENC#: 019003
   Synopsis: Sink your claws into this site full of math games, explorations, quizzes, interactive projects, facts, and other fun (and educational) stuff. Pardon me, but this is really...the cat's meow. Some of the games and projects require advanced browser versions and special plug-ins.
   (For more details, see ENC Record.)
   
   
10. Sports science at the Exploratorium
    Featured in ENC Focus  
    Grade(s): 9 - 12 ENC#: 016069
    Synopsis: Keep kids busy this summer exploring the link between science and sport. This Exploratorium site helps students investigate science concepts through hockey, baseball, skateboarding, and bicycling. With background information and interactive activities, the site covers physiological factors, science in equipment design, and lots of physics.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
11. StudyWorks! online
    Featured in ENC Focus  
    Grade(s): K - 12 ENC#: 018928
    Synopsis: Barter with a couple of starry aliens for some far-out candy; dig up some archaeological dirt at Paleodonia; or just give your brain a workout with the puzzle of the week. Wherever you go on this site, you're sure to learn something useful, surprising, or just plain interesting. You'll find many online explorations in math and science, plus interviews with sports figures and scientists.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)
    
    
12. The space place
    Grade(s): 3 - 8 ENC#: 012548
    Synopsis: Space out at this NASA site for kids, where visitors learn about the techniques scientists use to explore and map objects in deep space. More fun, however, is the Make Spacey Things section where you can make "Blame El Nino" pudding or a tortilla spacecraft. Other areas to visit offer brief articles, word games and puzzles, and space facts.
    (For more details, see ENC Record.)