Cool Links
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Note to parents: Please supervise your children when they are connected to the Internet. Though the following sites are appropriate for kids, links to other sites may lead to areas that are less appropriate.
This web page contains links to pages outside the MCPS Web. MCPS does not control the content or relevancy of these pages.
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The Big Meadow Beyond the Gate
Dinosaur Park - Wanna find dinosaur bones? Well you're in luck because Maryland has some of the richest fossil sites east of the Mississippi River and Dinosaur Park's fossils date back one hundred ten million years (110,000,000!). That's the time of the Astrodon Johnstoni (a sauropod and Maryland's state dinosaur) and velociraptors (gnashy teeth, flashing claws, run run run!). The perfect place to get dirty, excited, and... and... REAL DINOSAUR BONES! *Bummer Alert* All the fossils you find go to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. But still, hunting for dinosaur bones - SO COOL!
Earth Observatory -- Not all satellites point out at the stars. Many aim back at our mother earth so we can witness events from above as well as at ground level. They've even been used to help find ancient cities, buried for thousands of years. Here's you chance to follow eruptions, earth-quakes, firestorms, hurricanes and tornados as mother earth stretches, burps, and scratches itches in her middle years.
Smithsonian Online -- The Nation's Attic in your own computer. Features Kid's Pages, and the ability to check out all of the Institution museums - even the ones that are not in Washington.
National Geographic for Kids -- From the tallest mountain to the deepest ocean, the near future to the distant past, National Geographic can make you feel like you've been there and done it too.
The Exploratorium -- The country's most famous "hands on" science museum for kids. Lots of exhibits, experiments and games to give your clicking fingers a workout.
KidsPlace -- Puzzles and brain-teasers to exercise the little gray cells.
National Zoo Kid's Page -- Lions and Tigers and Bears... OH MY!
National Gallery of Art for Kids -- Two huge buildings full of art and activities, all smushed into a box the size of your computer.
Science News for Kids -- Science News is a weekly digest of... well, news about science. This site is made just for kids and has things like puzzles, games, science fiction, articles on cool phenomenon, and ideas for science fair projects.
NASA for Kids -- The place to find out what's going on in the universe when it's too cold or wet to go outside and lay down in the back yard and stargaze. ...And no mosquito bites!
The Mars Rovers -- Real robots on another planet! One is asleep but the other (having ignored its planned lifetime) is still roaming around the red planet, taking pictures, tasting dirt, and exploring the surface for signs of life. You can follow the journey from here without having to buy a space suit or those, oh so expensive, rockets.
The Hubble Space Telescope -- Space looks way cooler than anyone ever thought, and here are the photographs to prove it. The Hubble will only be in orbit for a few more years, so check this out while you can.
Great for Homework Help
(Check out the HOMEWORK HELPERS page for many other useful sites)
Schoolwork.org -- The New York State Library site. If you need information, this is the place to start looking.
Refdesk.com -- This is a good site for older kids and parents who are just trying to help. Links to lots of reference materials.
Your Dictionary -- Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary plus links to dictionaries in 130 other languages including Esperanto, ancient Mixtec, and Klingon. WHAT!?! No Elfish?
The Internet Mathematics Library -- Can't figure out how that equation is supposed to work? This site will set your feet on the path to understanding.
Clipart ETC -- The Florida Center for Instructional Technology is a great site for downloading free clipart to help students and teachers. Most of the work is from old sources that have been cleaned up and optimized for computer use. Many of the images come in multiple sizes.
Kids Know It -- This is a site built by an elementary school teacher. From here you can explore information and games about the following subjects; Animals, Astronomy, Biology, Dinosaurs, Geography, Geology, History, Human Biology, Math, Memory, and Spelling.
The Reader's Corner
Starfall-- An award winning "learn to read" site that centers around first grade abilities.
Grimm's Fairy Tales -- A "read along" site of stories collected by the Grimm brothers. The site has links to Anderson's and Perault's stories as well as a range of other subjects.
International Children's Digital Library -- Stories from many lands in many languages. Some are translations and others are presented in their native tongues.
Storyline Online -- Streaming video of children's books read by members of the Screen Actor's Guild.
Find it on the Web
Google -- Search for it here. Try looking it up in Elmer Fuddese or Pig Latin by using the language options.
UM Weather -- Don't just wonder what the weather's like beyond eyesight, find out! Maps, computer modeling, and radar all help you know what the sky holds anywhere in the world.
Rockville & Maryland, Past and Present
The City of Rockville -- Everything there is to know about our home town
Peerless Rockville -- Did you know that before we were "Rockville" we were called Williamsburgh? Take a walk through our past with this site.
Sailor -- Maryland's connection to the internet. Education, entertainment, kids, and more, all happening in our back yard.
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Duck's Delight
Sites to amuse, amaze, and have some fun in.
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The Lost Museum -- In 1841, P. T. Barnum opened his American Museum. Between then and 1865, when it burned to the ground, it was the "most visited place in America". Part museum, part sideshow, and part tall tale, the museum was a snapshot of what Americans know, thought we knew, and just plain wanted to believe in. This is a virtual tour through the museum that is still being built. It also contains a lot of historical background to help you understand why these things were considered important.
Wordle -- Do you want to find out if you get your ideas across when you write? Copy a document you've written and paste it into the Wordle text box. Your document will be transmogrified into a graphic design. Based on text repitition, your words will arrange themselves around your central ideas in seemingly random ways. You can then play with the fonts and colors until you've turned dry text into eye catching word-art.
Tagxedo -- This is another word cloud program with the added feature of being able to put the words into a preexisting shape (either a template from their gallery or an image you have found or drawn yourself). To start creating, look at the top of the page and click on the word "Create". You can use your own text or a document from their text "gallery".
Bembo's Zoo -- A word is not an animal... except when it is. This site requires FLASH and includes a link to download the latest version.
Switcheroo Zoo -- What would an animal that was part elephant, part cheetah, and part fish look like? At this site you can indulge your deepest need to be a mad scientist and tinker about with the gene pool.
Zoom Dinosaurs -- This site is one big hypertext book about dinosaurs. It covers all kinds of questions at a variety of reading levels. More than you knew there was to know.
Uncontrol -- This is one of the oddest sites you may ever find. Think of a cross between interactive programming and dancing mathematics. The top of the page has a set of blank gray boxes. Click on one and it will activate a.. a... thing on the screen below. Use your mouse to change what's going on. Experiment, since each image does something different and requires you to interact with it in a different way. VERY COOL
SodaPlay -- Kind of like a robot bug zoo in which you get to play with the critters, this site is a step beyond Uncontrol. Anyone can create pictures and "bots" using the sites tools and then submit them for inclusion in the "Soda Zoo" where others can play with them. Users can mess about with the gravity levels, friction, and kinetic energy levels and see how the creations react.
Line Rider -- This is a flash game in which you create a scene for a sledder to tool around in. The tools and procedures are easy to understand and use. Fun to build and to watch.
Make Beliefs Comix -- Have you ever wanted to make a comic strip. Here's a kid friendly site that lets you do just that. Select characters and their emotions, add dialogue and thoughts and print it up.
Holidays.net -- So, what's so special about today? Here's where to find out. For instance - did you know that February 9th is Extraterrestrial Culture Day in New Mexico? How about Eat What You Want Day on May 11th. January has both Belly Laugh Day and Inane Answering Machine Message Day!