Educating Scientists: 6 Science Websites for Kids and Teens

Curiosity is an innate feature on which learning is based, and which, unfortunately, loses intensity and passion in many people as they become adults. Most school systems do not help at all to stimulate curiosity, quite the opposite: they bury it under the standardization, the tyranny of the curriculum and the acquisition of skills.

Scientific thinking, asking questions, seeking explanation of the world around us is in our DNA. But … does a 12 years old preteen have the curiosity and enthusiasm for learning of a 5 years old child?

Fortunately, thanks to technology, today the acquisition of knowledge is not limited to school. We have plenty of ways to approach science and stimulate curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge in children and youth.

I propose a selection of educational science websites, both in Spanish and English (and some in other languages) to wake up the young scientists who inhabit our children. Take them to discover space, quantum physics, chemistry or biology in a didactic and perfect way to foster both their and our curiosity. I hope you enjoy them.

 

Cernland

Cernland (English and Spanish, among others)

CERN website, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics. It focuses on the school public and intends to explore objects from a subatomic level and understand what the universe is made of. Activities, games and downloads designed to make children understand basic concepts of very complex issues. The website allows you to select multiple languages.

 

ESA Kids

ESA Kids (English and Spanish, among others)

European Space Agency web intended to students. Information, animated presentations, activities and games related to the study of space, the universe, the solar system and aerospace technology. Available in 6 languages.

 

Elesapiens

Elesapiens Learning and Fun (English and Spanish)

Here you can find a splendid compendium of teaching units and resources on Science. The units contain high quality training videos and other resources as sheets, glossaries and activities. Very useful for dual language education. There are quite a lot of free units and resources you can use just through registering.

 

NASA Space Place

NASA’s Space Place (English and Spanish)

NASA’s didactic web for children. It includes games, activities and readings, also for parents and educators. Astronomy, technology, earth science … It is a treasure, also from a design point of view.

 

Lawrence Hall of Science: 24/7

Lawrence Hall of Science: 24/7 (English)

Great web with activities and experiences for home or school on many scientific issues, it is aimed at primary school children. It is in English, with instructions very easily understood. It also contains a directory of interactive games.

 

Science Kids

Science Kids (English)

Science Kids is a New Zealand site with lots of resources, experiments, information, games and videos on science and technology to engage children. The contents are excellent and navigation is simple. The only but is that it is easy to click by mistake on a commercial banner, they are designed to look as part of the page.

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