Cool Sites for Kids
Part of the informative www.seaworld.org - an indispensable resource if you are researching animal-related projects - this nice little site is anchored by live views of Shamu the killer whale, provided by cameras at SeaWorld's visitor attraction in California. Among many fascinating facts, you will discover that killer whales are the most widely distributed mammals after humans, living in all the world's oceans - they have even been spotted in the Thames. If you have questions about Shamu, or any other animal life, you can e-mail the site. Webcams are live from 5pm to 2am British time.
See yourself as an artist? Famous for his vibrant babies, animals and dancing people, Keith Haring spent years daubing New York pavements with graffiti before achieving his breakthrough. This beautifully designed site tells Keith's fascinating story - an outsider at school, he was inspired by Mickey Mouse, Dr Seuss and Peanuts - and boasts groovy flipbooks and morphs of his work. Best of all are the innovative free art materials. To hone your skills, print out the zany colouring book pages, try a challenging interactive game or submit your own Haring-inspired drawings for display on the site.
Want to see how authors come up with new ideas? Puffin is one of the biggest names in publishing - with authors from Janet and Allan Ahlberg to the poet Benjamin Zephaniah - and this nifty new website opens the lid on the literary world. Head for Listen Up (where books speak) if you are tired of reading, or exercise brain cells in the Build-a-Story challenge, which randomly selects a character, prop and place to build a story around. The animated How a Book Is Made section explains the entire process in style, from original idea to local bookshop.
The activity-packed website of the CIA, America's intelligence service, tells aspiring James Bonds about life as a spy. Meet the CIA sniffer dog Bogart (with a nose 200 times more sensitive than ours) as he tackles the obstacle course; try out your code-breaking skills; or take a challenging geography quiz. For light relief, click on Try a Disguise to see how you would look in a Hawaiian shirt or comedy moustache. A pity our own secret service does not offer anything similar: come on, M, pull your finger out!
Set up by Bradford's National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, this site employs a series of animated Shockwave games - including Mirrormaze, Light Angles and Quick as a Flash - and a guide called Glowbug to teach you about the basics of photography, including refraction, reflection and the speed of light. Go to www.macromedia.com to download the player, then head for www.shockwave.com for more games. Science was never this much fun at school.
For a dazzling example of web design, click on Muppet World, where the evergreen Kermit welcomes you to his "super- summer-cyber-smile-center". This destination admirably caters for Muppet lovers, whether the Swedish Chef, Gonzo or Fozzie is your preferred puppet. Send funky e-greeting cards delivered by Sam the Eagle; view the latest MuppeToons video clips or bust a move with Animal on the jukebox. Devotees should test their psychic powers against Miss Piggy.