5 best search sites for kids

In many ways, today’s kids are more sophisticated than in generations past. Their access to information (both appropriate and inappropriate) is almost unlimited, thanks to the Internet. But deep down, a kid is a kid—restless, energetic, and eager to just mess around. The average kid is ready to explore the world and is attracted to curious facts and wonderful pictures that both instruct and entertain. In short, he or she is a prime candidate for a good search site. But with hundreds of sites available (and more added each day), how does one narrow the search?

Today, the vast majority of computer users surf the Internet by typing keywords into a search bar, then bookmarking the sites they want to save for future reference. But not all sites are alike, nor do they offer the same information.

As with anything, it’s helpful to sort the search sites into categories. One way to do this is to begin with the “monster sites” category, then work your way down to more specialized sites that offer the topics and navigational structure that appeals to your child. Once you find the search site that works for you, you can make it the first thing you (or your child) wake up to in the morning. Simply go into your primary Internet browser (such as Explorer) and click on Preferences; then type the URL of your preferred search site as your main browser page.

To get started, there are some wonderful sites that have compiled and critiqued kids’ search sites. One of them is Noodle Tools, which breaks search sites down according to what you want to accomplish. Put together by librarians, Noodle Tools is a great combination of suggestions for scholarly searches, where to go for timely information, and where to go if you are a kid or new to the Internet. Another place of interest is MyWire, a fun site that allows you to create your own wire service. Your child can create a channel that funnels articles about a single topic from hundreds of sources onto his or her home page.

We’ve done a little digging to find what we feel are the best kids’ search sites currently available.

1. FactMonster. Featuring wonderful colors and graphics, FactMonster packs a lot of stuff into one site. With 10 topics from World to Cool Stuff, FactMonster also has an easy-to-use Atlas, Almanac, Dictionary and Encyclopedia. We loved the People section; listed under Female Ingenuity were about 50 significant inventions along with the women who invented them.
2. iGoogle. Somehow, it’s lots of fun to take a monster site like Google and turn it into a customized site. The great thing about an iGoogle site is the ability to move things around and to add any site or RSS feed that offers a Google Gadget.
3. Kids.gov. It’s not just about what’s happening in Washington, although this well-designed site is brought to you by the U.S. Government. Divided in three groups—Grades K-5, Grades 6-8 and Educators—kids.gov has a wide range of topics to search as well as relevant sites to link to. We love the Careers page, which lists career descriptions from A-Z. Check out the Teen Business Link.
4. KidsClick is a no-nonsense site built by librarians that’s purely search. Its soothing, gridlike setup makes you feel like you’re in a library and keeps kids on task when they’re doing homework. We love what happens when we look at the categories “through a librarian’s eyes.”
5. Yahoo Kids. Yahoo wins the prize for the best combination of entertainment and educational resources in one great site. We like the World Factbook section, which makes it super easy to study countries around the world; it also has a handy conversion chart for area, length, volume and weights.