Graphic courtesy of Mineral Mangement Services Kids’ Page.
In all its forms, energy is what makes the world go ‘round. An amazing fact, but for most kids it’s a big yawn unless they can see how it relates to their own lives in fun and interesting ways.
This was the catalyst idea behind the redesigning of the Energy Information Administration’s Energy Kids website. “We’re making energy fun so young people develop an understanding of energy and its increasingly important role in our daily lives, economy, and environment,” said Richard Newman, EIA administrator.
Among its plethora of components, the site has a basics section that branches energy into its different forms, including: heat, light, motion, electrical, chemical, nuclear, and gravitation. Also, for today’s eco-conscious world, there is considerable information about renewable energy.
The site is written in simple language that’s easily understandable for elementary school children, but has concepts that also reach the high school level.
At the upper level, one of the most useful aspects of the site is the interactive periodic table. Each element on the table has a link to a page giving its: atomic number, symbol, weight, electron configuration, radius, melting and boiling point, oxidation states, history, sources, properties, uses, isotopes, costs, and handling instructions.
For younger children, activities include: riddles, puzzles, online quizzes, an energy scavenger hunt, and downloadable activity book.
The site also provides a science fair projects section, containing ideas and procedure for experiments for grades from kindergarten to 12th. Teachers will also find the site useful for its lesson plans and field trip ideas.
For the history buffs, there is also a great section providing the biographies of scientist that have made notable contributions to their areas of study, as well as the history of uses for various energy sources. A full view of this section, as well as the site as a whole can be found at Energy Kids.
Reader commentary and input is always welcomed!