Surfing the Net with Kids: Thinkquest Jr.

May 30, 1999

Dear Readers,

Welcome back. Happy holiday weekend! What’s new this week? After much
delay, my Star Wars
column is finally available as a postcard to send to
friends and family. And the Surfing the Net with Kids
Store has opened, stocked by three new sponsors: Hooked on
Phonics,
the Housewares
Store and a Father’s Day
Giftstore. As the store is still experimental, I’d appreciate any
feedback you may have.

This week’s newsletter is sponsored by:

• 
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ThinkQuest Jr. 1999

This week I’m not featuring the usual line up of professional Web sites
from the likes of National Geographic, PBS or the Library of Congress.
This week my five-star sites were created by fourth, fifth and sixth
graders — and you’re going to be blown away by how marvelous they are!
I’ve chosen five personal favorites from the second annual ThinkQuest Jr.
competition — a Web site building contest for upper-elementary students.
Want to join in the fun? Details on entering next year’s ThinkQuest Jr. (or
the original ThinkQuest for twelve- to nineteen- year olds) can be found at
here.

Like "Surfing the Net with Kids?"


Recommend-It to a Friend!

Creatures of the Night
and You

“You’re out on a moonless night…really dark… in a field that seems like
the middle of nowhere. So far from any lights that the Milky Way hanging
over your head looks close. You hear frogs croaking and crickets chirping,
and you smell something sweet. Wait! Something’s running through the
brush…you can hear it. What was that?!” Explore all things nocturnal,
including our natural fear of the dark, in this investigative look at
animals, plants, folklore and the night sky.

“Do We” Really Know
Dewey?

“Melvil Dewey lived an extraordinary life! He was born in Adams Center,
New York, on December 10, 1851, and died on December 26, 1931. He was a
librarian who invented a decimal classification system for library books
called the Dewey Decimal System.” This team expresses unbridled enthusiasm
for a subject that others might consider, in a word, dull. Do not miss
Dewey and the Alien, a fabulous illustrated story explaining the ten major
Dewey categories.

Energy in the Air: Sounds from the Orchestra

“We like sound. All kinds of sound. We also like music. So we wanted to
make a page about music and sound. Did you know that a certain kind of
energy makes sound? On our site you will find lots of information about how
sound is made and what it looks like when it is recorded.” Highlights of
this musical site are the instruments-of-the-orchestra pages, the homemade
instruments (found under Orchestra/Activities) and Sound is Energy, which
just about covers the whole site!

Jump into a Healthy Life

“Before trying any tricks or skills with the rope, try them without the
rope. Jump with both
feet, unless the instructions say otherwise, and land on the balls of your
feet. You should also
bend your knees to absorb the force. When you are ready to use the rope,
keep your hands
at your sides and turn with your wrists. There should be little or no arm
movement.” One of the axioms of writing is to write what you know — and
these young Webmasters certainly know jump roping! Their site is filled
with skills to learn (divided into basic, intermediate and advanced),
important information about cardiac exercise and fun facts about your
heart.

Pieces and Creases – A Fun Guide To Origami

“Origami (pronounced or-i-GA-me) is the Japanese art of paperfolding. ‘Ori’
is the Japanese word for folding and ‘kami’ is the Japanese word for
paper. That is how origami got its name. However, origami did not start in
Japan. It began in China in the first or second century and then spread to
Japan sometime during the sixth century.” Pieces and Creases won Best of
Contest, and it’s easy to see why. Enjoy the activities, the history, and
the poems. “After you’ve visited our Web site, you won’t be able to pass up
a square piece of paper without a little folding.”

Related Book
(in association with Amazon.com)

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