Local Resources

Cartoonster: Cartoonster features a collection of fun and interactive tutorials which teach children and young people how to create their own animations! If you want to become a cartoon master and make your own animations, this is the place to go. Recommended by ALA.

The Incredible Art Department: The IAD is an award winning visual arts Web site for students, parents, and teachers. It includes art news, art lessons, art departments, art education and thousands of links.

Oriland University: Here kids can learn origami, the beautiful art of paper folding; get to know the benefits that origami brings, read lectures about origami and receive practical skills in origami.

Earth and Moon Viewer: An earth map; you can see where it is day, or night, right now. You can view either a map of the Earth showing the day and night regions at this moment, or view the Earth from the Sun, the Moon, the night side of the Earth, above any location on the planet specified by latitude, longitude and altitude, from a satellite in Earth orbit, or above various cities around the globe.

NASA Kids: Games, art, stories, and activities for children presented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA also runs competitions for kids, for instance the latest NASA Space Pennant Design Challenge, won by Tapasya Das of Mount Laurel, N.J. flew on the space shuttle Endeavour's STS-118 mission during the summer break 2007.

Windows to the Universe: A site about earth and space science. Includes a lovely section on mythology. Also available in Spanish.

Space Day: Launched in 1997, as an educational initiative, Space Day is the first Thursday of each May. Students are encouraged to participate in suggested design challenges to provide unique solutions to some "out-of-this-world" problems encountered in space exploration by role playing scientists, engineers, and explorers working on the space frontier. Of course, there are games too.

Periodic table of the elements

Maintained by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, this site provides basic information about chemical elements and the periodic table for elementary, middle, and high school students.

Chem 4 Kids: Basic chemistry information for kids (and others) including matter, elements, atoms, reactions, and describes different types of chemistry. Recommended by ALA. The site starts with this introduction to matter:

"So you're asking, what is chemistry?

Well... Here's our best definition. Chemistry is the study of MATTER and the changes that take place with that matter.

Don't ask us why that matters. It just does. A lot. Everything on Earth, everything in our solar system, everything in our galaxy, and everything in the universe is made up of matter. Matter is the name that scientists have given to everything that you can touch, or see, or feel, or smell. Go take a look! "

Strange Matter: Discover the secrets of everyday stuff; zoom into stuff, transform stuff, crush stuff, and improve stuff. Find out what cell phones are made of, look at aluminum atoms, and much more! If you are interested in what things are made of, this is the site for you! Recommended by ALA.

Cool Kids for a Cool Climate: Cool Kids for a Cool Climate explains the causes and dangerous consequences of global warming and other serious environmental problems. It also offers effective ways in which you can prevent our environment's deterioration. Unlike other environmental sites, "Cool Kids" is not boring - it's fun, colorful and youth-oriented!

Kid's Planet - Defenders of Wildlife: Information and activities relating to endangered animals; morph your face into an imperiled species, get your family to adopt an animal, play games online and learn how to defend the environment.

ALEKS: Online math instruction designed to help students master the standards for their grade.  Login information can be obtained from your classroom teacher.

Math League Help Topics: This is a help resource for 4th through 8th grades. We have just redesigned and reformatted these pages to enable faster loading and display times, but some pages still load slowly. Different browsers display graphics differently, so some math symbols may not appear to line up perfectly in some sentences.

Math Dictionary for Kids: This site has an animated, interactive dictionary for students that explains over 500 common mathematical terms using simple language and visual examples.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives: The NLVM has Interactive math tutorials and challenges including algebra, geometry, measurement, and probability, as well as lesson plans in Spanish and English.

Science Fair Resources and Sample Projects: Links to a variety of Web resources that you can use to help your child do a fun project for Palo Verde's Science Fair - by Leigh Pandu.

The Yuckiest site on the Internet: Pimples, burps, farts, ear wax, dandruff, poop, gas and funnybones; let Wendell and Dora show you gross body sounds and yucky body parts, then visit the world of games and mad science. Part of Discovery Kids.

A science fair project Resource Guide: The Internet Public Library with links to exceptional resources about science fairs. Even if you have never attempted a science fair project, this site will walk you through every step of the way.

NetSmartz Kids Games: Learn about computers, viruses, online dangers, and the Internet, or just send a safe e-card. Site administered by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Kid Smart: Childnet Kidsmart is a practical Internet safety advice Web site for kids. It offers Safety Tips which helps children to stay safe and have fun when they use the Internet or mobile phone - whether at school or in the home.

Braille Bug: Learn all about this system of writing used by the blind through games, secret messages, a reading club and information about Louis Braille and Helen Keller.

The Tech Museum - San Jose: The Tech Museum of Innovation is a great place to engage kids (and others) in exploring technology and how it affects their lives. Find out about computers, satellites, DNA, robotics, lasers, and inspire the young to become innovators in the technologies of the future.

Typing Agent: Keyboarding lessons and games designed to help students with typing speed and accuracy.  Login information can be obtained from your classroom teacher. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium, CA: The "E-Quarium" site gives you a look at how one of the newest and most elaborate aquariums in the country works, learn about the effects of El Niño, and see how the sea otter population is being preserved.

National Zoo, Washington, D.C.: Solve jigsaw puzzles and crossword puzzles, take a virtual world tour, send an e-card, learn about animals and their names, even build your own sea lion - there's plenty to do on the National Zoo's Website.

San Diego Zoo - Kid territory: Meet the critters, discover the recipe for Queen Bee quesadillas, check out cool science experiments and learn animal jokes.