by Jan Goehring
At least 36 states are reaching out to kids via the Internet to teach them about their state government and legislatures. These sites offer an array of creative and fun ways for kids of all ages to get a feel for how state government works.
Young people can pay a visit to Online Sunshine for Kids to learn all about Florida state government and even play some fun, interactive games. Can you crack the secret code to find out about the three branches of government? Or, in New Jersey you can meet "Bill" and discover how he becomes a law. And in Pennsylvania you can join the "law squad" and figure out how to get the town of Lawless back in order with some legislation. Did you know the legislative building in Olympia, Wash. weighs 74,500 tons? That is one of the many capitol trivia questions that tests your knowledge on the Washington State Legislature Kid's Page.
NCSL provides links to these kids' pages: Go to the NCSL State Legislatures Internet Links page, then click on "Kids' Pages" in the right column followed by "Get Legislature Links" at the bottom. Have fun checking out these interesting web pages.
Without commenting on the sites themselves, I will say one of the most infuriating things about these "kid's sites" is that frequently very basic, factual information can ONLY be found there. For example, I remember that I was ONLY able to find a straight up explanation of the Alabama Seal of state in their online coloring book (!); the sort of impression that creates for people doing serious research is NOT good.
Posted by: Lurker | February 02, 2007 at 08:47 PM