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Cures for the Boredom Blues

© Randi Field

"I'm bored." We hear it all the time. That common phase kids use to tell us everything has become too familiar. Let's take a trip to the Education Virtual Library . The library has an exhaustive, alphabetical listing of educational sites. You skim down the list searching for a cure for those boredom blues.

There it is. The perfect place for our first visit-- The Mad Scientist Network . Dr. Frankenstein would be pleased with this site. "Ask-A-Scientist" allows kids to ask scientists questions and access an archive of thousands of answered questions. All materials can be retrieved through the MadSci Circumnavigator with its easy-to-use search and indexing functions. MAD Labs offer a variety of experiments grouped by edibility or inedibility. High school students can visit "The Visible Human Project" with over 18,000 digitized sections of the body. The MadSci Library includes links to sites dedicated to science education, including science museums, and the development of science fair projects. Links are also organized relative to specific branches of science such as anatomy, astronomy, chemistry, evolution, mathematics, paleontology, zoology and many others.

Have your kids read any good books lately? If they haven't, you'll want to visit The Children's Literature Web Guide . Special features include Newberry & Caldecott winners and best books from 1997. There are links to authors and stories on the Web as well as resources for teachers, parents and storytellers.

Did you know that the earliest Robin Hood was a yeoman who haunted Barnsdale Forest? He didn't become a wronged Saxon nobleman hiding in Sherwood Forest until Sir Walter Scott gave him a bit part in Ivanhoe. Storytellers have been spinning tales for over a thousand years. Why do stories endure? Whether it's King Arthur or the classic fairy tales, kids with a passion for fantasy will enjoy exploring the world of Legends and how stories evolve through the centuries.

All those fantastic tales are a delightful segue into the arts. ARTSEDGE: The National Arts and Education Information Network, is housed at the J.F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C. and serves as both a national clearinghouse and classroom resource for arts educators as well as teachers who use the arts in other disciplines. Artsedge provides curriculum ideas, online chats with performers and artists and links to national arts programs and arts sites on the Web.

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