Categories: News

Cool websites that make science exciting

&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-1313" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;03&sol;SND13-wk1-Websites&lowbar;300x225&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND13-wk1-Websites 300x225" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"225" &sol;>The shortage of IT skills in industry has been the subject of debate in the United States over recent months&comma; and a similar situation has also become evident in New Zealand&period; US-based writer Kevin Casey has recommended these STEM websites to get kids excited about technology as a subject&comma; and a potential future career&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>1&period; CyberChase &lpar;PBS Kids&rpar;
 PBS Kids&&num;8217&semi; show CyberChase offers a range of online resources for future CISOs&comma; including activities and games geared toward learning math&comma; code&comma; and similar concepts&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>2&period; NASA Kids Club 
 Building a rocket and plenty of other space-related projects and activities are included on this site&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>3&period; Code&period;org 
Backed by some of the biggest names in tech&comma; Code&period;org&&num;8217&semi;s stated mission is to grow computer science learning by fostering its inclusion in school curriculums&period; In addition to its Hour of Code series&comma; the site also features an Intro to Computer Science course for K-8&comma; programming tutorials in languages such as Python and JavaScript&comma; mobile app development activities&comma; and other resources&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>4&period; TechRocket
 TechRocket&&num;8217&semi;s courses for coding&comma; game design&comma; and graphic design are built on the premise that &&num;8220&semi;you&&num;8217&semi;re never too young to learn STEM skills&period;&&num;8221&semi; This site includes a heavy focus on building mobile apps and games&comma; from iOS development to Minecraft mods&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>5&period; Engineering&comma; Go For It &lpar;eGFI&rpar;
 Created by the American Society for Engineering Education&comma; eGFI&&num;8217&semi;s aim is to foster educational and pre-professional interest in engineering and other STEM subjects from pre-school and right through high school&period; In addition to information on the myriad branches of the engineering field &&num;8212&semi; from biomedical to computer to mechanical and beyond &&num;8212&semi; the site features descriptions of professional paths for each&comma; including profiles of real people at work in the field&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>6&period; Zoom &lpar;PBS Kids&rpar; 
Including activities&comma; games&comma; and downloadable offline projects&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s a show made &&num;8220&semi;by kids&comma; for kids&&num;8221&semi; that encourages curiosity and ingenuity across a range of subjects&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>7&period; CS Education Week&&num;8217&semi;s &&num;8220&semi;unplugged&&num;8221&semi; programs 
No computer&quest; No problem&comma; at least once you&&num;8217&semi;ve downloaded the lesson plan for My Robotic Friends or another &&num;8220&semi;unplugged&&num;8221&semi; activity&period; My Robotic Friends&comma; as with other unplugged programs&comma; teaches coding&comma; debugging&comma; and related concepts without actually using a computer&comma; which could be handy for schools and homes working with tight budgets and outdated PCs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>8&period; Kinetic City
 Budding scientists of all stripes will get a kick out of Kinetic City&&num;8217&semi;s collection of science projects&comma; experiments&comma; and educational games &&num;8211&semi; including activities that pull the young scientist away from the screen&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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