Brainpop: computers overall ratings Brainpop is a website with short animated movies and quizzes on all kinds of science topics (you can only watch five movies each day, unless you're a member). The computer section has movie on binary code, computers, printers, the internet (including a short history) and other topics. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No Click 'n learn: what's inside a computer overall ratings This is a great place to get to grips with just what goes on inside a real computer. The novice level has excellent explanations of all the basic bits. Then you can go on to the junior level, which has a photo of a real computer's insides, and more information. And if you're feeling really smart, you can try the master level. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No Timeline of computer history overall ratings A computer timeline that runs from 1945 to 1990. You can search it by year or by a topic - for instance, computers (hardware) or software or robots. The timeline is well illustrated with good photographs. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No What is? overall ratings Don't know RAM from ROM? Baffled by computer jargon? The folks at whatis.com will give you a definition in a trice. Just enter your confusing word or abbreviation in the search window. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No PBS Life on the internet overall ratings PBS is the US public broadcasting service. This site has a good beginners' guide to the internet and an excellent timeline on the history of the internet. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No Robot world overall ratings This is definitely the place to go for everything robotic! There's a robotics timeline, a gallery of robots, news items, robotics articles, and much more. Best of all is a robot-building lab that will keep you busy for months. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No Robotics: at your command overall ratings This site gives you some idea of what it's like to control a remotely operated vehicle. On Earth it's quite easy to get your robot to the target. But on the Moon your commands have a 5-second delay, so watch out! Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes The Computer Museum: design your own robot overall ratings A really smart game that tells you what your robot needs to do, and then asks you to put together the best design for the task. Once you have finished you can see a sketch of your design, and find out about a real robot that does this job. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes LEGO Mindstorms (robots) overall ratings Lego Mindstorms robots are toys, but high-powered robot researchers have been known to use them. The Mindstorms robot Hall of Fame includes designs that were created by NASA scientists, among others. There are also some truly excellent free games, videos and desktop wallpapers. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes Blockcorner digital building toy overall ratings Build structures using different-shaped blocks using this simple programming game. The basic instructions are simple, but using the 'function' command you can put strings of them together in a simple program. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes Stagecast overall ratings Stagecast is a commercial program that you can use to make your own video games. There are demonstrations and examples online, and you can download a limited version of the software that will work for three months. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No