Geological time machine (history of life on Earth)   overall ratings Click on a geological period and find out about the animals and plants of the period. The language is sometimes quite difficult, but there's lots of interesting information on this site. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Dino directory    overall ratings Over 100 dinosaurs listed by name, period and region of the world, with colour pictures of most of them. From the Natural History Museum in London, UK. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Zoom dinosaurs    overall ratings Lots of information on this site. Readers can start at a simple level and work their way up to more advanced information. The illustrations are quite simple, but cute! Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Cells alive!    overall ratings You can find just about anything you might want to know about cells on this site. Click on the interactive pictures of cells to find out what the bits inside them do. Watch an animation of mitosis (cell division). Check out the library of photos, each with a caption explaining what you see. And then do the quiz or send an e-card to a friend. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes   DNA instruction manual (genetics)   overall ratings Zoom in from your hand down to the DNA molecules that carry your genetic information. Then find out just how the DNA carries this information. A good introduction to DNA and genetics, with some helpful animations. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   BBC Nature online: animals    overall ratings An interesting and varied animal site. Read feature articles or learn the facts about animals of your choice; watch rare birds on the nest via a webcam; or try the quiz or a puzzle. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes   Animal diversity web    overall ratings Find basic information about almost any mammal, bird, fish, insect or other animal on this fact-packed site. Learn how an animal is classified, where it is found, what it eats, how it behaves, and whether it is endangered. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Animals hotlist    overall ratings This animal list is a springboard to other websites, giving hotlinks to sites where you will find information on a wide range of animals. All these sites were chosen by the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, USA. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Animal bytes    overall ratings Bite-sized chunks of information about a wide selection of animals. Each fact sheet contains basic information about the animal plus a picture and 'fun facts'. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Amazing animal senses    overall ratings A simple site that gives information about the amazing senses of a wide range of animals. There is also a link to b-eye, the site that shows you the world through the eyes of a honeybee. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Naturesongs (animal sounds)   overall ratings Listen to a coyote's howl, a rattlesnake's rattle, or some of the many bird sounds of the Costa Rican rainforest on this fascinating site. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   UK world of animals and pets    overall ratings This is a small but useful site for pet lovers. There are useful tips on keeping a number of different pets, pictures of people's pets, and stories about some of them. There are also links to other pet organizations in the UK. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Big cats online    overall ratings Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark? Did you know that sand cats can survive without drinking? Big cats online has masses of information about big cats - and little ones, too. You can look at cats by species, or look at what cats live where, or find out about cat behaviour. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Frogland    overall ratings If you think that frogs aren't much fun, visit frogland and change your mind! Did you know that frogs use their eyeballs to help them swallow food? Or that they use their lungs to help them hear? As well as these froggy facts, there are photos, games, froggy sounds, frog radio and even frog TV! Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes   Bugbios (insects)   overall ratings Most websites tell you that their pictures are really cool. Well these pictures of all kinds of insects really are cool, and there's useful information with each one, too. The website is also stylish and easy to use. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Spiders of north-western Europe    overall ratings This site contains more than 700 pictures of spiders commonly found in north-western Europe. There is a good introduction to spiders as a group, a thumbnail page for a quick overview of all spiders, and links to other spider sites. The photos are brilliant, especially the scary close-ups of spider fangs. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Gakken's photo encyclopedia of ants    overall ratings A rather boring name for an excellent and entertaining website. It tells you all about the fascinating lives of ants through photos, cartoons and neat little chunks of text. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Steve Hoffman's nature and scenic photography    overall ratings Steve Hoffman has a talent for photographing all kinds of interesting insect activity. Most of the photos are taken in his back garden, but there's also a great sequence of photos showing some hornets eating his ham sandwich while on a picnic. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Brainpop movie: pollination (plants)   overall ratings One of a whole range of movies on science, medicine and technology. The movies are interesting and fun, but you can only watch five of them each day for free. Plus a quiz, a cartoon and experiments with every topic. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes   Mysteries of microbes    overall ratings Microbe detective Sam Sleuth unravels the mysteries of microbes - what they are, where they live and whether they're friend or foe. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Fun facts about fungi    overall ratings Learn about the fungus that grows inside a caterpillar and can be turned into a health-giving drink! Plus many other fun fungus facts, a sliding piece puzzle and a fungus treasure hunt. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes   What's it like where you live? (animal habitats)   overall ratings Did you know that taiga (northern forest) is the largest type of habitat in the world? This really excellent site has information about all the world's land habitats, plus sections on oceans, rivers, wetlands and seashores. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Bagheera in the wild (endangered animals)   overall ratings A good site for finding out about vanishing and extinct animals. There is information and pictures of the most endangered animals, or you can find out about the different ways that animals become endangered. You can also learn how people are working to save rare animals and plants. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Ranger Rick's kids zone (wildlife and conservation)   overall ratings Ranger Rick is a racoon, and his website is about wildlife in the USA. There are Cool Tours, which visit habitats such as wetlands and national parks; ideas for outdoor activities; and a great games area. Be sure to check out the Wacky Wildlife Stories! Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes   National Geographic magazine    overall ratings There are always interesting features and information on the National Geographic website, dealing with everything from mushrooms to gorillas. The home page has videos and slide shows that change every month. If there's nothing that interests you on the home page, you can go to their huge archive, or simply send a postcard to a friend. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No   Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)   overall ratings If you like birds and you live in the UK, the RSPB youth site is worth a visit. There are stories about birds and many other kinds of wildlife, activities you can get involved in, information and tips about watching birds, and a fun area with games and competitions. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? Yes   Natural History Museum, London, UK    overall ratings This site has lots to offer anyone interested in natural history or geology. There is information about the museum's galleries, the dino directory (see under dinosaurs), pictures from a wildlife garden through the seasons, a science casebook with interesting interactive stories about research being carried out at the museum, an interactive feature on the voyage of Captain Cook's ship Endeavour, and many other items. Easy to use? Friendly language Lots of info? Good pics? Any goodies? No