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  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 9; suggested age 10.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    No need to go Down Under with robust Aussie science site.

On this site kids can:   be read to, do activities, learn about a specific topic, learn with others, play games

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    The site offers considerable information about science, including experiments and topics to discuss before, during, and after visiting the center (or just after reading parts of the site).
  • User-created content:

    Users can post comments to the Science Circus team's blog -- which chronicles the outreach program group's travels -- but each must be approved by a monitor before going live.
  • Messages:

    Although the focus is mainly on education, there are some positive messages -- such as the section describing how DNA was discovered, which gives a nod to gender equality.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.
  • Sex:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

How safe is it?

  • Personal privacy:

    Not an issue.
  • Online interaction:

    Not an issue.
  • Parental controls:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Questacon

Parents need to know that this site contains an extensive amount of educational material about science, technology, animals, and more that's based on the touring and permanent exhibits at Australia's National Science and Technology Center. Parents and teachers also can use questions on the site to prompt a discussion before, during, or after going to the museum or visiting the site -- although take note, the site does touch on a couple of controversial topics, like cloning, and while almost all external links lead to university Web sites and other safe outlets, a few do link to personal sites.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about why learning about science is important. Why should we understand how things work? How does it help to see how or why things work, as opposed to just reading about them?
  • What are safe games, and what ones aren't a good idea to play? How do you know what to look for in a game you find on a Web site -- and what to stay away from?

  • A lot of science involves theory and experimentation. How do you start trying to prove something when you're not sure if you're right?

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