Parents' Guide to Earth Rangers

The site has gathered a really nice set of well-organized and fun ecology activities. Many of them get at the true nature of science, allowing kids to figure stuff out instead of simply memorizing facts. From Pattern to Principal: Discovering Science Through Observing Patterns in Nature offers three ways for kids to go outside, gather data, and discover a pattern that accounts for that data.They can either figure out why squirrels build nests the way they do, break firefly "Morse Code," or figure out why plants grow differently on a north-facing slope.

Video clips range from informational to silly. Kids will crack up when they watch "Compilation – Funny Talking Animals." It doesn't teach them very much about conservation, but the goofy videos may get kids more interested in exploring the more educational parts of the site. Blog articles are short and to the point-- very accessible for kids. For example, "Climate Change Is a Challenge for Narwhals" clearly describes how humans have impacted these tusked whales. Kids can explore themes such as cause and effect while looking at a cool living thing. Games, however, have limited learning value. In Eco Invaders, there's a "Did You Know" fact listed at the bottom that tells kids about invasive species, but the game itself only involves shooting weapons as well as hand-eye coordination.