HowStuffWorks
By Karen Wirsing,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Excellent tool for kids with nuts-and-bolts questions.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this website.
Community Reviews
Based on 2 parent reviews
Has a very explicit sexual health section
Be afraid that this website will come after you
What’s It About?
Attention-grabbing content is everywhere on the HowStuffWorks.com homepage to the extent that kids may be initially overwhelmed. Content is grouped into eight categories: Adventure, Auto, Culture, Entertainment, Home & Garden, Money, Science, and Technology. It's further divided into subcategories. Kids can choose from enticing articles, games, quizzes or polls, videos, and more. They can also enter topics in the main search box for an organized list of related articles, images, videos, expert reviews, and web results. Note that search results include all content that contains a particular search word. A search for "newspaper" returns an article about editorial pages and a video about newspaper recycling, but also a story about a man who reads a particular item in a "newspaper."
Is It Any Good?
Along with being noted as Time Magazine's "25 Web Sites We Can't Live Without," HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM is also the rightful winner of multiple Webby awards. The site provides a wealth of information and is an excellent learning tool for kids with lots of nuts-and-bolts questions. HowStuffWorks.com is a great source for researching school projects or just discovering something new. It has successfully covered articles on both everyday stuff (energy drinks, laughter, allergies) and not-so-everyday stuff (black holes, lie detectors, symbiosis). That said, the site definitely sells and promotes more than free knowledge (Consumer Guide is a partner), and searches also scour the entire web, offering sponsored results (aka places to spend money), followed by the site's links. Users should understand that some material is not for younger kids, but overall this is a sanctuary that gets to the heart of comprehending many of life's inquiries.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how to find reliable information on the Internet. What are safe sites to browse? How can you tell which sites are trustworthy?
Families can also discuss the importance of safety online. Who is -- and who is not -- OK to share information with?
Website Details
- Subjects: Hobbies : building, gardening
- Skills: Self-Direction : academic development, personal growth, Creativity : combining knowledge, developing novel solutions, Thinking & Reasoning : part-whole relationships
- Genre: Educational
- Award: Webby Award
- Pricing structure: Free
- Last updated: November 4, 2015
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
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