Parents' Guide to

Science News for Students

By Emily Pohlonski, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Up-to-date STEM stories could inspire budding scientists.

Science News for Students Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this website.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 12+

Science to capture a tween's or teen's interest

Formerly known as Science News for Kids, this free, daily online magazine is aimed at those 11 or 12 and up (and their parents and grandparents). It covers all fields of science and engineering, even some math, but not as a homework-helper--as news. It's real, award-winning journalism written by science professionals in terms even a kid can understand. But you don't have to be a kid to enjoy it. Richly illustrated and ad-free, it focuses on what's new, how we know it, and why we should care. Even teachers in math-and-science-magnet schools love it!

This title has:

Great messages
age 14+

For middle school and up, up, up

High school teachers also find the site useful--even for students in their advanced classes. When content is written well for a middle-school audience, it doesn't insult those who are older. That's why even community college profs like the content on this site. But middle-school teachers really appreciate that it speaks to their kids about amazingly current events, all without dumbing anything down.

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (1 ):

Science News for Kids has engaging scientific text that's appropriate for elementary and middle school readers. It's a great source for kids who need practice analyzing and citing scientific text. Kids don't always love technical reading, but this site makes efforts to pick interesting topics like American cannibalism and predicting tsunamis.

When kids read about how a teen’s research has helped surgeons get a better view of cancer cells, they might be inspired to design their own experiment. There are a few resources, like a funny "Prepare for the Science Fair Cartoon" to help kids with do their own science fair projects. Unfortunately this portion of the site is less organized, making it hard to find what kids need.

Website Details

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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