If bad weather has forced you to spend your March Break indoors, fear not for I have the ultimate cure to Cabin Fever. Here is my guide of 100 websites offering the best activities for kids online. Categories include online museums and zoos, books, papercraft, drawing and music programs, animation and music, magic tricks and paper airplanes, podcasts and classic toys, even sites for toddlers.

Museums, Zoos, and Universities

Wolf Quest

WolfQuest.org

From the Minnesota Zoo, this free online multiplayer game lets kids take on the role of wolves. Together they can meet to form packs, mark out their own online territories, follow virtual smells, explore trails, and work together to locate food. Created for free through a grant by the National Science Foundation.

NGAkids Jungle

www.nga.gov/kids/zone/jungle.htm

Presented by the United States National Gallery of Art, this interactive canvas let's you create your own jungle landscape inspired by the works of Post-Impressionist Henri Rousseau. Mix and match animals, construct flowers and trees, even control the weather.

Build Your Wild Self

http://www.buildyourwildself.com/

Presented by the United States National Gallery of Art, this interactive canvas let's you create your own jungle landscape inspired by the works of Post-Impressionist Henri Rousseau. Mix and match animals, construct flowers and trees, even control the weather.

Virtual Microscope

http://virtual.itg.uiuc.edu/downloads/#interface

Presented by the Imaging Technology Group at the University of Illinois, the Virtual Microscope is a free program for download that let’s you explore microscopic images taken with both Scanning Electron and Light microscopes.

Astronaut Flight Lounge

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/afl/index_noaccess.html

At NASA’s flight lounge you’ll find seven astronauts hanging out, waiting to engage in a virtual chat to answer your questions and give personable accounts about their experiences in space.

LaunchBall

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/launchpad/launchball/

From the Science Museum in London, England, Launchball challenges you to explore the boundaries of physics by guiding a ball through 30 obstacle-filled levels or better yet, create your own to share.

Smithsonian National Zoological Park Webcams

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/

For those who can’t get to visit the Smithsonian’s living zoo in person, they have created a network of webcams that allow you to see in real-time their exhibits for elephants, pandas, tigers, and naked mole rats amongst many others.

Scratch Animation

http://scratch.mit.edu/

Developed at the MIT Media Lab, Scratch is a free program designed around a simple programming language that lets kids easily design and create their own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Cool Science

http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/index.html

Created by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cool Science for Curious Kids explores questions and lessons on dust, the parts of plants, and the connections between monkeys and moose.

BC Science World Crafts

http://www.scienceworld.bc.ca/make_stuff.html

Fun experiments to make at home including bubbles, jelly eyeballs, and Cartesian divers. All from the Telus World of Science in British Columbia.

Wonderville Science Alberta

http://www.wonderville.ca/

Wonderville is an animated 3D town full of fun science games, interactive lessons, videos, and downloadable challenges. Presented by the Science Alberta Foundation.

Science and Medicine

ARKive, A YouTube for Endangered Animals

http://www.arkive.org/

Aimed at creating a visual and audio record of life on Earth, ARKive is a searchable database of videos, pictures, and sounds of the world’s wildlife, including strange, exotic animals like the Aye-Aye (pictured).

The Visible Body

VisibleBody.com

The Visible Body is a virtual exploration of human anatomy, using your mouse you can fly though and zoom into a recreation of a human body, getting detailed lessons on all of the systems and muscles you see.

Exosolar Interactive Astronomy

Exosolar.net

Exploring our universe couldn’t be easier with Exosolar’s interactive guide. The visual tour offers access to 2000 stars and their components and lets you see them as the exist in three dimensional space.

Virtual Blue Whale

www.wdcs.co.uk/media/flash/whalebanner/content_pub_en.html

Offering a chance to experience the thrill of swimming alongside of Blue Whale, the largest animal on the planet, this site offers a virtual whale created to scale. Using your mouse, you can swim along the full length of the ocean giant and explore its body.

Hunkin’s Experiments

http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/

Using cartoons, Hunkin offers quick experiments you can try at home, in the kitchen of even at the office.

EdHeads Virtual Surgery

Edheads.org/

Edheads offers a selection of educational scenarios that allow you to explore the process behind hip replacements, knee surgeries, and the workings of machinery.

Phun Physics Sandbox

Phun.at

A free program to download and play with, Phun let’s you create circles, boxes, chains, and other objects within a special sandbox where you can watch as they interact with each other following the laws of physics.

Froguts Virtual Dissection

Froguts.com

Froguts offers lessons on dissection, same as in school but using virtual specimens that offer a graphic, realistic experience. Free demos on the site include a frog, squid, and owl pellet.

Storytime and Books

Storytime With Celebrities

http://www.storylineonline.net/

Presented by the Screen Actors Guild, Storyline features videos of popular celebrities like Amanda Bynes, Melissa Gilbert, and Al Gore reading selected children’s books aloud. Each book comes with accompanying activities and lessons.

Marvel Digital Comics

Marvel.com/digitalcomics

Marvel Comics is currently offering 250 free classic comics, all presented in a new digital edition that makes them easy to read in your web browser.

Cover Browser

Coverborwser.com

Showcasing the comics of yesterday, this online gallery features the covers of many classic comic books.

Spine Breakers Book Club

Spinebreakers.co.uk

Based in the U.K> Spine Breakers is an online book community run by teenagers aged between 13 to 18 years old for teens their own age. Features reviews, interviews, and interactive features.

 International Children’s Library

icdlbooks.org

The International Children’s Digital Library offers free books to read online, gathered from around the world and offered in a number of different languages.

Online Children’s Books

Magickeys.com/books

For kids young and old, MagicKeys offers a wide collection of illustrated, online tales from a variety of authors.

Parselmouth Translator

TheParselmouth.com

Harry Potter fans can convert their own text messages into Parselmouth recording with this free translator.

Tom Riddle’s Magical Diary

http://pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=c96f911b3e35f9e1

More fun for Harry Potter fans, type your questions into this interactive diary and receive a magical reply.

Shel Silverstein

Silverstein.com

At the official website for popular children’s author Shel Silverstein you’ll find games, activities, and fun animations.

 Papercraft

The Toy Maker

TheToyMaker.com

Marilyn Scott-Waters’ online workshop offers free templates for download to create your own moving paper toys, decorative storage boxes, and interactive games.

Yamaha Motors Japan Rare Animals And Motorcycles

http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/entertainment/papercraft/animal-global/index.html

Highly advanced and very impressive, Yamaha’s free online templates feature detailed papers sculptures of both rare animals and cool motorcyles.

Corbis PinHole Cameras

http://pro.corbis.com/creative/readycam/

Explore the basics of photography with these free PinHole cameras you can make from Corbis.

Paper Cars

PaperCars.net

Great papercraft designs for beginners, these free car templates offer models of classics like the Mini, Continental, and VW Van.

Origami Money

http://members.cox.net/crandall11/money/index.html

Learn to fold common dollar bills into spiders, sailboats, butterflies, and snakes.

Teri’s Paper Doll Scans

http://tpettit.best.vwh.net/dolls/pd_scans/index.html

Taken from paper books no longer available on the market, these scanned pages will give you enough paper dolls and clothing to play out your most imaginative adventures.

Cardboard Castles, Firetrucks, and Spaceships

MrMcGroovys.com

Free instructions for transforming shipping cartons into castles and other playsets are available here from this online store that specializes in custom fasteners.

Optimus Prime Papercraft

Paperrobots1999.com

Transformers fans can create their own toy version of the Autobot leader using these free papercraft templates.

Toy Paper

Toypaper.co.uk

ToyPaper offers unique templates for hip, creative creatures and toys.

Drawing/Art

Jackson Pollack

JacksonPollock.org

Paint like a modern master by moving your mouse and dripping across a virtual canvas.

ArtPad

Artpad.Art.Com/artpad/painter

Paint using a proper brush, paintpots, canvas, and an easel. All virtually and driven by your mouse of course.

Crayola Digital

Crayola.com/coloring_application

Select from a special wheel containing a wide variety of marker types and express yourself across a blank white screen.

DoodleBug

Doodlebug.Desktopcreatures.com

Designed for finer work, using your mouse as an ink pen, you can try your hand at making your own masterpiece or visit the gallery to see the amazing work done by others.

Frost Design

Xmas.Frostdesign.com.au

A simple program that lets you create pictures using simple shapes and numbers, Frost Design is a popular place to make seasonal pictures.

Virtual Chalkboard

http://www.tagnwag.com/games/draw/chalkboard.html

With no teacher in sight, you’re free to draw and scribble whatever you like on your own personal chalkboard.

Colouring Book Pages

Coloring-book.info

Offering a huge gallery of coloring pages to download and print, this site offers many popular characters including Hello Kitty, Whinnie the Pooh, and Mr. Men.

Animation/Comics

ShapeShifter

Aniboom.com/ShapeshifterMain

Presented by Animboom, Shapeshifter is a free animation program allowing kids to make their own movies using basic, simple shapes.

StripGenerator

StripGenerator.com

A quick and easy way to create your own comic strips, StripGenerator even lets you form a blog around your own on going series of strips.

Animate Your Drawing

http://www.myfreeonlinegames.info/games/664/draw-your-character.html

Fill in the template with your own drawn character and then watch as it comes alive!

DFilm Movie Maker

http://www.dfilm.com/live/moviemaker.html

Choose from a selection of backgrounds, characters, and weather, then just add your own dialogue and watch as your movie comes together.

Pivot Stick Figure Animator

http://www.geocities.com/peter_bone_uk/pivot.html

Create animations using posable stick figure characters.

Make Beliefs Comic Strips

MakeBeliefsComix.com

Create and write your own strips with this easy online program by author Bill Zimmerman.

Paper Airplanes

Paper Airplanes UK

PaperAirplanes.co.uk

This UK-based website offers free templates for a number of innovative designs.

Kyong Lee’s Realistic Airplanes

AmazingPaperAirplanes.com

More than just shape, these templates include photographic textures for added realism.

Best Paper Airplane In The World

http://www.zurqui.com/crinfocus/paper/airplane.html

Instructions for the best airplane in the world. Make sure to use these Colour Designer Sheets

Paparang

Paparang.com

An airplane design that looks like it’ll come back to you.

Joesph Palmer Designs

http://www.josephpalmer.com/planes/Airplane.shtml

Joseph Palmer’s collection of blueprints for innovative airplane designs.

Online Paper Airplane Museum

TheOnlinePaperAirplaneMuseum.com

The biggest collection of airplane designs.

Web Toys

Imagination

http://files.goyk.com/files0729/flash/imagination.swf

Free expression comes with but the simple movements of your mouse.

Bubble Wrap

http://krisabel.ctv.ca/blog/_archives/2007/3/21/2822368.html

Take a break and snap a sheet of virtual bubble wrap.

Instant Garden

http://www.procreo.jp/labo/flower_garden.swf

Summon flowers onto existence with a simple click of your mouse button.

Mosquito

http://www.newrafael.com/sites/mosquito/

Think its too cold for mosquitoes? Move your mouse around and listen.

 Illusions

Grand Illusions

Grand-Illusions.com

Toy Shop and Emporium of scientific phenomena, visit their optical illusions section for free mind benders, including a special dragon desk toy you can download and make.

77 Optical Illusions

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/index.html

Michael Bach’s guide includes the most popular visual mind tricks on the internet.

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Page

http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html

Exploring pictures that seem to move, Akiyoshi’s pictures are focus on tricks of motion.

Mystical Ball Mind Reading

MysticalBall.com

The Mystical Ball can certainly read your mind, but is it magic?

Music And Instruments

Free Kids Music

FreeKidsMusic.com

Offers free tracks from a wide variety of children’s performers.

Classic Kids Records

KiddieRecords

Children’s albums from the days of vinyl, transferred over to mp3s and offered for download free.

Virtual Piano

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/index.htm

Use your mouse and give the keys a tickle. A great piano for those who have don’t have access to one.

Tony-B’s Virtual Keyboard

Tony-b.org

Combining digital keyboard with a drum machine, this DJ-style keyboard can even be used to record tracks.

Automachine

http://www.zanorg.com/prodperso/automachine.htm

Mix and match strange, funky loops and samples with this unusual instrument.

Make My People Sing

http://www.mypeople.com/sing/index.html

Click on each member of this oddball band to have them join in to create your own music mix.

Radiophonatron

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/news/radiophonatron.shtml

Dr. Who fans will recognize these signature sounds from the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop. Here’s your chance to mix your own version of the TV series’ popular theme.

Buckle Virtual Drums

http://www.buckle.com/static/bscene/games/drums/drums.html

Use your mouse (or better yet your keyboard) to beat on this virtual drum kit while learning the names of each of the parts. For a demo of what a professional drummer would sound like, click on one of the presets.

 Toddlers And Little Ones

Kneebouncers

Kneebouncers.com

A collection of bright, interactive games designed for toddlers who know how to just slap the keyboard. There’s peek-a-boo, bubbles to create, and musical instruments to play.

Bembo’s Zoo

Bemboszoo.com

An interactive storybook, Bembo’s Zoo explores words that change into the animals they spell.

Up To Ten

UpToTen.com

A bilingual site offer hundreds of bright, fun, and interactive activities for free.

ABC Australia

ABC.net/children

The kids section of this TV network page in Australia offers a wide range of activities and content for younger children.

Classic Toys

Speak N Spell

Speaknspell.co.uk

The original spelling toy brought back to life in virtual form.

Etch-A-Sketch

Etchy.org

With this virtual edition of the classic drawing toy you can now use the arrow keys on your keyboard in place of the old knobs. Actually makes it easier.

Ant Farm

JoinTheAntFarm.com

Not as educational as the real thing, but there are no (real) ants harmed in the making of these farms.

LEGO Digital Designer

http://ldd.lego.com/

With LEGO’s free digital designer software you have the freedom to build without restrictions and use pieces you don’t have in your collection in real life.

 Magic And Tricks

Learning Magic Tricks

LearningMagicTricks.com

An online community for magic tricks, you’ll find free ebooks and videos designed to offer instruction on performing a wide range of amazing feats.

Mighty Magic Tricks

MightyTricks.com

Mighty Magic is a blog devoted to showing how to perform a wide range of magic tricks, each with an instructional video. Includes tricks using money, ropes, and even your own body.

Ian's Shoelace Site

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm

Amaze your friends by lacing up your shoes using one of these many different style guides that show you innovative ways to lace up your trainers.

Mazes

Christopher Berg’s Giant Mazes

AmazeingArt.com

Offering large, free mazes for download and print, Christopher Berg’s collection includes mazes that form Egyptian cats, Spanish galleons, and ancient Greek buildings.

Conceptis Maze-A-Pix

http://www.conceptispuzzles.com/products/mazeapix/puzzle_samples.htm

What may seem like ordinary mazes for download soon take on a bit of magic as the path you draw fills in a hidden image inside each puzzle.

Podcasts

Kid Cast

Kid-Cast.com

This online directory features a number of podcasts created by kids themselves.

The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd

DoctorFloyd.com

Offering both audio and video podcasts, this on going radio-drama series follows the adventures of inventor Floyd, his protégé Grant and robot CHIPS as they try to overthrow the plans of evil mastermind Dr. Steve.

StoryNory

StoryNory.com.org

Available both in podcast form and for viewing online, StoryNory is a collection of audio and video children’s books featuring stories from a wide range of authors.

A Window To Magic: Disney Audio Adventure

http://www.windowtothemagic.com/podcast.html

Designed to be listened to with headphones, this audio adventure follows sound engineer Paul Barrie for a behind-the-scenes tour of Disney’s Theme Parks.

General Websites For Kids

ChoreWars

ChoreWars.com

Make doing household chores fun with this online game that offers a system of collectable experience points for doing homework and cleaning up your room.

BrainPop

BrainPop.com

Hosted by Moby the robot, BrainPop offers a wide range of animated movies that are both educational and fun.

Mom’s Minivan

MomsMinivan.com

The ideal resource for road trip fun, Mon’s Minivan has a large collection of games, crafts, and activities for on-the-go fun.

Hands On Crafts For Kids

CraftsForKids.com

Hands On is the home of creative craft projects for kids 7 – 12. Instructions are offered both as written articles and through video clips.

Printables 4 Kids

Printables4Kids.com

This large directory of PDf file templates includes coloring pages, activity guides, and craft guides all for download and printing.

National Geographics Kids

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

An amazing collection of videos, activites, games, and stories from the kids version of National Geographic.

PBS Kids

PBSKids.org

PBS Kids offers music, games, and coloring pages based on popular TV shows for children.

Nick Jr.

NickJr.com

Offering e-cards, printables, crafts, and games, all based on popular Kids shows from Nick Jr.

Scholastic Kids

Scholastic.com/Kids

From the publisher of Harry Potter and Goosebumps, here’s a collection of online activities including drag-n-drop graphics boards and pronunciation guides.

NASA Kids

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html

At the Nasa Kids Club you’ll find a guide to our solar system and a video game called Cosmic Corridor.

Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network

You’ll find online games for all your favorite cartoosn, from Naruto to Pokemon to Transformers.