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Like many nations, the United States is concerned about its security and has numerous agencies monitoring a variety of activities in order to protect the country from attack. Some of these agencies have web sites and, though adults are usually more concerned than children about national security, intelligence gathering is exciting to many youngsters. The following is a brief overview of what is offered to children on the Internet by the U.S. intelligence community.

1. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Kids’ Page

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Sounds and sights await youngsters at the Kids’ Page of the Central Intelligence Agency where one has the option to view material designed for children in kindergarten to 5th grade, or from 6th to 12th grade.

The younger children will learn about the CIA Seal and their K-9 Corps, and have the opportunity to see A Bird’s Eye View of CIA History. Pages for older children are Who We Are and What We Do, Operation History, and Getting a Job at the CIA — where they will discover that one does not have to be a spy to work for the agency. Some of the types of CIA employees include analysts, language experts, doctors, lawyers, inventors, scientists, communications specialists, engineers, geographers, librarians, and information technology specialists.

Available games include puzzles, Word Find, Break the Code, Aerial and Photo Analysis Challenges.

2. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)

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The objective of the DIA is to provide timely, objective, and cogent military intelligence to those in combat, defense planners, and defense and national security policymakers.

When a youngster navigates to the main page of the DIA Kids site, they will hear a welcome which soon encourages them to select a mission. From the “mission control” panel on the right, they may select activities such as Jigsaw Puzzles, Hangman, Maze Collision, Memory, Simon, Document Sort, Word Search and Air Combat. Children will have fun at this site, and at the same time develop a number of skills.

3. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Children’s Page

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Whether one is in combat or just trying to safely navigate, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is on duty providing accurate geospatial intelligence. The NGA not only plays a vital role in national defense and homeland security, but it also aids in humanitarian efforts, from disaster support and tracking floods, to peacekeeping.

A variety of options await youngsters at NGA’s new Children’s Page which include the following:

• Information on Geospatial Intelligence
• GEOINT Games — A large variety, mostly on PDF
• How to Become an Analyst
• Fly-throughs and Movies
• NGA and the Space Shuttle (more movies)

Early in 2008 NGA had another children’s page which might still be active. Try viewing http://www.nga.mil/ngakids/.

4. National Reconnaissance Organization’s NROjr

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Eerie space music sets the mood for a captivating time for young people and those young at heart as they click on Ollie the Satellite to get to the main menu on this Flash interactive site. There they will see a bookshelf in space with books titled Games, Simulators, How Do We Use Satellites, Orbitology, Pictures from Satellites, Our Solar System. The last four mainly contain information, but done in a very interesting way.

Simulators offers the opportunity to control a comet, Mars probe on Mars, and a satellite around the earth.

Games include an asteroid maze, hitching a ride on space shuttle (which is not as easy at it looks), NRO memory test, a puzzle to put an image together, and a chance to piolet a space ship from one point to another. This last one has three levels. Be careful not to run out of fuel.

The NRO designs, builds and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the United States. Customers include the CIA and the Department of Defense, who use the work of the NRO to find worldwide potential trouble spots, monitor the environment, and assist in the planning of military operations.

5. National Security Agency (NSA) Kids’ Page

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There is much to see, do and learn at the NSA Kids’ page which features the agency’s Crypto Kids™. Visitors are given the option of Flash or text only navigation.

Main options in Flash include Meet the Gang (the Crypto Kids™), How Can I Work for the NSA, Operation Dit Dah where on can learn and practice Morse Code, Make Your Own Secret Codes, Battle of the Badges, Secret Search, and Language Barriers where one can learn how to say “hello” in various languages. Coloring pages and Cryptograms abound.

For a “hands on” experience, there is an option called “Make It @ Home” where detailed instructions can be found on how to make a Cipher Wheel, Cipher Disk, and Scytale.

There also are intriguing stories, Yardleygrams, where one can make attempts at deciphering coded messages. The Yardleygrams are from accounts recorded in a book titled Yardlygrams, written by Herbert Yardley, a U.S. cryptologist in the early 1900s.

The text only pages include Brainteasers, Cryptograms, Yardleygrams, biographies of the Crypto Kids, and information on What are Codes, What is a Cipher, Make a Cipher, Breaking Ciphers, and Cipher History.

6. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

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While the FBI is not primarily an intelligence agency, it plays a vital role in preventing, exposing, and investigating intelligence activities harmful to the U.S.

Parents and children can enjoy a number of interesting activities and pages at the FBI Kids’ Page that will help them learn more about the agency, including their canine helpers.

First to greet the children will be Special Agent Bobby Bureau who needs a little help to create a disguise for some undercover work.

Pages geared for children in kindergarten to 5th grade include About the FBI, Safety Tips, About Our Dogs, Play Our Games, History of the FBI, and A Day in the Life of a Special Agent. A Sliding Tile Puzzle, Matching Game, Special Agent Undercover, and Most Wanted Words are currently the available games..

Those in grades six through twelve will enjoy features such as FBI Investigates, FBI Adventures, and the Special Agent Challenge.

Some of the pages everyone will find interesting are as follows:

• FBI Dive Teams and Underwater Evidence
• The Baddest Town in America
• Test Your Knowledge: FBI in Pop Culture
• The Fall of Dillinger and the Rise of the FBI
• How the Law Caught Up With Al Capone
• Meet Mint, Our Dog in This Fight
• Quick Quiz for Amateur Sleuths
• All You Want to Know About Taking Fingerprints
• The Case of the Missing Dinosaur
• Art Crime Team Seeking Stolen Masterpieces

Having your children visit and interact with these web sites will keep them busy, and keep them learning. And, you never know — your child might consider working for one of these agencies when they are older. Consider the fact that when you get your youngsters to enjoy these sites you are investing in the future of your children and your nation.

Spending time at these U.S. government web sites is an intriguing, mind-expanding experience for people of all ages. An enlightening and adventure-packed time awaits everyone, even if one is not a U.S. citizen.