Do you like surfing the net but feel that often you have wasted time? Help is at hand. Take a look at these 10 sites, you are bound to find a few you like. Learn a little, laugh a lot, and pass them on.
A Walk in the Forest
This is simply amazing. A site dedicated to the conservation of forest from Finland (and available in four languages including English) this is just gorgeous. Stuck in a big city and longing for the great outdoors? The visit this site and you will be greeted by a friendly guide with a fantastic Finnish accent who will escort you around. When you see something of interest, click on it and a new window will open showing you a video or pictures of the flora and fauna. Go for a long walk now!
Tall Buildings
This is an amazing website. You can choose from any one of twenty five of the world’s tallest building, and visit them, virtually, one by one. You can find out who the architect was, learn the height and have a look at some awesome pictures through a flash-based process. A site definitely worth a visit if you have no fear of heights!
The Heart
This is one of those sites where you simply have to sit back, scratch your head and wonder just how many thousands of hours must have gone in to this. Literally, anything and everything you want to know about the human heart is in here in a truly interactive experience. Click on the hot spots to take yourself to facts about the heart that you never realized you wanted to know, but now you do you are going to go right out there and impress someone with your new found knowledge! An interface you have to see to believe!
Drugs!
A site from Norway (in English) there is some excellent education about drugs on this site. Presented mostly in black and white, you will struggle a little to use your mouse as the site shows you how your reactions would be affected by various drugs. The site send emails and police alerts too – but don’t worry, its only a commercial!
The Eco Zoo
This site asks you to take a closer look at animals and try and find a more eco-friendly way of living through them. A wonderful piece of flash animation to begin, you can then visit a variety of animals in a pop-up book environment. The site is in both Japanese and English and so you could teach the kids a new language at the same time – if you so wish. Hugely entertaining, this site will have the young ones laughing and thinking at the same time.
Net Basics
This superb site from New Zealand looks as if it’s for kids but it is aimed at anyone who is new to using computers and the internet. So, whether you are looking to protect your kids from online strangers or want to know what phishing, firewall protection and backups are all about (plus lots, lots more) then pay this site a visit. Great graphics and a really friendly user interface combine to make this a great learning experience for all.
The National Archive
If you are a history fan, you will love this! It is the digital vault of the American National Archive. If you cannot visit the place in person, this site hosts over 1200 of its 10 billion records in a brilliantly interactive way. The collection presents itself to your randomly (which you can shuffle if nothing takes your fancy). When you find things that you like you can start creating your own archive collection. Compulsive and intriguing, this is a superb site.
Stop Smoking
Not a preachy site at all, this aims to give you the bare facts about why you should stop smoking. I have never seen a stop site like this before. If you like sexy English accents it will be for you whether you are a smoker or not! With full on flash, this site enables you to use an ONS (Orbital Navigation System) to discover the facts for yourself. Futuristic and crisp design helps this website to be among the best anti-tobacco sites on the planet!
Whales
Dieter Paulman films whales – and if you love these huge mammals you will be deeply touched and moved by this website. Not strictly speaking interactive, this site aims to give you a feel for the creatures as well as an insight in to protecting the environment. As whale numbers continue to decline world wide, perhaps it is time to remind yourself of the beauty and majesty of these creatures, before Kirk and his crew really do have to save them from extinction!
Alien Planet
Ever wanted to find out what is really out there? This website enables you to fly to the Planet Darwin IV in the year 2077. You get to launch various probes and explore the terrain of the planet, meeting new and unusual creatures and going where no man, woman (or one!) has gone before! Extremely entertaining but this is based on what scientists think may exist out there. There guess may well be as good as anyone’s!
June 24th, 2008 at 4:30 am
Namaste RJ, Another great article,really enjoyed the reading of it.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:44 am
Great Sites, once again.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:59 am
very informative! thanks for the info sir! great job!
June 24th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
The drug site is pretty lame and contains many pop-ups.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
These sites look very interesting.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Thanks for the information. As an educator and parent I look forward to previewing each of them!
June 25th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Great sites RJ. You are truning into our website guide
June 27th, 2008 at 7:01 am
Please do not link to that stupid prohibitionist website.
It’s bullcrab!
June 27th, 2008 at 10:09 am
This is a fantastic list!!
August 14th, 2008 at 5:31 am
In http://www.vedoque.com, we are starting to translate to English our educational games. You can see them in http://envedoque.blogspot.com, our English Blog.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:34 am
really usefull#
February 14th, 2009 at 6:35 am
Good site Education
February 20th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Good post.
Praxis II test
April 28th, 2009 at 9:57 am
I am awestruck! My articles are pathetic in comparison to the material you have produced!! Bugger it, I’d rather browse all these wonderful websites..thanks once again for sharing.