They offer space facts, often amid fun and games. Here are some good choices to bookmark for a youngster's browser. SETI Institute astronomer Cynthia Philips has organized hundreds of links to kid-accessible astronomy into 30 categories. A few of the links go to articles that Philips wrote herself, such as getting-started information and the difference between astronomy and astrology. The site offers basic information about the planets, a celestial calendar of sky events with star maps, other astronomical facts, and puzzles to inform and entertain.
Kids can also send cosmic electronic postcards to their online friends.
Click on the Sky Tonight link in the center of the screen and several Java applets will load to show the night sky, phase of the Moon, current configuration of Jupiter's satellites, and the Earth's sunlight illumination. Elsewhere you'll get characteristics of solar-system objects, a cosmic glossary, current space news, and some games. And, if you must, you can also pose a question at Ask an Expert. NASA has always been a big draw for youngsters, so it is no surprise that the space agency provides online material for them. SpaceKids is a rich, flashy site packed with information.