Find out what it means to become a responsible DIGItal citiZEN at Digizen, digizen.org/kids. Begin with the Digizen Game and create your own character, then spend a day at school and find out if you will make the right decisions when a friend is being bullied. Some kids don’t report bullying because they are afraid it will happen to them. Watch Let’s Fight It Together to hear Joe talk about the true effects of being bullied online, and learn what you can do to fight it. Next, Create Your Digizen and express your online values.

Find out why Manufacturing is Cool, manufacturingis
cool.com, and learn about engineering careers for original thinkers. Click on the iPod to watch videos of real engineers, like astronaut Joan Higginbotham, who operated a robotic arm on the International Space Station. Moving Mechanics sends you flying when you click on Fearless With Fighters and see what a real test pilot does at work each day. Distracting Diversions offers an inside look at the creation of video games. Click on the controller to find out how your favorites were made.

Discover fascinating people and places to visit at Welcome to Kids’ Capital, kids.dc.gov. About DC introduces you to DC Hot Spots, your key to such famous places as the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Vietnam Wall and the National Arboretum. If you have a school project and don’t know where to begin, Making the Grade has the information you need. If you want to write about someone specific, you can find inspiration at DC Superstars. Just for fun, try to beat George Washington at Tic Tac Toe, then unscramble political words in Letter Juggler.

If you could invent anything,
what would it be?

Speak Out Here!

Dear Amy: Search engines are great, but sometimes I can’t find what I want. Do you have any tips for getting good search results? — Chase, Norfolk, Va.

Dear Chase: Finding exactly what you want online isn’t always easy. When I’m having trouble finding a site, I try to remember to “think like a search engine.” Search engines use keywords to describe each site listing, so the trick is to figure out which keywords best describe the website you’re looking for. If I wanted to learn to make pizza at home, I would search for “pizza dough recipe.” Searching for “pizza” wouldn’t be as helpful, because most of the search results would be for restaurants that serve pizza.

For more help on basic searches, visit support.google.com/websearch/bin/
answer.py?answer=134479. This page has information about Google searches, but the tips also apply to other search engines.

Many search engines include an Advanced Search feature that allows you to search for exact phrases, search within a specific site, choose which country the search results come from and more. Just use the options you need and leave the rest blank. You’ll be searching like a pro before you know it!

—Amy

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