INTERNET GIVES CHILDREN A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON HISTORY

History doesn't have to be dull, and the Internet offers up many sites that will prove that fact to your kids.

I've always loved history. In fact, I had planned to become a history teacher upon graduation of college. But back then, there was a glut of teachers and I was advised to choose another career if I wanted to find a job. But heading down another path hasn't diminished my love of history.

www.americaslibrary.com

This site is brought to you by the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. While the site was designed for young people, the goal is for children and families to explore these historical tales together.

You can discover what Abraham Lincoln had in his pockets the night he was assassinated. I confess I had to take a peak. Or, you can learn about the inventions of Thomas Edison. You can even see his first motion picture.

These are just some of the fascinating people you'll learn more about if you click on "Meet Amazing Americans" off the front page.

You can also jump back in time. They've conveniently picked some important eras, or you can pick your own date to visit. How about your birthday? I know the big event that happened on my birthday it's pretty hard to forget. John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Send an historical postcard while you're here.

Don't forget to stop by "Explore the States," which tells you the most fascinating facts about all 50. Did you know Missouri is an Algonquin Indian term meaning "river of the big canoes?" We're also credited with the birth of the ice cream cone at the 1904 World's Fair, of course.

The site also takes a look at America at play and allows you to see, hear and sing with some famous Americans.

www.kidscastle.si.edu

The Smithsonian Institute brings you this site geared for kids ages 8-16. It features articles written about the things that interest kids today: sports, history, the arts, travel, science and air and space.

You'll also find message boards with questions to get kids from all over the world talking to each other.

Kids' Castle also features a number of games and contests.

If you click on history, you'll find lots of interesting topics including facts about telephones and the Titanic, and the history of checkers.

Checkers, it seems, was popular as long ago as 1500 BC There are links to the World Wide Web, but the site only links to those approved for kids.

I enjoyed the article on the colors of crayons. Did you know that since 1903, Binney & Smith has produced more than 600 different shades of crayons? Alice Binney, a former schoolteacher, also created the word crayon, combining the French word "craie," meaning chalk, with "ola," which means oily.

The folks at Scholastic know how to make history fun. They bring you the History Mystery game.

teacher.scholastic.com/activities/index.htm

This site encourages you to become a great investigator of history with its online activities.

There are lots of different choices from African-American inventors, women's history and profiles of famous people.

At the History Mystery Game, you get clues to help solve the mysteries. You may investigate, and then pose a solution. If you're still stumped, you can get more clues.

To the answers, you can turn to a book, head to the library or search the Web using Yahoo's Yahooligans. You have to work to answer these puzzles.

If you're stumped, you can take up to five clues. And then, you can see the answer and get links to other Web sites for more information.

This game reminds me of another computer game we like to play at home: "Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego." You can find a free version of the game online.

www.carmensandiego.com

The site tells us that Carmen Sandiego has snared the world in her 'Net. You can join Acme's Virtual Detective Agency to e-vict Carmen and her gang before they commit more computer capers.

You can sign up for your own ACME detective badge. Don't worry, you don't have to give out an e-mail address.

The chase will take you to other historical-based sites to get information to solve clues. The first case has to do with the American Revolution.

You fill in the blanks with information from these sites to break the code.

And hey, you might learn something about history along the way.

Next stop, let's check out Eye Witness, a site that provides history through the eyes of people who lived it.

www.ibiscom.com

You can choose from such categories as the Ancient World, Middle Ages, 17th Century, 18th Century, the Civil War, the Old West, 20th Century, World War I or II, Photo of the Week, SnapShots and Voices.

Let's check out the Civil War. It retells history through personal narratives and other first-hand sources. You can read the memories of a 15-year girl as she watches Union and Confederate troops clash in her hometown, or the tragic tale of a father and son who meet on the battlefield near Richmond, Va.

You can also read first-hand accounts of the death of President Lincoln and the man who shot him, John Wilkes Booth.

Reading these personal accounts certainly makes these historical events come to life.

Another great place to learn more about history is from the folks at Public Broadcasting.

www.pbs.org/neighborhoods/history

You can learn more about the secrets of the Pharaohs or the Lost King of the Maya. There are lots of biographies on famous people you can read -- from Napoleon Bonaparte to Bill Clinton, from Harry Houdini to the Pope. As you see, there's quite a range.

You can also jump to dozens of features in such categories as the ancient world, biographies, United States, war and espionage and the world.

You can also travel back in time -- figuratively that is. Pick a date and see what happened that day in history. You can find out the top historic events through the years on that date along with the birthday board and chart toppers.

If you're looking for other fun places on the Web for children, check out KidsClick.

sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!

It's a very good site brought to you by a group of librarians in New York.

You can search for information by keyword or by categories. These librarians also provide advice on searching and search tools. These sites have been kid-approved, which is important for parents.

What's your favorite history site? E-mail your favorites to me at jonia@sehosp.org.

See you in Cyberspace.

Joni Adams is the Webmaster at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, www.southeastmissourihospital.com