Dragonfly TV
Fall 2009 Website
Ages: 8 - 12 yrs.
Producer: Twin Cities Public Television
Producer: Joan Freese
Review:
PBS demonstrates daily that it knows how to appeal to kids. And although the DragonflyTV site primary purpose is to promote the show about science, this site offers a place for a child to explore and have fun.
Cool beeps and buzz sounds start off the experience. Under the heading "Do It!" kids can try more than 60 different experiments, all using simple household items such as paper clips, eggs and even peanut butter sandwiches to learn different scientific theories. In the "Games" area, kids can play match games, balloon races and other fun challenges, all set in a learning context. Other areas of the site include a map for searching museums in your area, a message board for sharing ideas, an area of funny and interesting riddles and an area for downloading magazine stories that could prove useful as homework references or puzzles just for fun. In addition there are science videos and episodes of DragonflyTV. We found ourselves spending a long time playing, reading, watching and learning. Your children will, too.
Ann Oldenburg ©2009 Parents' Choice
Ann Oldenburg, a blogger and reporter for USA Today, has covered entertainment from the Washington, D.C. area for more than 20 years. She is a University of Florida Gator with a degree in journalism, and she began her career at The Washington Post. Throughout the years, she has written for TV Guide, Parents magazine and other publications. She is the co-author of a travel guide book titled The Dog Lover's Companion to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, with her husband, Don Oldenburg, a former Washington Post writer. She and Don live in McLean, Va., with their three sons and their two dogs.
