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For Kids of All Ages
Click the picture below for a fun and challenging page that you can print out (ask your parents first) and then try to draw Smoky & Tasty:
Remember the right way to
download and install programs from the
internet or anywhere else is:
1) Make a restore point on your computer (Example: Windows XP ->
Start
-> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools
-> Backup
and Restore -< "Create a Restore Point").
2) Make sure your antivirus/firewall software is up to date and running.
3) Make sure of where you are getting the program from.
4) Download and scan the program (Windows you can often right-click on
the program and Scan for Viruses will be one of the choices).
5) Run/Install the program.
Games
Rigs of Rods is a project started by a physics teacher. You can call it a game, but really it is a simulation. A simulation is a recreation of something that has happened or could happen in real life. This simulation makes vehicles and lets you drive, captain, or pilot them. You can drive cars, pilot airplanes, or captain boats.
What makes this program special
is that the vehicles act a lot like
the ones in the real world do. For instance, if you try to
turn a
big-rig tractor-trailer truck too fast while you are driving down the
highway at full speed, it won't work very
well!
This program is free and open source, which means that you can help to
program it but you have to share what you do with everyone else.
Perfect World
Perfect World looks almost as good as any pay-per-month role playing game online. It might not have quite the WoW factor of some of the more expensive games like LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online) or Star Wars Online, but it is as beautiful and exciting a place as you are likely to find online. Based on mythical China, many characters can fly as well as walk. Think of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or The Matrix trilogy set in ancient China.
There are a lot of free MMORPGs out there, some are beta/trial versions that will want you to pay a subscription fee after a while. A lot of free games, like Perfect World, are perfectly free to play but have the option to buy in-game items and services for real money. So, be aware you may feel pressure to buy things that you want in the game.
The game may remind you a little of World of Warcraft. When you start out, there are plenty of somewhat safe places to run around and practice killing things, running away from things you were just trying to beat, taming exotic animals, and everything you would expect from a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. The fun factor is, like you would expect from one of the most popular games in the world, close to 100 over 100 :-)
Space Shuttle Launch Simulator
NASA presents a clever little online 'simulation' for aspiring astronauts of all ages. This is more of a learning tool than a simulation, but it is very well done. Complete six of the major tasks necessary to launch a Space Shuttle Orbiter and learn more about what it takes to get to space. Flash Player 10 is required. Most people's computers have Flash Players installed, but if you need to install or upgrade your Flash player it only takes a moment.
Even Better Space Shuttle Simulator
For an even better Space Shuttle (and other spacecraft!) flight/mission simulator, look no further than the FREE Orbiter program. You'll notice that we don't call this a game, because it isn't. This is a very, very realistic program that will take an investment in time and effort to learn, but the rewards are well worth it. What better way to learn the physics, the attention to detail, and the mechanics of getting a spacecraft from the ground up to the International Space Station? Get started at http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/orbit.html
Images copyright by and courtesy of Martin Schweiger
Free Online Classic Children's Books
Project Gutenberg has 30,000 free classic books online, and also a Children's Bookshelf with fiction, literature, biography, history, picture books, myths, fairy tales, periodicals, poetry, and anthologies (collections) of children's stories.
WiFi Internet at Smoky's Black Bear Cafe
Tip: Make sure not to download big files if you are at the cafe and there are a lot of other people using the wifi. It may be frustrating for them and you both! For instance, if you were at our cafe and you wanted to play the little Space Shuttle launch simulator whcih is basically a Flash 'web page', that would be O.K. If it was busy. Trying to download Rigs of Rules and Perfect World at the same time wouldn't be!
Did you know you could count to 1,023 on your fingers?
Each of your fingers can be a different number when you point it. So, if say your left pinky is 1 and your next finger is 2 and your center finger is 4 and your left index finger is 8, then if you pointed all four of those fingers it is 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 15. If you just pointed your left pinky and your left index finger, then that would be 1 + 8 = 9. See how it works?
Just double the number for each finger you come to next. Your fingers will be 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512. That adds up to 1,023! That's a lot more counting than just 10, and all with your fingers!
Quiz
1) How would you show the number 12 if your left pinky was 1, your left ring finger (next one over) was 2, your middle finger was 4 and so on?
How about the number 65?
How about the number 147?
How about the number 1,012?
Easy one:
How about the number 1,023?