NIEHS Kid's Web Site

The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, NIEHS is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Specifically, the NIEHS studies the effects of the environment on human health. They offer a subsection of their website devoted to teaching kids about environmental health. Visit it at, www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/.

NIEHS Website Games

In addition to brainteasers, external links, and other informative resources, the NIEHS also includes games! Some of the games available for kids to play include:

• Toxic River Rafting Game- is a fun way kids can learn about the toxins and materials that threaten our clean water supply and endanger animals and people. We all need to work hard to keep our earth clean and safe. The game instructions tell you to take a tube ride down a 'toxic waste' river and see if you can avoid the hazards. It's also a great exercise for hand to eye coordination.
• The Vermicomposting Game (Feed the Worms!)- teaches kids about composting. The object is to feed the worms as they race around inside the compost bin. This is another hand to eye game that comes with information about the benefits of worms to the soil and how to construct and operate compost bin that turns old food into plant food.
• The Puzzling Physics Game- is helps build a vocabulary of physics terms like Atom, Prism, Lens and Volt. It's a traditional word search grid that resets with new choices at the end of each game. There are Hidden Space and Hidden Science variations of the game, also.
• Other games include Concentration, and a great Optical Illusions game with some very interesting images. There is a whole section devoted to brainteasers, with homonyms, palindromes, riddles, picture puzzles and proverbs.

NIEHS is devoted to human health and safety. They offer an important service in providing kids with a safe place to go online. The NIEHS kids section is informative, fun and serves as a gateway into understanding the problems and dangers we face in the preservation of our environment.