NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Shhhh! Can you keep a secret?

NASA has launched a new NASA Kids' Club. That's not the secret, though -- please tell everyone you know!

Image to left: The new NASA Kids' Club has five levels of games, an art area, and updates of new missions or other exciting things that are happening at NASA. Credit: NASA


The NASA Kids' Club is full of fun, exciting games. But that's not the secret either. Any child that visits the Club can figure that out.

Here's the secret: Not only are the games fun -- they're also educational.

A team of NASA educators helped create the dozen games that make up the first phase of the new NASA Kids' Club, which uses "stealth learning" to draw children in. While they're having fun launching rockets or driving across Mars, they're also learning about science and mathematics.

The games are divided into five levels, with each level associated with a grade from kindergarten through fourth grade. The games are based on national standards, and involve skills appropriate for each grade level. In the Club, however, the grade levels are not indicated, so children can find the level that's right for them. That's more "stealth learning" in action.

Image to right: A brother-sister team of testers worked together to solve a problem on the NASA Kids’ Club site. Credit: NASA

These are just some of the fun (and educational) games at the NASA Kids' Club.

-- In "Grab It," children get to control the space shuttle's robot arm to grab things that go together. The game involves picking out which things begin with the same letter, a kindergarten-level skill.

-- "Airplane High Low" challenges children to guess which number the game's airplane mascot is thinking of. Of course, there's no reason for them to know that they're developing first-grade-level number-order skills.

-- The fast-paced "Star Fall" game involves clicking on groups of stars to clear as many of them off the board as possible. Not only does the game rely on pattern-recognition skills -- children also learn a little about astronomy in the process.

-- "Flip Time" is a memory game in which players must match pictures in order for an airplane to be able to take off. Children match digital and analog clocks with the same time, using third-grade time-telling skills.

-- In "Go to the Head of the Solar System," children test how much they know about our space neighborhood by picking the planets that best answer a series of questions. The kid-friendly interface makes it fun, but any teacher can see it's also educational.

Related Resources + NASA Kids' Club

"We've developed games, engaging multimedia, visuals and educational activities at five different skill levels on the site," said Jeff Ehmen, education specialist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "We want to capture the imagination of students, encouraging them to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These materials support various national education standards at each skill level."

The NASA Kids' Club site also helps children develop an understanding of the Vision for Space Exploration. The Vision focuses NASA on a bold new mission: landing humans on the moon before the end of the next decade, paving the way for eventual journeys to Mars and beyond.

"Our goal with the NASA Kids' Club is to provide a medium that will encourage children's interest in exploring the subjects that are important to developing their early skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," Ehmen said. "We hope they visit the site often to improve their gaming skills and knowledge. With their edutainment value, these games and activities add to NASA's broad education resources."

The NASA Kids' Club was designed to be accessible to as many students as possible. The site is compatible with screen readers and other assistive technology, allowing for use by students with special needs. In addition to Flash-based games, the site features versions of its content that can be accessed in locations with slower Internet connections or computer equipment.

Image to left: Student testers enjoyed the site and gave feedback that helped in its development. Credit: NASA

So tell everyone about the new NASA Kids' Club, and how many fun games are waiting for them there. NASA Kids' Club is something which adults will find valuable to use, whether it be in the home, the classroom, the library, an after-school community program or anywhere else children and computers are together.

David Hitt/NASA Educational Technology Services