Kids Discover Online is an online library with over 1500 topics and 150 units (collection of related topics) on science and social science. What makes it unique is the way the topics are organized and presented—in a visually appealing, curiosity-inspired manner.

The topics are divided into 10 subjects or categories: American History, Earth Science, Geography, Historical Figures, Human Body, Life Science, Physical Science, Space Science, Technology, and World History. Each category is color coded; all topics that fall under a category will be labelled that category’s specific color. This is most evident when you go to the homepage and view the newsfeed, which features the newest topics (the site is updated weekly) at the top of the feed.

The best way to explore the topics, however, is through the Discover Map. This is where exciting inquiry-based learning begins. Just click on a category bubble, which then opens to a web of connected subcategory bubbles and specific articles. This way, you’ll also see related topics in other categories (and you’ll know them because they’re handily color coded!). For example, if you click on Human Body, this leads to subcategories such as Brain, Muscles, 5 Senses, etc. When you click Brain, it leads to specific topics such as Sleep, How Learning Works, and Nerves, among others. It also includes subcategories like Cells, which is under Life Science, and Language, which is under Technology. Clicking on Language connects you to subcategories like Lungs (Human Body), Ancient Greece (World History), Immigration (American History), and Shakespeare (Historical Figures).  

You could also choose to explore very specific topics without the distraction of the connected web by clicking on the list icon on the upper right-hand corner. This lists all 10 categories alphabetically, and when you click on a category, it lists all available subcategories. Clicking on the latter will then list all the topics that you can read. Another way to learn about topics is to simply look for them using the Search function.

Kids Discover Online is one of the most visually-appealing websites I have seen. The layout is clean, with lots of white space, the colors are striking without being too gaudy, and each topic article is designed with crisp photos and interesting illustrations. When you read an article, you can also toggle a ‘ruler’ that highlights three lines at a time, the way a physical ruler would if you were reading a book. This, I suppose, helps struggling readers stay focused on the reading, breaking down the paragraphs into manageable chunks.

You can also change the reading difficulty of the text in every article. There are three options: Lexile Level 560L-740L, appropriate for third and fourth grade; 750L-890L, for fifth and sixth grade; and 900L-1040L, for seventh and eighth grade. This way, children with different reading levels can still appreciate the materials without struggling too much with comprehension and ease of reading.

Kids Discover Online has three subscription options. You can sign up for free, with limits on the number of topics you can access, or you can sign up for $4/month for a single user account. There is also a $12/month option for schools (or co-op classes, maybe?) that allows you to create a virtual classroom and create your lessons using the Kids Discover Online materials.

My daughters, who are seven and 10, enjoy their time on Kids Discover Online. When I have back-to-back-to-back killer deadlines and have no time for school, I let them loose on Kids Discover Online for independent, interest-led learning. I list down the topics that I would like them to cover or read up on and they can explore on their own. My 10-year-old is taking American History now, and there are just so many topics that jive with our lessons. My 7-year-old is doing World History, but most of the time she checks out random topics.

If I don’t monitor them, though, they could stay clicking and reading for hours. It’s like going down a rabbit hole! Even for me (but it is way better than the rabbit hole that is Facebook and BuzzFeed). I also appreciate that there are no ads on the site, and that the material is self-contained, so there is no need to go to other unmonitored sites, so it’s safe.

It would be great if they expanded to more art and culture topics, with more literature and music, but I do understand that their specialization is Science and Social Science. With that said, I think Kids Discover Online is worth the subscription fee. And if you choose to stick to the free account, then you’d still get a lot of useful, well-created content.

- Product review by Rheea Hermoso-Prudente, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November, 2017