- admin@edfundah.org
All About Animals - Resources and Links
Animals for Kids
Resources and Links
There are many fantastic online resources that can bring animals from around the world into the classroom for students to learn about. Many zoos and organizations have lots of information on different animals under a zoologist’s care while some even have web cams that let kids watch animals in action.
Here are some great website resources that give students and teachers access to some fantastic websites and resources about all kinds of animals (in alphabetical order):
This is the website to visit if you love frogs. Learn weird and true facts about frogs and toads, learn about caring for frogs and check out the frog of the month.
Learn about birds at All-Birds. Identification tips, photographs, songs and calls and more.
Animal Corner is an animal encyclopedia featuring pets, wildlife, insects, Marine life, farm animals, Galapagos wildlife, Rainforest animals, venomous creatures and Reptiles.
The Animal Planet’s website has lots of resources for teachers and their students. The live section of their site links to webcams that show animals in action all over the world. It includes live feeds of sharks swimming and sloths hanging around, and many other animals as well.
ARKive is the ultimate multimedia guide to the world’s endangered species. Whether you are a teacher or a student, explore and search for videos, photos and facts about the world’s endangered animals. ARKive hosts a collection of fun and educational interactive games and puzzles as well as learning resources that can be used in a range of subjects.
This is a rabbit-hole of a website where we can easily lose track of time! In addition to lots of general educational resources, including videos, interactive games and digi-books, this site offers helpful materials on animals like this one on Remarkable Animal and Plant Life Cycles. Discover the animals native to the vast continent of Australia with A True Book: Australia and Oceania.
Dinosaur Den is an extensive site about life before and after dinosaurs. Discover the different timelines and how the dinosaurs eventually became wiped out, as well as detailed information about dinosaurs themselves from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. There are also Dinosaur Den Special Features.
The Houston Zoo’s website has an entire section devoted to animal webcams. Students can watch elephants, rhinos, and giraffes in action throughout the school day. It’s a great way to explore the space before your visit or to take a virtual field trip.
If some of the websites above seem a little too serious for your kids, visit Kids Planet. As well some excellent fact sheets, here they can play animal-themed games, like Who Am I, where they need to identify animal sounds. For another lighthearted approach to learning about animals, try the What If You Had Animal… series, which teaches kids fun facts about animals as they try to imagine what it would be like to have a shark’s teeth or a porcupine’s quills.
The LA Zoo is leading the way in saving wildlife and connecting Angelenos to the natural world by providing exemplary animal care, delivering distinctive and diverse learning opportunities, and creating unforgettable experiences. The LA Zoo is home to more than 2,100 mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles representing more than 270 different species, of which more than 58 are endangered.
This site has lots of information on underwater animals, and lets users explore different animals from the American Bullfrog to the Zebra Shark. It’s search feature gives students and teachers the opportunity to look for animals native to a certain part of the world. You could use this website as a way to spark student curiosity before a deep dive into research on an animal.
National Geographic and National Geographic Kids
These sites offer stacks of resources on animals, including videos. Young children may need help with some of the harder reading, so there are a lot of opportunities to discuss what can be learned.
The San Diego Zoo’s website has lots of pages on different animals and video clips. Students can read about Giant Pandas and Koalas or watch video clips on leopards and lemurs. There are also live cams that take students into the daily lives of tigers and penguins, and so much more.
National Wildlife Federation – Kids
Learn all about wildlife through this resource from the National Wildlife Federation. View a sample of articles found in the federation’s selection of magazines such as Ranger Rick and Big Backyard. Learn unique facts about animals and find crafts to create, and more.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute leads the Smithsonian’s global efforts to save species, better understand ecosystems and train future generations of conservationists. Its two campuses are home to more than 2,000 animals, including some of the planet’s most critically endangered species. Its website has a variety of educational programming for all ages through at-home activities, classes, school programs, webinars and more.
Switch Zoo is another site where the learning is slightly disguised by fun! Visit this Zoo-illogical park and create silly creatures by switching the head, legs, and tails with those of other animals. Over 6500 wacky combinations are possible. Children can play animal games, create their own wacky new animals, even solve jigsaw puzzles. Just imagine the fun kids will have making a unique animal and imagining its diet, its habitat, and its special features.
Despite being better suited for older children, young dinosaur fans will still adore looking at the images and videos about dinosaurs on this BBC site. Moms and dads can help youngsters read some of the fascinating fact sheets seen by clicking on images. Hungry for more? Young readers will gobble up the full-bleed photos and fun facts in Fly Guy Presents: Dinosaurs, while older readers (grades 3 and up) will revel in the “terrifying truths” revealed about the giant reptiles who ruled the skies, land and sea in The Science of Dinosaurs series.
As well as discovering more about endangered species and the important work the WWF does, this website has lots of great educational materials about animals. Check out tabs like Species, browse the excellent close-up images, and find the answers to questions like Why Are Sloths Slow? To learn more about the precious animals protected by the WWF, read the A True Book: The Most Endangered series, which features educational books on gorillas, big cat species, polar bears, and more.
