En Espanol

Science Web Site for Kids Now Available in Spanish

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2--With today's launch of its newest World Wide Web site, "Ciencia Para Niños," the Agricultural Research Service expands its information outreach to include Spanish-speaking Hispanic youth. The site is a Spanish translation of Sci4Kids, the agency's year-old web site for children ages 8-13 and up.

Ciencia Para Niños is on the web at:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/espanol/kids

Sci4Kids in both English and Spanish is a series of interactive stories based on research conducted at ARS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency. It provides a fun way for kids to learn how agricultural science connects to everyday life and how scientific research helps solve everyday problems.

This morning at Lincoln Multicultural Middle School here, about 15 English- and Spanish-speaking students got a show-and-tell tour of the web sites from I. Miley Gonzalez, USDA Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics. Gonzalez showed the students some of the sites' more unusual stories, including "Bugs for Breakfast" ("Insectos Para Tu Desayuno") and "Scientists See Snowflakes Like Never Before with New Microscope" ("Científicos Ven Copos De Nieve Como Nunca Con Un Nuevo Microscopio").

Last winter, ARS first made its daily news items available in Spanish. Over 100 Hispanic print and broadcast media now subscribe.

"Making the Sci4Kids web site available in Spanish is an important next step in an ongoing initiative to make information available to the Hispanic community," said Gonzalez. "Today's children are tomorrow's farmers, scientists, policymakers and consumers. So it's important that all children have access to information about agricultural research that is significant and timely, as well as enjoyable."

Gonzalez encourages educators to use Ciencia Para Niños as a tool in interdisciplinary programs to help students gain a greater awareness of and appreciation for the role of agricultural research. Because the site is also available in English as "Science for Kids," both could be used in bilingual education programs or language classes.

To date, Ciencia Para Niños features about 18 creative stories--plus ag science project ideas and a special section on careers for new scientists. At the site's colorful home page, kids can click on a cow to read about animals, a tractor for soil, a pumpkin for nutrition…or choose high tech, satellites, or aquaculture.

"Dr. Watts"--another feature of the site--answers e-mail questions about the stories--in either English or Spanish.

The English version of Science for Kids may be viewed at:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids

Contacts: Spanish-speaking media and public can contact Sandy Miller Hays, (301) 504-1636 shays@asrr.arsusda.gov, or Marcos Ocadiz, (301) 504-1629, mocadiz@ars-grin.gov.