Science
Smithsonian: Fun Stuff for Kids and Teens
The Smithsonian’s kids and teens hub gathers activities from across its museums for use at home.
Animal webcams, science games, art projects and downloadable guides tie objects in the collections to things to make or investigate. Featured ideas include building a time capsule and an air-and-space activity about satellites and computer code. For a child with a broad interest and no project in mind, it offers a wide shelf to choose from.
- Ages
- Families; choose activities for the child’s reading level
- Works on
- Web browser
- Topics
- Science, History, Nature, Art
- Languages
- English
- Listed
- 2026-10-11
What kids do
- Make a time capsule
- Watch animal webcams
- Build a model satellite
- Browse invention activity guides
Who it suits
Families are the stated audience. Reading levels shift from one activity to the next, so the right pick depends on the child more than on the hub.
Notes for parents
Each link opens a different Smithsonian site with its own layout. A webcam plus one observation question makes for a short session.
Visit Smithsonian: Fun Stuff for Kids and Teens
More Science
- Solar Walk: Space Simulator 3D: A 3D model of the solar system to move around in, with scale comparisons and animations about Moon phases and tides.
- Science for Kids by Tappity: Interactive science videos, questions and a science journal, covering topics such as magnets and volcanoes.
- MarcoPolo Weather: Children adjust wind, temperature and precipitation and watch a landscape and its characters react.
- MarcoPolo Ocean: Reef building, a submersible to assemble and marine animals to find, with narration that introduces ocean words.
- Coral Reef by Tinybop: Children explore a reef food web, hide an octopus and follow food through a jellyfish to see how ocean life connects.
- Star Walk Kids: Astronomy Game: Cartoons, narrated facts and quick quizzes guide children around a moving solar system and a mobile observatory.
- The Earth by Tinybop: Volcanoes, earthquakes, fossils and shifting sediment, all on screen, showing how the Earth’s surface changes.
- Space by Tinybop: An interactive solar system model where children compare planets, tilt the Earth and follow the phases of the Moon.