CHILDREN’S WEB SITE PROVIDES LEARNING TOOLS FOR Insect & PEST EDUCATION

September, 17, 2008 – The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) today, unveiled its newly redesigned children’s Web site, www.PestWorldForKids.org. The site, developed for students and teachers in grades K through 8, has a fresh new look and enhanced educational content including a report writing center, science fair projects and new teacher lesson plans that support standards developed by the National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Originally developed in 2005, PestWorldForKids.org explores pest ecology and pinpoints what attracts them from their natural habitats to people’s homes. “Bugs are a topic of great interest among children,” said Greg Baumann, vice president of technical services for NPMA. “Our site educates users about many common insects and rodents in their natural habitats, but also shares the health and property risks posed by pests once they find their way into the home.”

The report writing center includes a downloadable writing manual, giving children a 10-step tutorial on researching and developing written reports. The science fair section helps students to build and test hypotheses using the scientific method and provides several projects to test these newfound skills. Teachers also benefit from new lesson plans designed to NSTA and NCTE standards in support of curricular subjects, including biology, ecology, environment and health. The lessons aim to bring creativity into the classroom with such assignments as creating Pest PSAs and writing new cases for the interactive game, Pest Detective.

Other enhancements include a pest glossary, a comprehensive pest guide, downloadable fact sheets and project PDFs, taking materials from computer desktop to backpack in just a few quick clicks.

“It’s a great tool that can be used in various levels of science and biology courses in both schools and home-schooling programs,” says Baumann. “It’s also a lot of fun for kids to explore and play the interactive games while also learning along the way.”

For more information about the site please visit www.pestworldforkids.org.