Free Virtual Worlds for Kids

Parents who are looking for free virtual worlds for kids will find that many of them combine entertainment with education. Mokitown (which is sponsored by Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz), Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom, Whyville (sponsored by sites like NASA and the Getty Museum) and Teen Second Life are all free sites. Here's a quick look at what they offer.

Mokitown

Kids between the ages of 8 and 12 can travel around Mokitown, play games with the local robot and chat with each other. The mission of the site is to reach kids around the world, from Indiana to Italy to India, and teach them about traffic safety and courtesy on the road.

Whyville

Whyville has a mission to teach kids ages 10 to 16 about science while making it fun for them to learn. Through the use of customizable avatars, interactive games and chat, kids visit a virtual reef to learn about different species of fish or play in a rocket design lab to learn about gravity.

Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom

Disney's virtual world offered the most extensive choices for entertainment, but was also the least educational and most commercial. It provided separate areas for preschoolers where the little ones could see their favorite Disney TV and movie characters. There was a family area with a trip planning module featuring all of the Disney vacation destinations. There were blogs that each family member could set up on his own. And there was an online store where Disney merchandise was conveniently available for purchase. Unfortunately the site shut down in May 2008.

Teen Second Life

When comparing opportunities for creativity within free virtual worlds for kids, Teen Second Life has the most to offer. The age range is 13 to 17, so this is definitely a site for older kids. It is completely separate from the adult areas in Second Life, but kids have the same infinite possibilities for customizing their avatars, building virtual landscapes and developing virtual land.

Age recommendations

All of these free virtual worlds for kids post recommended ages, but parents should consider how well their children fit. For example, the age range for Whyville is 10 to 16. But if your child has just turned 10, do you really want her hanging out with 16 year olds? It may be perfectly fine, and in the case of the science-oriented and closely moderated Whyville it most likely is safe. But ultimately, parents need to decide how much freedom or supervision they will need to provide for their children.

When searching for free virtual worlds for kids, look for sites that have active moderators, filters that screen out inappropriate user names and chat language, and technical limitations on what the avatars or virtual characters can do. Sites sponsored by international corporations like Daimler and Disney have their corporate identities at stake, so they go to great lengths to build in safety features. But nothing is an effective at keeping kids safe online as active parent participation.

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