Imagine a world where Teletubbies pack heat and Spongebob goes undercover. That’s apparently what US government designers had in mind when they followed President Clinton’s 1997 order to add child-oriented Web pages to government sites. Today, the results are bizarre - cryptographic coloring books, drug-sniffing dog cartoons, and spy-satellite sing-alongs. Are they giant inside jokes? Coded messages? Only Uncle Sam knows for sure.
NRO Jr. (www.nrojr.gov)
The National Reconnaissance Office used to be so hush-hush that officials wouldn’t admit it existed. Now the spy-satellite agency has gone cute. The site has songs ("Whoosh Goes Satellite," to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"), stories of cats in space, and "simple-to-make, paper-plate satellite puppets."
FBI Kids (www.fbi.gov/fbikids.htm)
Join Darrell and Shirley, two bomb-sniffing black Labs who’re recruiting agents - from elementary schools. The site starts with a sanitized history of the bureau. (In: busting terrorists. Out: Hoover’s lingerie.) Then come classes in DNA, lie detectors, and homeland security. "Not all fingerprint files are of criminals!"
NSA/CSS Kids and Youth Page (www.nsa.gov/kids)
Spying on your neighbors is fun! Just ask Crypto Cat of the National Security Agency and the Central Security Service. These trench coats keep tabs on phone calls and email. Crypto Cat wants you to be friends with encryption, explaining how to build cipher discs and write secret messages.
CIA’s Homepage for Kids (www.cia.gov/cia/ciakids)
Youngsters can thank CIA "Ace Photo Pigeon" Harry Recon for the exciting overhead views of the agency’s Langley, Virginia, headquarters (presumably with some details redacted). Meanwhile, Ginger, a mischievous blue teddy bear, takes a tour of spook HQ - without a security badge. "Lucky the guard knows me!"
