A scientific mind does not have to belong to a scientist alone – you can teach your kids to think like one too.
While there are many mediums available to expose our kids to science early in life, one of the best is through reading science-focused magazines that stimulate the flow of ideas, the backbone of creativity.
What are the best science magazines for kids? The best science magazines for kids are; National Geographic Magazine, High Five Magazine, Time Magazine for Kids, Animal Magazine, Nature Magazine, Whiz Pop Bang, Ranger Kick Jr., Click Magazine, Ask, and Highlights for Children.
Kids tend to process information from a physical better more than a screen. However, a large percentage of kids prefer screen-based media with animations.
Scientific magazines for kids meet this need creating a medium of education that teaches scientific knowledge in a fun and colorful manner.
These magazines are targeted at educating children but in a rather fun and profoundly engaging way.
Kids love to read about nature and science, especially when the knowledge is interspersed with interactive content and beautiful photos to drive home points.
The decision points on which magazine you should select for your kids should revolve on the most engaging, interactive, vibrant, and educative offerings available.
These reasons considered, this article seeks to review ten of the most popular science magazines available for your kids – to guide you while picking a subscription for the appropriate science magazine for your kids.
Below are ten magazines you can subscribe to, to give your kids the best experience.
National Geographic Magazine
The name “NatGeo” is widespread across the world as one of the foremost in terms of Nature and wildlife projects, and the magazine published under its umbrella for kids is no different in terms of reputation and quality.
Filled with facts, this magazine is an incredible read for kids from the age of seven upwards.
It has an exceptional selection of photos, events, and is highly interactive.
Over 35 years after its first issue, it has accrued up to one million consistent readers.
The contents of the magazine inspire kids to gain more knowledge about our world, especially different types of animals and their interaction within stable ecosystems.
This popular magazine places a strong emphasis is placed on elegant wildlife photography – glossy images of diverse animals in various phases of their daily routine are featured regularly.
The magazine also features several jokes and games to drive home some of the points being made and ensure that your kids are learning in an atmosphere of fun – these games and puzzles lighten the subject of discussion as the primary information is being passed.
The world is brought to life on the pages, and it makes learning more enjoyable for kids.
There is no end of fun or education for children within the pages of this magazine – interesting articles, great pictures and the natural appeal of wildlife to children make this magazine a prime choice for parents looking to engage their kids in a valuable use of their leisure time.
You can find it on Amazon here.
High Five Magazine
Little kids, of around kindergarten age, to be precise, find this particular magazine appealing. High-Five Magazine is written for their age group – colorful, exciting, and fun-filled.
The launch of the magazine was the work of a children’s expert to ensure that kids of that age had their educational needs satisfied in a fun way.
It caters to the inquisitiveness of kids at an early age – so you no longer need to answer such questions such as “why is the sky blue?”
The magazine has fascinating answers to some of the most common science questions that kids of this age have.
By entertaining kids with stories, puzzles, and other activities designed to improve cognitive ability, the magazine’s primary aim of ensuring kids’ development is satisfied.
The magazine also features skills and exercises that prepare kids for mathematics and other quantitative challenges, all while keeping them hooked to the fun within its pages.
Kids across the country are eager to check the mailbox, keen to get a HighFive Magazine with their names written on top.
Kids appreciate such little gestures, and even those in the kindergarten category desire such attention to detail.
Time Magazine for Kids
Time Magazine for kids teaches your kids the value of news and staying current. It can serve as a window to the world for your kids.
It certainly implants intellectual awareness in the minds of kids and sharpens their interest in what is happening around them.
Using photographs to offer explanations for the news items it carries, this magazine provides informative articles to kids about happening events and the newsmakers.
Its topics include artificial intelligence, climate science, and extraterrestrial exploration. It has excellent graphics and colorful maps that can make your kid’s experience a lively, informative one.
Animal Magazine
Animals are perhaps one of the best interests a child can pursue from a safe distance.
Animals hold a natural fascination for kids, and the Animal Magazine certainly plays to this point; its entire focus is on animals, ranging from the domestic to wild ones, in a similar version to the National Geographic Magazine.
This magazine tells kids fascinating stories about animals and their interaction with their natural habitat. Factual articles exist to serve an educational purpose.
For kids who are crazy about animals, provisions are made for pages they can tear and hang in their room.
This is an interactive magazine as it is designed in such a way that the submission of artwork, animal photos, and stories are allowed.
So, unlike most other magazines, your children can participate by sending in entries.
While the chances that their work is going to get featured is slim due to the sheer volume of the submissions made per issue.
Nature Magazine
Nature magazine gives readers an in-depth look into the world of science and analyzes the impact it has on our daily life.
It satisfies the natural curiosity of kids to learn about the world they live in.
Getting this for your child gives them real exposure about their world, and can lay the foundation to help them become an innovative and forward thinker, helping them make positive contributions to the world around them.
The magazine deals with topical issues and allows kids to question the choices they make about their planet and the effect it has on their health.
It also supplies kids with informative news that expounds on the latest developments in the world of science.
Nature is excellent and is recommended for parents with kids that are scientifically inclined and have a potential flair for medicine, chemistry, formulas, astronomy, and mathematics.
The benefits can be increased if you allow discuss the topics with yout kids or ensure they have a discussion among themselves, with friends, or with teachers at school.
Most of the issues are not too technical or are presented in not-too-technical terms so kids can grab onto the concepts as quickly as possible.
The grammatical structure also lends itself favorably to being understood by kids; the articles are precise, exciting, engaging, and thought-provoking.
Whiz Pop Bang
The quintessential science magazine, Whiz Pop Bang features a truckload of scientific experiments, puzzles and sizzling science news in each issue.
A relatively new offering, it is published for the average kid within the age of six and eleven to further expose and prepare them for science-based courses in school.
The greatest lure of this magazine is smooth, clear instructions for real science experiments that your kids can carry out at home.
There are also interviews with notable scientists in every issue, with no advertisements are featured.
Worldwide delivery is available. Each 36-page issue offers a new rung in your child’s development and growth.
Ranger Rick Jr
Ranger Rick Jr, formerly known as “Your Big Backyard” is another magazine built on children’s love for animals.
The recipient of a 2018 Parents’ Choice Gold Award and a publication of the National Wildlife Federation is meant for children between the ages of four and seven.
The magazine gives ample opportunity to read independently or with the guidance of someone with a deeper understanding of the concepts covered.
Ranger Rick Jr has so many exciting and engaging activities, including wildlife puzzle games which serve as tools for further development and awareness.
Provisions are made for amazing “Read-to-me” stories and facts about wild animals that are sure to make your kids ask for more.
Animal friends tend to teach reasoning, arithmetic skills, and reading throughout the magazine. Kids are bound to get enticed into reading by the excellent aids provided.
Simple cooking recipes, seasonal crafts, fun games, and other amazing features are also included in this magazine.
Kids that regularly check through the magazine get a good dose of knowledge about animals, their traits, behaviors, and distinguishing characteristics.
They also understand the roles and types of habitats, making it more likely they will be intrigued by nature early in life.
Simple language and first-rate pictures and animations pique the interest of kids and lure them into spending hours exploring the animal world from the safety of the pages of the magazine.
In terms of pure animal lore, Ranger Rick jr is the closest alternative to NatGeo.
Most adults who were exposed to the magazine when they were much younger find it an indispensable tool for bringing up their children, with the result being that a lot of children that read the magazine have parents that read the same magazine when they were much younger too.
Ranger Rick jr is one of the finest introductions to the natural world available.
You can find it on Amazon here.
Click Magazine
Published by the Cricket Media group for children between three and six years old, this magazine exposes children to the way the world works by offering answers to questions they have not even begun to ask.
From Nature to Technology, Click answers basic science questions for preschoolers that can prepare them for scientific research and interests early in school life.
Backed up by a usually flamboyant catalog of pictures to drive home points, Click is one magazine that you cannot go wrong with.
Each issue holds 40 pages of polished, age-appropriate content that delivers answers to the environmental and scientific questions that most children have.
Anchored by lovable characters such as Click, the mouse, and Jane, the raccoon, Click is a great offering to shape your kids to ask scientific questions as they grow up.
Ask
“Ask” is an acronym for “Arts and Science for Kids.”
Playing on the actual meaning of its name, it is also a magazine that teaches kids to conduct in-depth investigations about the world by exposing them to the present and past thinkers, artists, scientists, and great inventors.
The winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner in 2019, Ask is published nine times each year to wide acclaim.
Ask is rightly-considered one of the most thought-provoking and exciting magazines that kids between six and nine years old can be given access to.
Ask not only teaches this very curious age-group how to ask questions, and provides them with the right answers; it also instills the proper process for researching definitive answers in kids.
Typical questions you might find in an issue of Ask include “Why do people sleep,” “Why do some animals lay eggs while others give birth to live offspring,” “What is the origin of our planet” and “Why should everyone stay clean.”
The answers to most of these questions trigger further mini-scientific inquests in the mind of these children.
According to the publisher, this magazine offers contests, projects, cartoons, puzzles, scientific articles, web experiments, and games for kids.
As a further bonus, Ask is ad-free, meaning that every single page contains vital info for your kids. This is one magazine that can be taken into the classroom as well as the home for maximum benefits.
If the most frequent question on your children’s lips is “Why,” then you might want to get a subscription to Ask for them.
It will answer most of their questions about the things around us, and then teach them how to reason scientifically and answer such questions on their own next time.
Childhood is an age of questions, and Ask provides some of the best answers available for kids at that age.
Highlights for Children
Highlights for Children, or Highlights, has been in print since 1946 to cater for the general needs of children aged six to twelve, elementary school pupils.
Decades later, Highlights has become the leading children’s magazine within the United States, demonstrating its appeal and maximum acceptability among children.
With its one-billionth copy delivered back in 2006, Highlights is one of the most popular and widely read magazines for children.
As aptly captured by its motto, “Fun with a Purpose,” Highlights hopes to teach reasoning through fun activities and games.
Dealing in science-themed puzzles, games, and projects, Highlights ensures the stimulation of creativity and development of skills required for critical thinking.
Final Thoughts
Science magazines are a great option for kids who are visual learners and enjoy learning about the world around them.
They present the opportunity to engage the child’s imagination with tools and experiments that immerse them in the relevance of the content so they develop an appreciation for the development of their scientific knowledge base.
Invest in a subscription for one or more of these magazines to give your child a great chance to learn to think scientifically at an early age.