Summer Games

If you are ready to play a computer game, stimulate a learning curve, and donate to a good cause, then it is time to go to http://www.freerice.com. This web site is educational in nature and a player can definitely learn something new by choosing to increase the difficulty of the questions. It is a charitable learning game that donates ten grains of rice for each correct answer through the United Nations World Food Program. (http://www.wfp.org/content/freerice-web-phenomenon-games-new-school-term

FreeRice is the creation of American computer programmer John Breen, and has the stated goals of providing education for everyone for free and helping end world hunger by providing free rice to hungry people for free. It has partnered with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu). English vocabulary was the first online game at FreeRice, and started in October, 2007. Game content has expanded to include questions about English grammar, art, chemistry, geography, languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish), and math. Mr. Breen donated the site to the UN World Food Program in March, 2009.

As of today, 65,698,293,580 grains of rice have been donated to help solve the problem of world hunger. This is a game that definitely emphasizes the win-win concept.

National Parks – Free Admission Days This Summer

The National Parks Service (http://www.recreation.gov) will offer free admission to all 391 national parks on June 20-21, July 18-19, and August 15-16. You can search the site by location and/or park name, and/or usage type such as Day Use, RV sites, Cabins or Lookouts, Boat sites, etc. Or you can plan your trip around an activity such as biking, boating, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, or any of the nineteen recreational categories listed.