11 features of Wonderopolis we love

Our favorite website for WONDERing and learning, Wonderopolis.org, is turning 11 years old today! Since 2010, Wonderopolis® has provided engaging learning content to millions of learners around the world for free. To celebrate another year of delivering high quality Wonders of the Day®, we’re sharing 11 features that make Wonderopolis a beloved resource for educators and families alike!

  1. The Wonderopolis library now consists of over 2,800 Wonders of the Day across a variety of topics. Is there something you’ve always wondered? Enter keywords into the search bar or browse by topic. Fair warning: readers have reported time flying by too quickly as reading one Wonder sparks exploration of another…and another!
  2. WONDERing is more accessible than ever now that Microsoft’s Immersive Reader is available for all Wonders of the Day! Click the Listen button under the Wonder question. To listen to the Wonder read aloud in English, click the teal play button at the bottom of the screen. Or, click the book icon in the top right corner and select from over 100 languages in the Translate drop down.

  3. Wonderopolis is one of Flipgrid’s Discovery Partners. Flipgrid is a free digital tool that allows teachers to create “grids” in order to facilitate video discussions. It’s used by millions of students, educators, and families in over 180 countries around the world. To date, over 900 Wonders have been added to Flipgrid and are arranged in collections to help in lesson planning.

  4. With the Wonderopolis Explorer Program, learners can engage in WONDERing during out-of-school time. The program consists of 10 weeks’ worth of learning content with easy-to-follow lesson plans and hands-on activities. Each Explorer Program activity includes step-by-step instructions to support facilitators in guiding learners as they investigate a topic and engage in project-based learning. Each week can be purchased separately or as a bundle that includes swag. Fall break is right around the cornerwhat better time to try the program for free! Click here to download the free sample.

  5. With many more students learning virtually, Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom are ubiquitous across schools. Wonders can be posted to both platforms directly from Wonderopolis by accessing their icons located on the left side of screen and under Share this Wonder.
  6. Did you know the media gallery of each Wonder of the Day includes several images as well as an informative and interesting video sourced from YouTube and Vimeo? These help support comprehension as well as build reader interest. 
  7. Several Wonders have videos produced by Emmy Award Winner Charlie Engelman, writer, producer, and director of two National Geographic television series, Nature Boom Time! and Weird But True. Check out his fun, engaging videos at Wonders with Charlie and his livestream series on YouTube.
  8. The Wonder of the Day can come right to your inbox. Families can wonder over breakfast or as a way to cap off the evening before bedtime by reading the day’s Wonder by email. The “Still Wondering?” section of the daily email shares a lesson or activity to the extend the learning. Sign up for your daily dose of Wonder here.

  9. Canva, an online design and publishing tool, has partnered with the team at Wonderopolis to create a set of Wonder of the Day activity templates that students can complete once they’ve finished exploring a Wonder of the Day. These templates are designed to further students’ learning and help teachers, parents, and caregivers assess students’ comprehension of a topic. Check out the free templates here! 

  10. Wonderopolis has an abundance of accessible content for learners of all ages and we want to share it with you! Our #WonderWednesday Youtube playlist explores all the features of Wonderopolis.org.
  11. Want to dive in further? Hear from the Wonderopolis team at the 2021 Families Learning Conference, where we’ll explore the site in depth as well as how to incorporate Wonderopolis in family engagement.
  12. And one to grow on — Stay tuned as we partner with Virtual World Society and Exponential Destiny to bring immersive experiences to the Wonders of the Day! These experiences will be available within Virtual Reality (VR) headsets as well as on 2D tech such as phones, laptops, and tablets.

Do you have a favorite feature of Wonderopolis? Share it in the comments!