Positive Apps & Sites for Girls in the Digital Age | Forcefield

Whether you’re looking to provide inspiration about women excelling in sciences for your budding high school engineer, or want a more modern — and empowering — version of classic fairy tales for younger children, an abundance of apps and websites are created specifically for girls. Which isn’t to say that some of these wouldn’t be great for boys, too!

GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine

Girls (and boys!) can learn the fundamentals of animation with this intuitively designed app. With easy-to-follow instructions, kids can convert their photos into original stop-motion short films. Stickers, colors, paintbrushes let you customize the creations even more. Designed for kids 6-8.

Kalley’s Machine Plus Cats

A truly bar-raising interactive kids book, this app is inspired by real-life drawings of Kalley, a 4-year-old girl who drew a machine she hoped her dad could build. The machine was never realized, but this great app was. Highlighted text and an unbeatable variety of ingenious interactive elements make this a keeper, to be played over and over again. Best for kids 5 and under.

Cinderella by Nosy Crow

Nosy Crow developers are known for creating some of the very best reinterpretations of classic children’s stories, and Cinderella is no exception with beautiful illustrations and boundary-pushing interactivity that fully immerses readers in the story. Here the tale is set in modern day with a step-mom and sisters who are more misunderstood than malevolent, and a prince who values Cinderella’s kindness over cuteness. Kids can read the book themselves or hear it told to them through a mix of narration and dialogue. Almost every page includes interactive elements that are all but guaranteed to captivate. For kids 3-8.

SciGirls

Aimed at introducing tween girls to science ideas, projects and challenges, SciGirls is based on the PBS television show. A mix of animated and live action content contains projects, games and videos — both abstract and highly practical. The Friends functionality pairs like-minded girls with similar science interests to problem solve and explore together. Created for tweens.

Engineer Girl

A project of the National Academy of Engineering, Engineer Girl is an exceptional site dedicated to inspiring and encouraging girls to pursue careers in engineering. Video interviews with female engineers of a variety of ages, the latest in contests and scholarships, and a blog that highlights little known facts about the field all come together to create an excellent destination for science-minded girls. Created for tweens.

Girl Effect

This is an empowering site dedicated to highlighting the ways adolescent girls can create change in their families, villages and countries. International in scope, with articles, videos and compelling statistics on global poverty, Girl Effect offers insight into the problems and challenges of young girls across the globe, giving them ideas and inspiration on how to be a force for change. For tweens and teens.

Makers

Touting itself as the largest collection of videos dedicated to telling women’s stories, Makers highlights high-achieving women in all fields, from politics to boxing, activists to architects, and teenagers to octogenarians. Hillary Clinton, Carol Burnett, Marissa Mayer, Judy Blume and hundreds of other women speak candidly about their accomplishments, challenges and convictions at this AOL-developed project. Amazing for teens.

Smart Girls at the Party

With an aim to create what she calls a funny version of the Girls Scouts, comedian Amy Poehler and producer Meredith Walker started the web series Smart Girls at the Party in 2008. All of the videos, which feature Poehler interviewing teenage girls about their passions, interests, worries and dreams in a compellingly down-to-earth way, as well as articles, are featured on the site. Geared for teens.

Ban Bossy

A fabulous site geared towards girls, Ban Bossy is a nonprofit started by Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg in partnership with Girl Scouts. The basic premise is this: When boys assert themselves, it’s called leadership; when girls to the same, they’re branded as “bossy.” The site helps shift that notion from bossy to leadership via a powerful selection of statistics, articles and voices challenging the “bossy” label. Great for elementary age girls.