🎮 Learning games and sites · 🔠Science, nature and the world
Ducksters
By Technological Solutions, Inc.. Visit Ducksters
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A free, ad-supported reference site written for kids, with short articles on history, biographies, geography, science, math and more, plus quizzes and simple games. A student might read about ancient Egypt or the water cycle, check a works-cited link for a report, then play a math or typing game. It is a common homework stop for grades 3-8.
Our take: A handy free starting point for elementary and middle school homework, best paired with a library source.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 2 out of 5 | Programmatic ads loaded through Playwire and Google; the first screen showed a Beyblade X toy ad above the content. |
|---|---|
| Data: 2 out of 5 | 3 ad networks (doubleclick.net, Playwire, googlesyndication.com) and the Celtra rich-media ad service loaded before consent. |
| Ease: 3 out of 5 | Big duck mascots label each section, but a cookie bar and a banner ad sit on top, and the links are plain small text. |
| Cost honesty: 5 out of 5 | Free, with no upgrade or pay prompts seen. |
What we found
- Contacted 15 third-party sites, including 3 known ad networks plus celtra.com and 2mdn.net (ad creative hosts).
- 7 cookies set, including from doubleclick.net, playwire.com and intergient.com.
- The screenshot shows a Beyblade X (Hasbro toy) banner ad at the top of the page.
- Links out to kidsafe.com (a kidSAFE seal) and playwire.com.
From the test: A handy free homework reference for kids 8 to 14, paid for by programmatic ads, including toy ads, on the first screen.
| Ages it suits | about 8-14 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Not stated in the terms of use. The site is made for kids, collects no names or passwords, and is certified by the kidSAFE Seal Program. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free with ads (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | Yes |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI. |
What's good
- Free, no sign-up
- Kid-level writing across many subjects
- Citation help for reports
- kidSAFE certified
Watch for
- Ads on every page
- Articles are short and not expert-reviewed
- Games can distract from reading
Data and privacy
Does not collect names, addresses or passwords. Ads come from Playwire's Kids Club, which it says is COPPA compliant; ad providers may set cookies and access device identifiers. Uses Google Analytics and Google search with personalized ads off. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
The maker's own claims only; we found no independent study.
In the Big Index
- On the list Top 50 free game sites for kids (2026)
- On the list Top 50 free learning sites for kids (2026)
- Ducksters
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Where these facts come from
- https://www.ducksters.com/
- https://www.ducksters.com/about.php
- https://www.ducksters.com/termsofuse.php
- https://www.ducksters.com/privacy_policy.php
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.