If curiosity really killed the cat, then I’m in grave danger. My whole job is about curiosity. I want to know how people do things and use things. And then I ask why, why, why. My poor wife. Not only is she hearing this from me, but we have a six-year-old. Anyone who’s ever been around a six-year-old knows that why, why, why is their main mode of communication. I can feel her getting close to the answer “Because I said so!”  To avoid this answer (and to avoid a total meltdown from my wife), my son and I are now avid users and fans of Tim and Toby of the free education app BrainPOP.

Each day, BrainPOP features a movie that I can watch with my son and we can answer the question why, why, why. Or we can start to try to answer it. The subjects range from science to engineering and the arts and music. My son’s favorite video is Aliens because he is a Ben 10 fanatic these days and, well, anything alien-related is cool. I think he was a little disappointed that “serious aliens” have not been discovered… yet! My favorite video is wind energy. One time my son asked me how wind turbines worked, and I wasn’t sure. So opened BrainPop and found it. Now we both know.

When you open BrainPOP you’ll find a well-designed experience for kids and parents, including clear, simple categories that make it easy to get started. After you find a video you like and watch it, they have links to more information, related topics, activities, quizzes, and more to test your knowledge and keep the learning going. The design is very kid-friendly and everything is kid-safe, so parents don’t have to worry about inappropriate material.

Possibly the best part about BrainPOP is that it focuses the why, why, why conversation. After watching the videos with my son, we can dig around on the Internet to continue answering the why’s. Once we’ve satisfied our curiosity, we share our findings with my wife, who appreciates new information and the relief from the why’s.

Check out BrainPOP yourself and tell me what you think. But be warned – I might just ask you why ;)