When I used to think of the Internet, sometimes I would just think of some magical cloud in the sky.  This cloud somehow knew what websites I wanted to look at and magically gave them to me!  Maybe you've thought of the internet kind of like this too.
 

 

Sadly, there are no magical clouds in charge of the Internet.  I know, I know, I crushed all your internet hopes and dreams.  I apologize.

Let's start with what happens when you go on the Internet.  Let's say you open your Web Browser (that's the program you double-click when you want to go online, like Internet Explorer or Firefox).  Next, you probably type in the URL of the website that you want to visit ( like http://www.sciencemonster.com ).  Once you hit ENTER (or click the SEND button), that's when all the fun stuff begins!

OK, let's go on a journey through the internet to find ScienceMonster.com and bring it back to your computer.