Category Archives: science apps

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WWF Together

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wwf

Just released  – a beautifully designed app for the iPad from the World Wildlife Federation. This FREE app features 8 endangered species – giant pandas, marine turtles, polar bears, elephants, tigers, bison, whales, and snow leopards. The unique and engaging features of this app includes: stories about these endangered animals with playful interactive elements, fabulous high-definition videos and image galleries – featuring photos by renowned environmental photographer Morten Koldby, cool facts about each animal, and a 3D interactive globe that tells how far you are from 60 different animals around the world. Everything about this app is wonderful – including the music. You will fall in love with the magnificent creatures presented in this app.  Additional stories about other species will be added regularly – AWESOME app !!

Highly recommended!

WWF Together - World Wildlife Fund

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Pocket Zoo HD with Live Animal Cams

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pocket zoo

Put a zoo in your child’s pocket! Pocket Zoo HD is on sale for a limited time. The app opens to an illustrated virtual zoo with 50+ animals. When kids click on an animal’s picture and the app takes them to that animal’s page. The app features: 30+ Live Animal Cams – live video streaming from zoos all over the world, 200+ wildlife video clips, animals sounds, and pictures with fun facts, descriptions, & details about each animal. If you have an animal lover in your life, you may want to explore this app. It is now $1.99 but normally sells for $4.99. I was able to download it on a day that it was FREE.  Keep reading my blog to find out if/when it is FREE again 🙂

Pocket Zoo HD ™ with Live Animal Cams - Tiny Hearts Limited

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Hickory Dickory Dock

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Hickory Dickory Dock for the iPhone/iPad is FREE for a limited time. Your child can learn to read a clock to the nearest hour while playing with an adorable, purple mouse. Kids begin by setting the time on the clock. For each hour there is an exploration that sends the lovable little mouse bouncing, springing and sleeping his way through the nursery rhyme accompanied by catchy music, sounds effects, and fun animations. The explorations in Hickory Dickory Dock simulate principles of physics –  gravity, collision, friction, weight, etc. as kids play pinball with the mouse, balance weights on a set of scales, and bounce the mouse off the walls of the clock. Very cute for preschoolers – a fun way to learn how to tell time with some physics slipped in as a bonus 🙂

Hickory Dickory Dock - Mindshapes Limited

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All About Pumpkins

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All About Pumpkins is a nonfiction e-book for the iPhone/iPad. Using simple text and photographs, it explains how pumpkins are grown and how they are used in the fall. The app is simple to use – kids just tap on the page to advance the narrative. This book would be great to read to younger children before/after visiting a pumpkin patch – short, but nicely done.

All About Pumpkins - Cindy Bracken

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Solar Walk – 3D Solar System Model

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FREE today only, this app for the iPhone/iPad has you zooming through space to learn about our solar system and the Milky Way galaxy. Winner of a Parent’s Choice Gold Award and chosen by Apple as one of the Best App in 2010 & 201, this 3D model of the solar system will fascinate kids of all ages. This app features information about each of our planets (general information, figures, internal structure, & science missions), the planets’ moons (general information & figures), comets, dwarf planets and asteroids. Information and pictures of 8 satellites (such the Hubble Telescope and the ISS) are also included. 8 movies to explain some of Earth’s phenomena are included: Size Comparison, Earth’s Cycles, Solar Eclipse, Moon Phases, Tidal Phenomena, Major Circles of Latitude, Constellations, and Cassini-Huygens. The app permits you to zoom in for a close up view of each planet, moon, etc. or zoom out to get a view of our entire galaxy. If it’s in our solar system, you are going to be able to view it and learn about it with this app! Beautifully done 🙂

Solar Walk - 3D Solar System model - Vito Technology Inc.

Highly recommended!

 

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Earth Science Volume 1

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FREE  for the iPad for a limited time, this science e-book is designed for 8 – 11 year olds & science teachers. Each page features a photograph that relates to earth science. The page also includes three scientific details about the photograph in both written and audio form – great for different styles of learners. Pertinent definitions are also included on many pages. The photos are arranged in groups – all the water photos are together, rocks & soil photos are together, etc. There are 20+ photos in this book and lots of great information but I wish there was an index to make it easier to retrieve it.

I like the combination of photography and science. Teachers could challenge their students to complete a project doing the same thing – take a photo of something in nature then research three facts to go with it. Kids need to be encouraged to take a closer look at the world around them and learn from what they see. This app helps to provide that encouragement  🙂

Earth Science Vol 1 - Alex D. Jones

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Animal Photobook 1

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FREE for a limited time for the iPhone/iPad – This app (for 3 – 12 year olds) contains beautiful pictures and fascinating facts about 12 animals. Each page poses a question about an animal such as: Is it true that snakes smell with their tongues? How do chameleons change color? etc. The answer can be read independently or read aloud by a narrator. The narrator’s voice can be set to US English or UK English. There are lots of interesting facts in this app – the kind of things kids love to learn. One minor caution – The question about the wolf asks: Are wolves really evil?  We actually addressed this issue in my third grade class when we our fairy tale/folk tale unit because the wolf was always the villain. Their answer gives a good explanation of how wolves ended up with bad reputation – no problem there. My concern is the line: You shouldn’t be afraid of wolves because they are neither evil or dangerous. I agree that wolves are not evil but I think kids need to know that any wild animal is somewhat dangerous. Other than that, this app is great.

Animal Photobook - CYBERLINE

 

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Curious George at the Zoo

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Curious George at the Zoo is currently FREE for iPhone/iPad. Designed for preschoolers, this app has kids helping Curious George wake, clean, and feed animals in the zoo. Introduced by the Man with the Yellow Hat (of course), the app then asks your child where he/she would like to go. But, buyer beware  –  there is only one section of zoo (Sunny Safari) included with the initial purchase of the app – normally $.99.

There are 5 animals for kids to learn about in this app – the hippo. giraffe, lion, parrot, and elephant. First they wake the animal up, then they clean it and feed it – fairly simple activities. Also included are age-appropriate video clips about each animal. Kids can play a game (Safari Showers) and collect stickers.

I have always loved Curious George books – the stories are timeless and can be enjoyed by kids from preschool through first/second grade. The simplicity of this app makes it most appropriate for Curious George’s youngest fans (2 – 3 year olds). I am disappointed that kids are given “a choice” of where they would like go in the app when there is only one area available without additional purchases. Choices are presented in a cute pop-up book but 3 out of 4 pages are covered by a huge “tap here to purchase” button. It feels similar to having the candy in the checkout line of the grocery story. That being said, if you have 2 – 3 year old that loves Curious George, you may want to download this app.

Curious George at the Zoo for iPad - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Earth School

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This app for iPhone/iPad is currently FREE. Designed for kids 2 – 6, it has 18 mini games for toddlers centered around the theme of Earth and its evolution. Here are some quotes from the app that will give you a feel for the content: “The universe began in a Big Bang.” /”Black Holes eat planets.” /”Ocean water originates from comets.”/The sun is about 4.5 billion years old.”/”A black hole is similar to a vacuum cleaner.”/”Life was born on Earth.”/We are composed of cells.”

The app builds vocabulary (volcano, collision, fossils, cells). Kids follow directions to complete the games: Help make the fish walk; Touch cells to help them split; Move the cloud; Touch all the eggs; Feed the dinosaur; etc. The animations & artwork in the games are appealing. The bottom line is that YOU need to decide if this app is appropriate for YOUR children as it deals with evolution vs creation.

Earth School HD - Yateland

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ABC Wildlife

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This app for the iPhone/iPad is FREE this week. It is geared towards 3 – 5 year olds to teach them about 80+ animals. The app opens to a grid arranged in ABC order. Kids can tap on a letter to bring up animals that begin with that letter or they can tap on a specific animal. As an animal’s photo appears, a child’s voice says the initial letter then reads the name of the animal (which appears in writing at the bottom of the screen). A little cartoon person drops down on the left hand side of the screen with a link to a video clip about that animal or an interactive scene. The child can scroll to the left for additional pictures & videos about each animal. There is also an exclamation point to tap on each page that gives an interesting fact about the animal pictured.

This app needs an internet connection to work because the 100+ videos are actually links to You Tube videos. They are chosen by Peapod Labs and checked to be interesting and safe for kids. Kids cannot link from this app into other You Tube content. This app is nicely done and the facts make it interesting for adults too!

Highly recommended!

ABC Wildlife - Peapod Labs LLC