Amazon.com Product Description

Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth, is an interactive science adventure that takes kids on a geological escapade to learn about volcanoes, fossils, rocks, and minerals. Kids explore 6 terrains of the earth: a canyon, an underwater volcano, a giant fault, a deep cavern, a land volcano, and inside a crystal. The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth is filled with eight games, four experiments, and six reports to keep kids playing and learning. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Follow that formula - solid, down to earth fun
The magic school bus series is brilliant. My son started with them when he turned four and each year he finds new ways of enjoying them.

The Magic School bus earth follows the tried and tested school bus formula. It takes the child through a canyon,a geode, the undersea, a volcano, a cavern,a rock fault, and of course the classroom. As usual there are puzzles and games and clickable facts at each location.

The experiments in the back are particularly good allowing the child to play with rock chemistry and activities such as making your own volcano. For some children geology will not be as magical as say dinosaurs, oceans and bugs, all of which are also highly recommended. But the content is good and if your child is already a rock collector, this CD is a must.

Many hours of contented learning, guaranteed. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Jr. High Science is the perfect series for inquisitive minds that are eager to grow. Explore geological examples of cause and effect and ponder mysterious black holes. Examine the effects of pollution and species extinction on nature's balance, study ecology, discover the natural forces that shape and define the earth's weather and climate, and explore the universe. On these CD-ROMs you'll find thousands of images, hours of multimedia presentations, hundreds of interactive questions and answers, and a customized electronic glossary. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not bad for the price
For the price, this program isn't too bad. Only 3 of the 4 CDs in the set work with Windows XP, though it's packaged as a 95/98/Me/2000/XP product. They'll send you an upgrade to make it work for an additional $10... not exactly the kind of support that warms the heart. The animations on the CDs are well done. It's best for older kids--most of the content appears to be text based, with some 3D animation thrown in. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazing Animals Activity Center is a CD-ROM that provides an introduction to the world's most incredible animals. It is based on the highly acclaimed Amazing Animals TV series being broadcast on the Disney Channel in the United States and the United Kingdom. The interactive box contains more than ten different games and activities, which are designed to illustrate the most fantastic and often surprising aspects of animal behavior, appearance, and habitat. The emphasis throughout these games is on fun things to do and fascinating facts to absorb, so children develop their reasoning skills, learning while they play. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

BioTutor gives students the opportunity to work interactively with the subject of biology. BioTutor promotes higher grades and higher test scores, can decrease the amount of time spent studying, and covers the full curriculum from a typical first or second course in biology at the high school or college level. This software offers a choice of taking a tutorial or a practice chapter test in any one of 20 biology subject areas, or taking a practice semester exam including any combination of the 20 subject areas. A student working through the tutorials within BioTutor is given immediate feedback at each step. This immediate feedback helps to reinforce material from textbooks and classrooms. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

mary of boston
i was very disappointed in this software. although it does help with test taking, it does little in the way of initial presentaion of the material. even the "tutorial mode" is actually more test taking. so, if simply practicing test questions is the goal, this is a great program. but, in terms of allowing a user to learn the material or go beyond the rote delivery of information in school, this software falls far short of of what it promises to do.

BioTutor
BioTutor helped me to excel and gave me an advantage over the other students in my class. BioTutor's probing questions and diagrams make a difficult subject easy to understand.

BioTutor
"I've been using BioTutor® and it really helps. It's pulled up my grade from a B to an A. The only reason I was getting a B before was because I didn't have very good test scores. However, on my most recent test (on Genetics) I got a 37 out of 35 points (including a 2 point extra credit question) because I had reviewed that chapter in BioTutor®. It's really helpful!"

9th grade biology student, Portage, MI

BioTutor
"BioTutor®, ChemTutor®, and PhysicsTutor® are the best educational software packages I have seen for science students. They help students of all ability levels to get better grades with less total studying time. They help students to learn more efficiently and more effectively."

Ted Lutkus, Science Department Chair, Westtown School

BioTutor
"I worked with BioTutor® over the weekend before a major test in AP Biology. I can definitely say that BioTutor® was significant in my getting the best grade in the class. It especially helped me to get a stronger grasp of all the facts and concepts, and to gain a better understanding of how they all fit together."

Eric Klose, 12th Grade AP Biology Student, Downingtown, PA ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean is an interactive science adventure that helps children learn about the wonders of the ocean as they join the Magic School Bus class to explore the seven ocean zones. Available for both Macintosh and PC platforms, this CD-ROM software is designed to entertain and encourage a sense of adventure and exploration, especially about science and technology. The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean teaches key science concepts in a fun and age-appropriate way. (Ages 6-10) ... Read more

Reviews (3)

same old thing: run through and it's done
I was very disappointed by this software. My daughter, at 5 on the young end of the age scale for this package, did virtually everything in it in just a few hours (three sessions). We now add it to the pile CD-Rom "run throughs": she may occasionally pick it up, but its originality is essentially exhausted. While there are some nice features in it - graphics, sounds, info - they are very very light. For what there is of it, the content is not bad.

Also, iMac users beware: every time we put it on, it screws up our screen - blanks out other applications, eventually freezing it in strange colors - and we have to reboot to play anything else. It also refuses to "eject" from normal commands and so we have to manually pull it out.

The best of a great series
The magic school bus series is a great series, and we have found this one perhaps the most entertaining of them all.

The magic school bus takes the child on an adventure of exploration, to a sandy beach, a deep ocean, a coral reef, a kelp forest, a tidal pool, deep see vaults and the open ocean. There are games and activities at each destination, and the child can go to the back of the bus and busy oneself with scientific experiments.

When my son was four he really enjoyed clicking around the ocean at the hundreds of click-able objects and busying himself with the simple activities. Now at five he has come back to it and has discovered that he has the co-ordination to play the more difficult games, and the understanding to laugh at the fun facts.

The information is rich and interesting, and we can build on the knowledge when we go to the coast or to the aquarium.

He has still to grow into reading the reports, collecting the fish cards and really understanding the scientific experiments. However the richness of the material means that he can put the CD away and return to it several months later and discover new facets and new dimensions. I think we have much pleasure and exploration left.

A great CD from a great series.

Really fun!
My 4 year old can't get enough of this game. He's been able to figure it out without much assistance and has really been enjoying it. However, the sound goes out occasionally and requires a reboot. Still, it's a great game! ... Read more

Features

• Help Stanley find his missing shark teeth and animal cards, by going on a hunt for facts about sharks
• Complete a fun series of activities to fill Stanley's Big Book Of Everything
• Each successful activity earns Stanley a piece of his shark model -- help him complete it before show-and-tell day
• Stanley's best friend, Dennis the goldfish, presents kids with tons of interesting facts about animals
• Filled with important early learning concepts, reinforced with fun little quizzes

Features

• Join Caillou as he explores what nature has to offer
• Fun puzzles, songs, and problem-solving games for each season
• Learn about numbers, letters, rhyming, measurement, and more
• Enjoy printable creations, clickable animations, and fun songs
• Includes 4 season themes, 8 activities, and 3 skill levels

Features

• Browse through hundreds of the latest astronomy graphics and programs
• 250 programs and 4,000 photos to draw from -
• The cutting-edge new interface lets users search the entire contents of the CD at a glance
• Planetarium & star-charting software help users learn about the location of star and the movements of the planets
• Moon phase calculators and observation logs help you track your studies of the skies

Reviews (5)

Repetitive matching game, not much learning.
My 5 year old son does enjoy I See Sue, but I hoped for a more educational experience than this. The little informative elements are not interactive and he learned most of the content from a night of reading a good dinosaur book. Not recommended by a mom who prefers her child to be gaining a little more out of time spent on a computer.

This game is not for you! . . . . (It is for your kid.)
I am the main designer of this game.

It is painful to see some customers unhappy with their purchase. It clearly is not what they expected.

It was not designed to entertain busy adults. Instead, we played the game with four-year olds in a day care center until they could easily grasp the game, but still had to be pulled away.

Nor was it designed to be "educational" - as if there were a paleontology curriculum in kindergarten. If you want your child to distinguish the Jurassic era from the Mesozoic, buy a different title. Instead this game teaches your child to make wise trade-offs and to think ahead. You choose.

If you can read this review, you will probably find the game slow-paced and repetitive. You might quit before you discover that it is also subtle, deep and exciting.

We liked it!
Well, kids are different, aren't they? My 5-year-old liked playing cards against the computer to match the dinosaur parts, he liked seeing his dinosaurs appear on the various gameboards, and he liked the "prizes" which were coloring pages he could print out. It IS repetitive, but often kids this age like repetition. I wouldn't say it's highly educational about dinosaurs, but just as we don't have only one kind of book in our collection, we have a variety of software. I can tell my son enjoyed mastering this game.

[....]
No users manual, no help file, no clear explanation or guidance in the program itself. If I can't figure out what the point of this game is, then how can my four-year-old be expected to make any sense of it?

Don't Buy Sue the T.Rex
I just finished playing this game with my 4 year old son and I must say that neither of us found this title to be even remotely entertaining. It lacks the depth, superb graphics, and variety of the VERY good dinosaur game - Dinosaur Adventure 3-D. The entire game is this simple: Match 3 dinosaur tiles (head, mid-section, and tail) before your opponent does... and do it again, and again, and again... I didn't play it with my son for more than 20 minutes before I gave up from sheer boredom. I would suggest spending your money on Dinosaur Adventure 3-D instead. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

A collision with a meteorite has stopped Earth from rotating on itsaxis! Now half of the planet is turning to a ball of ice while the side facingthe sun gets hotter... and hotter. If the planet is to survive, you mustgenerate enough electricity to power a giant impulse machine, the only devicethat can get the planet rotating again. The only problem is with the impulsemachine's electrical generators--not only are they scattered throughout theworld, none of them is working correctly.

Physicus is a first-person role-playing game in the style of Myst,designed for players aged 10 and older. Players click through a nearly endlessseries of gorgeously rendered scenes, scanning any stray objects they find andusing them to repair and activate the electrical generators. The key differencebetween this and similar games, though, is that all the puzzles inPhysicus are based on solid scientific principle.

Fortunately, you do not have to be a wizard in optics, Newton's principles ofmotion, or any other aspect of the physical sciences to play this game. Theexpert is provided for you, in the form of a virtual laptop, which can guide youthrough your world-spanning task. Within the laptop, the fundamental concepts ofphysical science are laid out in a clear and entertaining format, complete withdiagrams and animated illustrations. This banquet of information is broken intobite-sized morsels for younger players, and is available for access at any pointin the game. What's more, the game is very well cross-indexed, with links to thecorrect sections of the laptop appearing whenever a puzzle presents itself.

Physicus is one of the rare educational games that genuinely have it all:great story, super graphics, and truly interesting puzzles. Visually, it melds alush Victorian retrotech sensibility with hardcore educational content. Thefirst-person interface gives the players the opportunity to fully imaginethemselves in this complex adventure. Engaging enough to hold the attention ofadults as well as younger players, it makes an excellent shared project for aparent-and-child team. --Alyx Dellamonica ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Awesome graphics, but a huge disappointment
This game looked so cool as it made my Pentium 1 computer crash again and again that I purchased a new Pentium 4 machine JUST TO GET THIS GAME TO RUN!

Physicus has an intriguing storyline. Awesome, superior 3D graphics. The reference material is top rate.

But the game: In a scavenger hunt scenario you search for clues then solve problems. There is not enough direction. Hours of aimless frustrating hunting. There is no help in the game that provides any guidance as to what to do next.

The Tivola website offers some guidance, even shows you the answers for the next step but this leaves you no feeling of success. Even after these Tivola hints, you still can't find subsequent clues until more aimless frustrating hunting.

I don't like scavenger hunts where I don't know what I'm looking for so this game is a huge disppointment for myself and 9 yr old child.

It could be useful as reference material for explaining physics related subjects to kids, but the game needs a greater degree of direction.

Physicus
Physicus is a terrific game. It is similar to Myst, with the game play and graphics, and has the added bonus of being very informative. The information on optics, mechanics, acoustics, electricity, and heat are excellent. Some of my middle school students love it. They have fun playing, and they're learning.

Famous Software Tool
This software is found to be educational for those who are currently interested in the physics field and/or want to pursue future careers that generally involve physics. Recently, I've observed that the software itself is truly designed for teenaged students aged 10-16, in grades 5-11 and an excellent resource for physics-related science coaches. After all, it also provides an opportunity for many middle and high schoolers to excel in this software for many education purposes.

For instance, it is mainly used for situations when a teenager wants to try harder to sucessfully progress his masteries in various courses without any of bothersomeness in his parents' authority. As an idealist of the new century, I hope you find this to be your success material of all!!

Need More Work From the Creators
This game is an interesting one, but completely confusing. I would like if it could tell the player what she/he is supposed to do. I try to play this game, but I am always bewildered about what exactly do I have to do to reach the next level. I just get lost and walk around for like hours without a clue! You should say something like "Here you must solve the ........." or something like that. This way people can understand what you mean and what they have to accomplish.

Really Cool
I really liked this game. The graphics are awesome and it's tricky enough to hold my attention but easy enough (okay, I looked at the hints twice!) to know that I will save the world! Very cool. ... Read more

Features

• Help young people gain a greater appreciation and understanding of basic scientific concepts -From photosynthesis to physiology, chemistry to electricity
• Complete introductions to genetics and ecology -food chains, population growth, DNA and more
• Light and electricity are explained, along with circuitry, Ohm?s Law, reflection and refraction, and other important concepts
• Newton's Laws are explained, along with motion & gravity concepts like velocity, momentum, potential & kinetic energy
• It also teaches important scientific thinking skills -developing hypotheses, gathering and analyzing data, examining cause and effect, and more

Amazon.com Product Description

Get ready for some high-flying fun with Ms. Frizzle and her inquisitive class as they discover the magic of flight. The Magic School Bus Discovers Flight Activity Center lets kids spread their wings and learn about flight, aircraft, and animals that fly. There are art activities, arcade-style games, and science experiments: kids can play games like Blaze Blasters, pilot a hot-air balloon, and earn lots of feathers for their flight cap. Players will learn science concepts through activities hosted by characters from the popular Magic School Bus TV show. The activities are designed to satisfy the demands of both education and entertainment. ... Read more