Catch School Bus to Volcanoes
Talk about timing. With Mt. Etna spewing lava and dust all over Sicily, Microsoft has erupted on the children’s software scene with a new Magic School Bus title about--you guessed it--volcanoes.
“The Magic School Bus Volcano Adventure Activity Center” is aimed at children ages 6 to 10.
Montparnasse Multimedia also has come out with a good science adventure called “The Living Sea.”
Here’s a look at what each has to offer.
‘The Magic School Bus Volcano Adventure Activity Center’
Players jump aboard the Magic School Bus and cruise to the Volcano Observation Station. While there, children can play games, explore activities, conduct interactive experiments and watch videos of volcanoes erupting. This game is filled with information about volcanoes.
Since many children will have seen something in the news about Mt. Etna, this is the perfect time to hop onto the Magic School Bus. Everywhere they click, they can learn something new.
Some of the cool things children will discover include three multilevel games. One parallels what firefighters are doing on Mt. Etna as they place barriers to redirect lava flows away from buildings. As virtual lava starts to flow down an inhabited mountainside, players must think quickly to plunk down barriers in such a manner as to keep the lava from destroying people’s homes.
The title includes four activities. In one, children can compare famous volcanoes. Another allows children to get creative in planning an ecosystem on the side of a dormant volcano.
Budding volcanologists also can perform virtual experiments. In one, children experiment with combining gas pressure with different types of magma. It’s great fun finding the right combination to blow the lid off the mountain.
Kids will be able to see real video footage of Mt. St. Helens exploding and get up close to lava flows. The software also shows how volcanoes are created.
“The Magic School Bus Volcano Adventure Activity Center” is a great way for children to learn about volcanoes without the danger of being close to one. Though there is no story line or incremental rewards to motivate children to play the title, the highly interactive setting is fun for children interested in learning more about volcanoes.
‘The Living Sea’
“The Living Sea” is a gentle and beautifully drawn piece of software that offers children many ways of learning about the world under the sea. In this fanciful world, fish and other sea creatures talk to the players.
The main menu offers children three choices: go on an adventure; play five games; or explore activities, such as coloring or writing.
The adventure is really quite charming. To help a little lost dolphin, children embark on a nine-part mission to find a special scallop choir. They rescue a clown fish from a fisherman’s net, navigate through a maze of lobsters, avoid the stinging tentacles of jellyfish and out-swim a horde of sharks. Each part of the mission introduces children to different sea creatures. The adventure culminates in a musical extravaganza.
The five games provide a variety of fun ways to learn about sea life. Players can design their own fish (all essential parts such as gills, fins and skeletons must be included), discover various sounds of the sea by playing a sound-matching game and learn about which animals are found on a beach by playing a matching game.
Players also will find coloring pages with various kinds of fish, a simple dictionary of undersea life and a place to create postcards and invitations with fishy themes.
“The Living Sea” has a few navigational shortcomings. When playing the adventure, a child can’t save it partway through. At times, the instructions are insufficient. Also, working with the program’s tool bar takes some practice.
But “The Living Sea” is a special title because it creates an interactive environment that encourages children to learn as they explore. This isn’t in-your-face academics; rather, it is subtle learning as you play. It can be enjoyed by children ages 4 to 8.
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Jinny Gudmundsen is editor of Choosing Children’s Software magazine.
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The Skinny
“The Magic School Bus Volcano Adventure Activity Center”
Publisher: Microsoft/Scholastic
Price: $20
Platform: PC/Mac
System requirements: On the PC, a Pentium 166 running Windows 98 or later with 16 MB of RAM and 15 MB of hard disk space. On the Mac, a PowerPC 233 MHz running Mac OS 8.1 or higher with 32 MB of RAM and 15 MB of hard disk space.
Ages: 6 to 10
The good: Terrific interactive environment with fun games and activities
The bad: No story line or motivational rewards
Bottom line: A great way to explore volcanoes
“The Living Sea”
Publisher: Montparnasse Multimedia
Price: $30
Platform: PC/Mac
System requirements: On the PC, a Pentium 233 running Windows 95/98 with 48 MB of RAM. On the Mac, a PowerPC 233 MHz running System 7.5 or higher.
Ages: 4 to 8
The good: Beautiful graphics depicting an exciting underwater world
The bad: Clumsy navigation and mediocre instructions
Bottom line: A magical underwater world that teaches as children play
