Geo Lessons

Who says crime doesn’t pay? In the newest installment of the “Carmen Sandiego” series, it pays off in a big way by teaching kids geography skills. National Geographic also is diving deeper into the geography scene with an update of a classic software title.

“Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge”: In the latest “Carmen Sandiego” game, players join top ACME agents Jules Argent and Shadow Hawkins as they investigate heists by the elusive Carmen. As with previous “Carmen Sandiego” games, children follow clues that require them to jet around the world.

Children chase Carmen in eight missions. Each takes gumshoes on a circuitous route to several countries. For example, when Carmen steals an ancient Maori mask from a museum, detectives fly to Moscow. After obtaining a clue found inside some stackable Matreshka dolls, they head to Thailand. There they collect more clues, which send them back to Moscow, then on to New Zealand, Mexico, Moscow and finally back to Mexico to find the lost item.

All this virtual travel is very similar to previous “Carmen Sandiego” titles, but this version has a deeper plot. At first, kids think Carmen is just a thief. But her past slowly reveals itself, and it becomes apparent that Carmen is thieving with a purpose. This additional story about the real Carmen adds a whole new level to the sleuthing.

With Carmen, children learn geography by immersing themselves in it. Players must use the database to figure out where a place is or where a product can be found.

They talk with natives at each stop, and the ACME agents can’t resist showing off their knowledge of a country in their dialogue. By searching in each international setting, kids learn facts about that place. Short of traveling everywhere yourself, there isn’t a more entertaining way to learn geography.

“National Geographic Trivia Trek 2002”: “Trivia Trek 2002” is an updated version of “GeoBee Challenge,” which tracks questions from the annual National Geographic Bee. It takes a different approach to teaching geography than “Carmen Sandiego.”

“Trivia Trek” uses a quiz show format. Players whiz through rounds of geographic trivia. What makes this software so successful is that its game format is fun and fast, and it explains each answer--regardless of whether the player answered it correctly.

The program can be played by up to three contestants at the same time. Kids go for a 10-or 20-question geography bee. After signing in, children choose an avatar and are then assigned a letter on the keyboard as their buzzer.

There are two rounds to a bee. In the first round, kids can select from three constantly changing categories. Then, a question and three possible answers are displayed. Contestants buzz in for a shot at answering the question. They are rewarded the most points if they answer quickly and are correct. Wrong answers result in negative scores. The second round does not have categories, and the possible answers are not shown.

This updated version reflects changes in maps and adds new questions to the old trivia database. The graphics are cool, the explanations are helpful, and the format is funky. This is a fun way to drill geography.

*

Jinny Gudmundsen is editor of Choosing Children’s Software magazine. She can be reached at jinny@choosingchildrenssoftware.com.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Skinny

“Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge”

* Price: $25

* Ages: 8 to 12

* Platform: PC/Mac

* System requirements: On the PC, a Pentium 166 with 32 MB of RAM and 40 MB of available hard disk space. On the Mac, a PowerPC 180 with 32 MB of RAM and 40 MB of available hard disk space.

* Publisher: Learning Co.

* The good: Eight fabulous missions

* The bad: Low replay value

* Bottom line: An entertaining way to learn geography

*

“National Geographic Trivia Trek 2002”

* Price: $20

* Ages: 10 and older

* Platform: PC/Mac

* System requirements: On the PC, a Pentium 266 with 32 MB of RAM and 100 MB of available hard disk space. On the Mac, 32 MB of RAM and 100 MB of available hard disk space.

* Publisher: Encore Software

* The good: Great follow-up information

* The bad: No adjustable difficulty

* Bottom line: An exciting geography game show