- Supports Key Stages 1-2 of the National Curriculum.
- Science topics come to life with simple presentations and hands-on experiments.
- Set in 3 locations: the southern U.S., Britain, and a tree house.
- Each lesson includes fascinating factoids.
- Experiments are easy to perform and require participation.
- For ages 7-11.
.co.uk Review
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Bring an entire laboratory into your home with I Love
Science!; or, better yet, bring three laboratories! Rosie's
Treehouse covers the essentials of biology, from the human body
to animal habitats. Al's Kitchen is a chemistry lab, where you
can mix or separate ingredients and learn how different types of
materials interact. Finally, Mo's Workshop is dedicated to
physics, home to experiments with electricity, heat, and light,
along with the other forces. Within these labs, players between
the ages of 7 and 11 discover the underlying concepts of science.
Each lab is set up identically. With Mo, Rosie, or Al to guide
them, players perform simulated science experiments--seeing if a
hockey puck will slide farther on ice, carpet, or wood, for
example--and then answer a series of multiple-choice questions
regarding their observations. The questions are broken into short
bursts of five, ensuring that children will follow an activity
with a short quiz, then return to a new exploration phase.
All educational software must strike a balance between fun and
learning, and I Love Science! is tilted strongly toward its
learning component. This is a game that expects players to work
and think, one that comes with special sections to help teachers
and parents get the most out of the player's game time; there is
little in I Love Science! thrown in purely for the sake of
entertainment. Children without some interest in the game's
subject matter might, as a result, be resistant to playing.
The great strength of this program is less the wealth of
information in its database (which is, in fact, extensive) but
rather the way in which it teaches children the cornerstones of
the scientific method. Rather than simply presenting information
on friction or human anatomy, the experimental activities give
players a chance to work out the dynamics of science for
themselves. The quizzes then help them discover if the
conclusions they have drawn are the correct ones. I Love Science!
also comes complete with an understanding that there is no
substitute for hands-on, real-life experiments... and when you
complete a round of virtual games, you "win" a page, which
details an actual experiment you can perform using inexpensive
household materials.
For students eager to unlock the mysteries of the universe or
anyone looking for a painless way to absorb the basic concepts of
science, I Love Science! is an ideal choice. --Alyx Dellamonica
Review
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When we saw this interactive science lab we hoped kids
could do some scientific discovery without the muss and fuss. The
problem is that the open-ended scientific thinking part of the
program is missing. Three science labs, hosted by animal
characters, contain over 30 activities each. In Al's Kitchen, for
example, kids are introduced to chemistry concepts by reading
scientific definitions and conducting experiments. Unfortunately,
the text goes on and on and is written at a reading level too
difficult for children at the lower end of the suggested age
range. The experiments are disappointing, too. Free exploration
is not possible and children can only experiment with the lab
materials in a particular way. For example, kids test to see what
will happen when materials like rice, salt and ground coffee are
mixed with water and placed in a coffee filter, but they cannot
include other ingredients found in the lab. After kids are done
with their experiments they get a quiz that tests what they've
learned. They can go back and visit any activity as often as they
like, but each time they'll find the same experiments and the
exact same five questions. Strengths of the program include easy
navigation and clear directions. Experiments are plentiful (over
100 in all) and children can decide where and when they want to
visit each of the labs. While testers enjoyed many of the
experiments and liked earning the stars, they were disappointed
that their rewards didn't culminate in a grand finale or some
other end-goal. Although children found lots of science content,
they tired of the repetitive activities. Overall, there's lots of
interesting information presented, but as an interactive science
lab the program misses its mark.
Teaches: biology, physics, matter
Age Range: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Copyright © 2000 Children's Software
Revue -- From Children's Software Revue® (
/exec/obidos/tg/stores/feature/feature/-/software/158722/ )