Description:
Greetings, space rangers! Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear and the playthings that inhabit Andy's bedroom will change your definition of "educational toys" as they make light work of some fairly advanced learning material. Andy is gone, and Buzz takes it upon himself to rally the toys for some teaching and fun. "Are you ready to exercise your romping skills?" he asks, gesturing grandly across the bedroom. Nine activities provide a full curriculum of early-learning challenges: math (including fractions), music, geography, spelling, reading, and telling time. Disney's designers didn't forget the fun factor, either: kids build their vocabulary and spelling skills by helping Buzz shine his flashlight around the dark bedroom, looking for items that match the words and images on another toy's screen. And for a geography lesson, Buzz helps kids place continents on the globe. The music area is a real standout. There's a full four-octave keyboard complete with reverb, and exploration yields click-and-drag cassettes that transform the board's sounds into anything from a rock concert to a circus tent. Musically inclined kids will have hours of fun in this spot alone. This CD-ROM takes full advantage of the audio and visual possibilities computer-based learning can offer. Listen for background music composed specifically for certain activities, and watch for the shadows that the precisely rendered characters cast. (Ages 5 to 7) --Anne Erickson
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