Features:
- Includes 4 fun and educational titles
- More than 15 individual lessons and 200 activities
- Each program uniquely designed to teach basic skill sets
- Each title highly rated by accredited reviewers and experts in the field
- Provides hands-on experience
Description:
If high-flying superheroes, glitzy game shows, and dangerous interplanetary missions are what it takes to hold the attention of third through sixth graders studying math and science, then this four-CD compilation of educational software does no wrong. And, fortunately, all four programs--originally released separately by the quality-conscious folks at Edmark--manage to do a respectable job of actually teaching kids, too. While there is some crossover in content, especially between the Mighty Math Calculating Crew and MindTwister Math, Space Academy GX-1's astronomy and space-based physics focus and Thinkin' Science ZAP!'s electricity, sound, and optics activities more than make up for the overlap. The interfaces vary from program to program, but all prove navigable and easy to learn. And while the presentation might be tame at times for experienced computer-gamer tastes, for the most part these titles pack enough sounds, voices, and animation to keep things moving. Parents and teachers should be happy with the mix of problem-solving and drill-oriented activities. In particular, Thinkin' Science ZAP! offers some excellent open-ended interactivity with real, hands-on science, thanks to its virtual laser tables, circuit boards, and an audio studio. The mathematics game show MindTwister Math might be the weak link of the bunch since it's only geared to third and fourth graders, but at this price, the collection is still a steal even if you don't end up using all of the CDs. --Paul Hughes
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