The Biomes of North America: Redwoods Explorer

Reviewed by Ronda Scantlin
Published by

Age Group: Age 8 and Up
Type: Science
Price: $30

PC version requires:
Windows 3.1, 95/98, 486, 8 MB RAM, 256 , 2X CD-ROM, Mouse, Sound Card

Mac version requires:
System 7.1, 68040 Power PC, 8 MB of RAM, 256, 2X CD-ROM

Description:

The Biomes of North America: Redwoods Explorer allows children and adolescents to explore the living organisms and habitats of the redwood forest as it was 200 years ago. Begin in the panorama where you can use tools to investigate the forest environment. Use the (1) magnifying tool to view things close up, (2) cutaway tool to see inside a tree trunk, (3) measuring tool to access pop-up facts about plants and animals, (4) explorer's notebook to learn more in-depth infomation, (5) time of day icon to explore the forest during the morning, mid-day, afternoon or evening, and (6) help icon to get more instruction. Children are encouraged to explore life science concepts by engaging in the following activities:

  • Food Webs:Complete the food webs as well as discover what might happen if a plant or animal suddenly disappeared from the forest environment.
  • Life Cycle Sequencing: Place pictures in the proper order depicting the stages of the life cycle or metamorphosis.
  • Who Was Here:Match the animals with the traces they leave behind. Investigate the signs on trees, near a stream, on the ground, in a bird's nest, or underground.
  • Sorting Tree: Classify plants and animals according to their characteristics.

Features:

  • Colorful graphics of forest animals, plants, and habitats
  • Background sounds add interest to your forest explorations
  • Engaging activites help children better understand life science concepts
  • The Explorer's Notebook (and all the information within) can be printed
  • Comprehensive manual addresses the needs of teachers and parents
  • Material is based on the National Science Teachers Association guidelines

Technical Aspects:

The Biomes of North America: Redwoods Explorer ran smoothly in a Windows 98 environment on both Pentium I 166mz and Pentium III 600mz machines. The CD is required to run this program. Panorama tools and activity icons are clearly organized and displayed on the screen.

Report and Conclusions:

The Biomes of North America: Redwoods Explorer would be an interesting addition to the life science portion of a classroom curriculum as well as a beneficial tool for parents who home school. There are a number of features that teachers may find useful: a student mangagement screen (adding and removing students, changing program options, etc.); student progress reports; and printable badges. The Explorer's Notebook contains an immense amount of information about trees, mammals, birds, vertebrates, invertabrates and others. It might be fun to print out these fact sheets and create a notebook for each child. Other ideas will come to mind as you explore this software. Single user school editions, multiple unit lab packs, and site licenses are also available for the school environment. The Biomes of North America series also includes Prairie Explorer. Kids can investigate the North American Prairie of 200 years ago - activities include Prairie Dog Town, Animal Vision, Food Web, Adaptations, and Prairie Restoration. The engaging activites will hopefully encourage children to learn more about their natural environments, whether that be the forest, the prairie, or their own back yards.




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