I just spent the last 30 minutes playing the new Amazing World Atlas app, which should probably be reason enough for you to download it to your smart phone or tablet but hey, if you need a little more convincing, I’m happy to help.
We’ve featured cool geography and atlas apps before, like Geography Drive and Barefoot World Atlas, but this new app, which is aimed specifically at kids 9-11 (but you know your kids best), has the best of both, featuring games and activities that will teach your kids geography and fun facts about countries around the world.
Once you download the app, you’ll unlock a couple of continents which, gives you access to activities specific to those places, everything from matching the state image with its name on a map and picking country capitals to a flag memory game and a “Simon” like recall activity (remember that toy?). There’s also a World MatchUp game where you have to move flags of countries (and states) the the correct continents. The more games and activities you play, the more stars you get, and then, the more continents you unlock, so there’s definitely an incentive for kids to keep playing.
I really like how the graphics are cool and playful without being too childish, but most importantly, that the activities are structured so that the kids can figure the answers out on their own. No “Hey Mom, what’s the capital of Sudan?” from the backseat of the car on the 5-hour road trip. There’s a lot of multiple choice options and helpful hints without completely giving answers away, which let’s be honest here, I actually needed myself. It’s definitely structured for them to learn and be successful without getting frustrated. Win!
And while the sound effects were actually pretty fun (kids cheering!), I turned them off, mostly because I couldn’t take the sad sighing voices every time I got Colorado wrong. (Sorry, Colorado).
I’d say it’s definitely worth the $2.99, more so on a tablet than your phone (though that’s where I played it), and even better if you’re a homeschool parent or want to really give your kids a leg up in geography. Or um, yourself.
You can download the new Amazing World Atlas app at iTunes and Google Play.
