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The Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals By Pam Gleichman Tribune Media Services The Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals is the latest program in the Magic School Bus series of books, videos and television shows. Ms. Frizzle and her class are off on another incredible field trip. This time, animals from the Wild Animal Park have been returned to the wilderness -- in the wrong places. It’s up to Ms. Frizzle and her class to find the animals and return them to their natural habitats. The school bus travels to a South Pacific Island and Reef, the Arctic tundra and ocean, the Sonoran Desert, the Himalayas, a North American Swamp, an African Savanna and a Brazilian Rainforest. Each geographic zone is filled with games, puzzles, stunning photographs, videos and facts about the animals that live there. Each time an animal is returned to its habitat, you receive a beautiful award certificate that can be printed. You can also create and print Eco-posters and save your games, which are offered in different difficulty levels. Each new game has different animals to find. In addition, the program offers eight reports and seven experiments. Our testers enjoyed playing this program. After an hour, one group of 5 year olds did not want to stop. Children loved clicking on a picture or animal and having the computer read the facts aloud. The program is jam-packed with unusual animals, interesting information, games, puzzles and experiments. Although the program does have the goal of finding the animals that are in their wrong habitats, the program also works very well for open-ended learners. Publisher : Microsoft Corporation, 1 Microsoft Way, Microsoft, Calif. 87777, (800) 426-9400, http://www.microsoft.com . Category : Science. Age : 6 to 10. Installation : Easy. Use : Easy. Graphics : Bright, colorful and very appealing. The photographs and videos are beautiful. Written Materials : Minimal. The program’s designers want children to learn through exploration. System Requirements : Windows 95/98/NT, Pentium or higher, 16 MB RAM, 15 MB hard drive space, 4X CD-ROM, Super VGA, 256 color monitor, Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device, 16-bit sound card, headphones or speakers. Tested Version : Windows /Mac CD-ROM. Cost : $24.95. Rating : Four stars. The Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals is a great program that teaches science and geography to young children. DEAR PAM : I have a 5-year-old who saw the new "Stars Wars" movie and loved it! He also loves to spend time on the computer. Do you know of any new "Star Wars" programs? DEAR READER : There are some new programs that have recently been released; however, they are for older children. Star Wars Episode 1: The Gungan Frontier, Star Wars Racer (both from Lucas Learning) and Lucas Arts The Phantom Menace (Lucas Arts) all have a recommended age of 9 and older. Star Wars Millennium Falcon Playset (Hasbro Interactive) was released about six months ago and has a recommended age of 5 and up. It comes with a playset that sits on top of the keyboard that allows children to interact with the software. WEB SITE OF THE WEEK ART SAFARI http://artsafari.moma.org/ This site is based on the book "Art Safari: An Adventure in Looking for Children and Parents at the Museum of Modern Art" by Joyce Raimondo. It lets children and adults explore animals and artwork at the Museum of Modern Art. You can look at sculptures and paintings, create your own artwork (and post it at the site) and view artwork from other children. RATING KEY : ***** — Outstanding; **** — Very Good; *** — Good; ** — Fair; * — Not Worth Purchasing. Pam Gleichman welcomes questions/comments from readers. Write to Pam at Tribune Media Services, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1400, Chicago, Ill. 60611. Send e-mail to [email protected] . � 1999 Tribune Media Services, Inc. Techno file index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA