Young Scientists and Bill Nye fans get excited! To celebrate 20 years of Bill Nye the Science guy Disney has launched an anniversary App. Open Nye labs by ‘scanning’ your fingerprint and then explore all of the Retro Gadgets and objects on Bill Nye’s desk. The set up of the app is all exploratory. Kids can tap around on his desk to find interesting things.  Some of the fun things we discovered right away: The robot takes kids to a Mini game of artifact digging. The… Read more

We are crazy about this LEGO Movie Maker App. The reason we love it so much mostly stems from its versatility. My son and I can make a very rudimentary ten second film, or we can pass it off to my husband who might just produce a full length feature soon because he is so obsessed. Your child (or in my case, husband) chooses from just 5 different opening title scenes so it’s not too overwhelming for a little one… Read more

Sprinkle is a fun physics based game. It just went free for a week.  It is like a combination of Angry Birds and Where is my water.  The story behind the game: inhabitants of Titan, a moon of Saturn, lived out their days peacefully in their straw hut homes – until space tourists from Earth crashed through Saturn’s rings, bringing a storm of flaming asteroids crashing down on the Titans. To combat the widespread fires threatening their homes, the Titans… Read more

It is time for Mom’s Library again. There were many great posts shared last week. I will share on social media over the week. Today I want to feature several science activities for the summer.  We have a lot thunderstorms in the summer. I find this activity explaining what causes a thunderstorm very interesting.  Are you heading to the beach?  Check out some fun learning activity ideas for the beach, I particularly like the sea shell impressions on clay. All kids… Read more

Since I posted best science apps for kids, I received several recommendations on Bobo Explores Lights, an app teaching kids science of light.  I contacted Game Collage, who designed the app, for a review copy.  I am so grateful they sent me one and I am very impressed with the app – the art, the interface, the content, the animation, the flow of the content, … everything! Designed for children ages 4-12, Bobo Explores Light covers 21 light-related topics, like… Read more

While it is getting warm, I start collecting ideas on activities we can do outside.  I found a FREE app called Curiosity School. It has instructions on making a water wheel with egg carton. We did it over the weekend.  It is very easy to make and we all had a good time making it. While running the water wheel, we had opportunity to talk about how energy can change its form, and how we can change the natural energy into… Read more

Does your child like games?  Would he/she be interested in make games of his/her own?  Hopscotch is a FREE app allowing kids to create their own games and animations.  Even if the child has not shown much interest in programing, it is still worth a try on this free app.  Why?  Here is the information on App Store Hopscotch introduction: “By the year 2020, there will be a projected 1.4 million computer jobs but only 400,000 Computer science students. Computer… Read more

Many times I wanted to do some science activities at home, but it is hard to find fun and engaging activities for kids. Last night I found this FREE app Sound Uncovered. I got a lot interesting ideas of science activities for kids. Have you ever heard the sound of sand? Yes, it does make sound, by sand itself, and it is because the friction between the sand grains generates vibrations in the audible range. You will be able to… Read more

Today’s Best Educational Apps for Kids list is Best Science apps for  middle school and upper elementary kids (Age 10 to 15).  I did not include those animal related apps, as there will be a separate list of “Best Educational Apps for Kids” on ”Nature and Animals”.  Most science apps I listed for kids age 6 to 10 are also appropriate for this age group.  You can find that list by visiting Best Science Apps for Elementary School Kids.  If you know any good… Read more

Today’s app is Rounds: Parker Penguin.  It is the 2nd app in the Rounds series from Nosy Crow. It is designed for kids 3 to 6 years old. With similar design to their first app, Rounds: Parker Penguin teaches kids the life cycle of a penguin: from birth to parenthood. When reading the story of the penguin Parker and his family, kids become an integral part of the little penguin’s growing up.  With ingenious use of the technologies available for an app… Read more

Crayon Physics Deluxe just launched its HD version for iPAD, in addition to its iPhone version. Started as a game on the internet years ago, it is a physics-based puzzle game. In the game, you get to experience what it would be like if your drawings would be magically transformed into real physical objects. In this app, kids will solve puzzles with your artistic vision and creative use of physics. The objective of the play is to make the red… Read more

STEM is a quickly developed area. It includes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. These fields are in high demand. As data has shown, STEM is growing as twice as fast as other field by 2018. What do you do to encourage kids’ interest in STEM field? Today we share a wonderful website with tons of STEM information for kids, as well as for teachers. This post was sponsored by the Boys & Girls Club of America as part of an… Read more

Creatures of Light is the companion app for the popular exhibition Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence. The exhibition was run at the American Museum of Natural History in 2013. Introduction from American Museum of Natural History: The app “offers a close look at some of the extraordinary organisms that produce light. Enjoy interactive animations, photo galleries, and videos that reveal the beauty of this amazing natural phenomenon, how it works, and how scientists study it. Each chapter of the app… Read more

After iGameMom introduced the Audubon Birds App, I started paying attention to other bird apps. Thanks for Nigel Hall’s note, I learned about Peterson Feeder Birds of North America. It is a FREE app about feeder birds. Similar to Audubon Birds, you will be able to look up birds with pictures, locations (state), nest, etc. What is different is this app’s focus on feeder birds, ie., the birds you see in your backyards. It covers 160 common North American backyard birds. It… Read more