patel travels: Sid the Science Kid Read & Play for iPhone and iPad

Friday, August 3, 2012

Sid the Science Kid Read & Play for iPhone and iPad

Sid the Science Kid Read & Play is a new app by PBS Kids that is designed to develop early science exploration. It features two story books, jokes, games, sing along music videos, coloring pages and more!

There are two different stories included with Sid the Science Kid: The Trouble with Germs, and What's That Smell. For each story, you can choose to read it yourself, have it read to you, or set it on Auto Play.

In The Trouble with Germs, Sid's dad has a cold, so when his mom and dad tell Sid that he needs to keep washing his hands to prevent himself from also getting sick, Sid wants to know more about germs since he can't see them. When his mom shows him a picture of germs from a microscope, Sid gets really intrigued and tells his friends at school which then invokes an impromptu lesson about germs from his teacher.

In What's That Smell, Sid is disgusted by his baby brother Zeke's diaper and is intrigued about the fact that he can smell Zeke's diaper even though Zeke is down the hall and in a different room. Sid's mom reminds him that Zeke's diaper is not the only smell that he can smell from far away, but also other things like his dad's famous pancakes. Again, Zeke takes the topic to school and his teacher teaches the class about smell and molecules and how they interact with the wind and our noses.

Other sections of Sid the Science Kid includes Sing Along Music Videos, a Coloring Book, a game called I Sense to practice what you know about senses by identifying traits of different objects based on how they feel, smell, sound, and look, a Sticker Book, and a Spot the Difference game.

I've spent a little time with Sid the Science Kid and am impressed. The stories are fun and interesting. On Auto Play, the pages turn nice and fast. If your child is a fan of the show, I definitely recommend picking this one up. If you do, let us know what you think!