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The National Wildlife Federation released two iPad apps for kids recently, mixing wildlife facts with fun activities for children in two different age groups. My four-year-old and I explored Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures, and Patricia and her son took a spin with the digital magazine Ranger Rick's Tree House. If your kids love animals and digging into nature, these apps will be just up their alley.
Ranger Rick Jr.'s Appventures (Ages 4-7)
Lions pairs Ricky Raccoon with Lars the Lion on walk through the grasslands of Africa as they teach your little adventurer about the big cats through games, exercises to compare lions against other animals on the savannah, and more.
Facts are presented alongside fun activities like "How Loud is a Lion's Roar?" that give your child a reference for what a lion sounds like or how much a tiger weighs. Combined with the ambient, soothing animal sounds in the background, these fact screens reminded me of the signs you peruse while strolling through the zoo on a warm day.
My daughter took to the games quickly, giggling as she turned the iPad around the room to move the camera to find hidden lion cubs. She composed her own tune with lion roars, create a scene on the savannah with stickers, and created a kooky creature with the animal builder. Although the animal builder was a little tricky to work with (the pieces can't be removed once placed), my daughter enjoyed mixing and matching the characteristics of her favorite animals.
Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures: Lions is a great educational app for kids and their parents who love to learn something new about animals. It had me Googling "hippo sweat," so you know that there are some interesting facts to be discovered inside. The app is available for the iPad only and costs $4.99 in the App Store.
A promotional copy of the app was provided for review purposes.
Ranger Rick's Treehouse (Ages 7-12)
Hi there! It's GeekMom Patricia here, whose 8-year-old son enthusiastically devoured the his first issue of The National Wildlife Foundation's Ranger Rick's Tree House for the iPad.
Ranger Rick's Tree House, a companion to the NWF's Ranger Rick magazine, is designed for children ages 7-12. Users can download the magazine's iPad app through the iTunes App Store, which will come with a preview issue. Download individual issues (plus bonus content) for $4.99 each, or a year's subscription (5 issues plus all bonus content for each issue) for $19.99. The issues will be sitting on your "Newsstand" utility.
Come with us on a tour, won't you?
The contents screen will present the articles lying on the table in the foreground, plus places for the child to view videos, jokes, games, and other treats.
My sons devoured the videos and the bFunny section of the app. There is also a section where kids can start an digital observation journal, typing entries into a virtual piece of notebook paper. The kids enjoyed the facts, graphs and jokes (LOTS of jokes) interspersed throughout the app.
As you accomplish the tasks in the magazine issue, you earn badges. Answer trivia questions, spend time observing animals and watch the videos. A little backpack on the right side of the table of contents screen will get badges "sewn" to the outside.
My only negative attribute to this magazine is how awkward the download process seemed to be. It took more than one attempt for me to download the one-year subscription that the National Wildlife Foundation provided. I have the one available issue, but so far my iTunes account hasn't been charged for the transaction. Others have had this problem, as is noted in the comments section at the App Store. I recommend an open communication with the NWF's App-Support team if you encounter any problems.
To conclude, Ranger Rick's Tree House is a fun educational magazine app that will keep the interest of most 7-12 year old children.
A complimentary one-year subscription to Ranger Rick's Tree House was provided for review purposes.
