Reviewed by Dutchie Riggsby
Professor
Do you need excitement in your classroom? Do you want to see your students absorbed in exploring and learning? Take advantage of children’s interest in television and bring the adventures of the Magic School Bus and its occupants into your classroom. The Magic School Bus Lands on Mars is easy to install and great fun for upper elementary students.
The Magic School Bus Lands on Mars animation is augmented with photos and motion clips of Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. The student joins Mrs. Frizzle, Liz, Arnold, Tim, Dorothy Ann (D.A.), and Wanda as a crewmember, so the first task is to prepare a crew badge. The software lets the student select hairstyle, color, nose, mouth, ears, and skin tone. Once the badge is completed, the user is ready to enter the Mars Module, which is full of items to explore.
A food unit lets the student compare the effect of Mars' atmosphere on food items with that of Earth. Students will enjoy exploding a watermelon and seeing what happens to a marshmallow, egg, or bottle of water at sea level, underwater, and on top of a high mountain. Students can piece together aerial photographs of Mars to make a postcard to send to friends. Students can try their hand at landing a spacecraft on Mars or test their knowledge in a multi-level quiz show.
Once they have explored the Mars Module, users can step outside and explore the surface of the planet. They can look through a telescope at the moons of Mars, check the thermometer for surface temperature, and experience a Martian dust storm.
I found this software to be educational and entertaining, with plenty of material to keep students ages 6–10 interested and challenged. Each activity can be changed from easy to hard to accommodate students at various levels. The background music, sound effects, and accurate narration will captivate your audience. The software, for Windows 95 and Macintosh 8.1, is provided on a CD-ROM, which also contains a selection of demonstrations from five other Magic School Bus adventures.
Review posted on 12/31/2001
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