Earth Day games for kids
— -- If Earth Day today and Arbor Day later this month have your kids thinking about nature and the environment, here are some online games and apps that can foster those interests.
Websites
PBS Kids has a separate landing page for free Earth Day games. Featuring 18 games about nature and the environment, the games use characters from 11 popular brands, including Sid the Science Kid, Curious George, Dinosaur Train, Sesame Street, Arthur, EekoWorld and more. The games vary in quality, but one of the best is EekoHouse, a simulation game about making a home more eco-friendly. Kids navigate through a typical home, finding areas where things could be done differently to help the environment. They will learn how clothing hangers can be recycled by returning them to dry cleaners, how packing your lunch in a washable container is better than using disposal plastic bags, and why recycling plastic bottles is better than throwing them away.
This free website explores environmental issues as seen through the eyes of teen cousins Izz and Dex. The clever cartoon characters star in 15 animated episodes where they explore issues that most tweens and teens can relate to. For example, in one called "Pigs Fly," Izz and Dex look at how their breakfast food got to them. Noting that the bacon had been flown in (and thus that "Pigs Fly"), the teens examine how this process uses a lot of gasoline. Kids discover that eating local can also cut down on the need for preservatives and will support local businesses. The brainchild of WGBH Interactive, this site also has games, a blog, downloads and special features like a Carbon Calculator and advice about cancelling unwanted catalogs.
Apps
Bats! Furry Fliers of the Night
Story Worldwide, best for ages 6-11, $3.99, iPad
Rating: 4 Stars
Filled with seven chapters about different kinds of bats and their habitats, this book app makes learning about these nocturnal mammals interactive and fascinating. Kids can choose to read the book themselves or have it read to them. There's animation, but the coolest feature is the way you interact with the pages. On some, by swiping up, you move further into the scene. In others, tapping on dark caves and crevices results in finding a hidden bat. The gorgeous visuals, a soundtrack filled sounds of the night and interesting facts sprinkled throughout make this nonfiction book one of the most mesmerizing science books in the app store.
CreaVures
From Chillingo Ltd, best for ages 9-up, $.99, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Rating: 4 Stars
Kids help to restore light to a dark forest in this spectacular-looking game filled with fluorescent highlights, gleaming mushrooms and trees awash in purple starlight. You control little forest-like creatures who are glowing with bioluminescence as you navigate this dreamy world looking for sparkling essences that the forest needs. This is a linear platforming game with 19 levels presented in five chapters.
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