OUTTA THIS WORLD.....
A Review of Discover Astronomy
by Rich Cunningham
For as long as man has been on the earth, he has had an interest and curiosity about the heavens above. Where did the stars come from? Why did the sun revolve around the earth? Was there life on Mars? And was the moon really made out of green cheese? Only in the past 100 years has mankind made so many advances towards understanding what really lies out beyond our atmosphere. And even today, youngsters are still fascinated by those thousands of glowing stars and planets. Helping those same youngsters discover the reality and beauty of the heavens is where Maris Multimedia's Discover Astronomy program comes in handy.
When introducing a child to the wonders of science, it is important to do it in a non-threatening way, in a way in which you encourage him or her to develop their own level of interest. In astronomy, this can be accomplished by showing the newest pictures from the Hubbell Space Telescope, or drawings of the constellations, or even the adventures of the astronauts that have traveled into space. The program Discover Astronomy does this, and it does it well. And it does it without a lot of technical language and words that are above the average student. It is an attractive program that is not a dry schoolbook, but an interactive multimedia journey to the stars, to boldly go where no man has gone.......sorry, to the outer reaches of the solar system, and return.
Discover Astronomy accomplishes the task of this exploration by using narrated guided tours, 3-Dimensional virtual reality simulations of the universe (over 15 of them), and text describing the illustrations and simulations. It is very simple to use this program, and to access the tours and simulations. It is as simple as clicking an icon, and away you go. The main menu gives the option of taking one of the nine guided tours, or going on to a self paced exploration of ten different topic areas. This is where the program really gets into gear and becomes exciting. It would be difficult and boring to list all these areas, so I will concentrate on a couple to show how this program can help increase interest.
One of the self paced tours is simply called The Moon. It is a biography of the moon, and how it came to be, and the vital statistics of how big, how long it takes to go around the earth, and, oh yes, that it is not made out of green cheese. There are descriptions on the effect of the moon on the earth, how it makes the tides to rise and fall. There are comparisons of our moon to other planets moons, and to other planet's. There are some very interesting pictures of the moon's surface taken by the Apollo astronauts. One interesting animation is a sequence of how the moon would look if the viewer was on the aborted moon landing mission of Apollo 13. All of this is accomplished without all the jargon and equations that accompany traditional astronomy textbooks, according to Dr. Jacqueline Mitton. She is the author of the Penguin Dictionary of Astronomy, and is the writer of the guided tours and lessons on this disc.
The guided tours cover nine areas, and one of the most interesting was the one entitled "From Big Bang to Galaxies". This tour explores the theory of how the universe was formed, and it is graphically displayed using animation. The user sees the BANG that started it all, and while the narrator explains what is going on, sees the debris flying away, and starting to form the universe. It is exciting to listen and watch, and by using music of Jean-Pierre Garatoni, it creates an atmosphere where it is fun to participate in and learn. The other eight of the guided tours are in this same vein, and are all enjoyable to watch.
My son, who is ten years old, loves to watch the film "Apollo 13". He is fascinated by the scenes of the moon, and the technology involved. That film helped spur his interest in space flight. Discover Astronomy will do the same thing for your child. There is no age range mentioned in the program literature, but I feel that the quality of this program would make it suitable for children as young as 6, and as old as......well, I'm in the 40-something generation, and I enjoyed it. And I learned something as well. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
This program functions under both Windows 3.x, and Windows 95. It was very easy to install and very easy to run. The manual was very small, but very complete. It shows how to install and run the program, and how to contact Maris Multimedia. This is a very complete package which serves as an excellent introduction to astronomy, not just for children, but for children of all ages. The quality of the program, coupled with its $14.95 suggested retail price, help to make it an attractive educational option to have in a home software library.
Multimedia Cafe Scorecard
| Product: |
Discover Astronomy |
| Company: |
Maris Multimedia
|
| Cost: |
$14.95 |
System Requirements:
IBM: 486 (30Mhz),Windows 3.1/3.11 and MS-DOS 3.3 or above, or Windows 95 , Double Speed CD-ROM, 256 Color display (64k/16 bit color recommended, 8Mb RAM, Windows compatible sound card, Mouse
Macintosh: LCII or better, System 7.0 or above ,Double speed CD ROM, 14" or larger color monitor (thousands of colors recommended), 8MB of RAM with 2.5Mb free
PowerMac: 6100, System 7.1.2 or above, Double speed CD ROM, 14" or larger color monitor (thousands of colors recommended), 8 Mb RAM
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 3
Graphics 4
Sound 3
Interface 4
Replayability 3
Overall Score:
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