Star Walk Kids - Astronomy for Children
© 2014 Vito Technology
One of our favorite astronomy apps, Star Walk, now has a nicely designed kids' version, with hand drawn illustrations. The best news is that you can still point your device at the sky to identify a star, constellation or planet, thanks to the app's ability to use your iPad's gyro and compass information. The Star Walk (CTR Jan 11) app was first released in 2008 for iPhone. As you hold your phone up and point it towards the sky, Star Walk Kids follows your motions using the built-in gyroscope to match the map on your screen to the stars seen from your location. An animated, cartoon-like interface with professional narration makes the entire feel of this app extremely non-threatening. Content is limited -- with just six movies, 10 planets, 17 stars, 43 constellations and two satellites (Hubble and ISS). The short movies are extremely well done. The stars move in real time, so you find out if ISS is within sight, and you learn how to find North using the constellations. The file is big -- 231 MB The app comes in English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, although we couldn't find the parents' menu. See also Ready, Jet, Go! Space Explorer
$2.99, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch (iOS 7.0 or later) 231 MB
Teaches: Science, stars, astronomy
CTR Rating: 92%