NAMOO: Wonders of Plant Life
© 2016 Crayon Box Inc.
Set to soft new-age style music, this interactive tree simulator mixes touch activated illustrations with textbook style facts, making it possible to show the invisible processes that make trees live and grow. First you touch one of four general topics: roots, flowers, trunks and leaves. Each leads to an illustrated mini-lab, where a tap or a swipe makes things happen. You might cause water to flow, or pollen to fall. In several screens you can increase external factors like light, the salinity of the soil, or temperature with slider bars. You can see how carbon dioxide is turned into food, or how flowers become fruit. You can toggle labels on or off at any point. Content includes nine chapters that include roots, root tips, leaf anatomy, plant cells, photosynthesis, flowers and fruits, trunks, and stems. Navigation could be improved, and the graphics are pretty but they have a blocky look to them, which removes some of the realism. In addition, you can't turn off the looping sound. Despite these weaknesses this app supports active exploration, and the text is well matched to interactive features.
$3.99, iPad
Teaches: botany, science, trees, photosynthesis, plants, reading
CTR Rating: 84%