Hungry Red Planet “Top Choice” Software Awards Winner — Museum of Science, Boston

In time for holidays, Museum of Science announces and exhibits first winners of “Top Choice” Software Awards so visitors can try them out

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 1, 2003 — In time for the holiday shopping season, the Museum of Science, Boston announces the winners of its first “Top Choice” Software Awards Competition. Eight engaging, multimedia-rich titles will receive the 2003 Museum of Science Top Choice Award, based on their ease of use, educational content, and production quality. Bearing the Museum’s “Top Choice” seal, the titles will be installed in the Cahners ComputerPlace discovery exhibit as of October 4 for you to explore as long as you like without pressure to buy.

“With so many new software titles each year, parents and educators ask us what we recommend,” says Susan Timberlake, program manager of the Museum’s Cahners ComputerPlace. “Since it’s so challenging to find inventive titles, we’ve done the research to save you time. We also hope by recognizing and exhibiting the best educational software to increase the demand for it.” An expert in creating interactive discovery experiences in science and technology, the Museum doesn’t focus only on software about science and technology, but seeks titles that meet its criteria for hands-on learning and looks to offer experiences matching its educational philosophy. The characteristics include:

• A high level of interaction with little time just reading or passively listening;
• the opportunity for learning and/or exercising cognitive skills, not just testing pre-existing knowledge;
• encouraging creativity and/or problem solving;
• constructive feedback that helps the user make forward progress;
• inspiring interest in learning more about the subject.

The software titles also will be featured on (http://www.mos.org/), in the Museum Store and Web Store (http://www.store.yahoo.com/mosb/mosofreso.html), when possible.

Designers nationwide submitted titles for these ComputerPlace areas: “Best Software for Kids,” where math games, logic puzzles, treasure hunts, script-writing, and virtual science labs spark minds; “Young Learners,” for parents and children five and under to discover that well-designed software can be an excellent learning tool; “Music & Sound,” inspiring visitors to explore music via electronic instruments and interactive media and learn foreign languages through songs and games; and “Creativity,” enabling people to explore drawing, photo editing, design, inventing, and links between mathematics and art.

In ComputerPlace’s lively environment, populated by R2-D2™ from Star Wars and giant computer parts, visitors use computers as artists, musicians, inventors, and scientists. Museum educators also demonstrate computer gadgets, how they work and how to make the most of computers to learn and create. Kids of all ages can try out these multimedia-rich, educational titles—along with 50 more—on the computer discovery exhibit’s 27 stations. Welcoming 300,000 visitors annually, Cahners ComputerPlace offers a one-stop resource for software that inspires people to create, explore and learn. The Museum of Science is Boston’s most highly attended cultural attraction, attracting 1.6 million visitors a year.

Cahners ComputerPlace is free with the cost of Museum admission. Exhibit Halls admission: $13 adults; $10 children 3-11; and $11 seniors 60+. For more information, call 617/723-2500; 617/589-0417 (TTY); visit www.mos.org.

“ R2-D2” are trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. and used under authorization.

Museum of Science 2003 Top Choice Software winners are:

• I SPY Fantasy [Ages 6 to 10]
  Scholastic, Inc., 2003 [Mac and PC] http://www.scholastic.com/ispy
  Explore three fantastical worlds filled with unique characters. The graphics are beautiful, whimsical, and clever enough to appeal to adults as well as kids.
• Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster [Ages 8 and up]
  Viva Media, 2003 [PC] http://www.viva-media.com
  This game provides a highly original approach to teaching children to play chess, using activities involving everything from sumo wrestlers to smashing toilets. Even adults may enjoy and learn from this program.
• Math Missions: The Amazing Arcade Adventure™ [Grades 3-5]
  Scholastic, Inc., 2003 [PC] http://www.scholastic.com
  This program stands out from other “real world” math adventures both for its ease of use and for how well the math problems are integrated into the story.
• Mozart’s Magic Flute - The Music Game [Ages 4 and up]
  Music Games International, 2003 [PC] http://www.kidsmusicstage.com
  The Music Game series takes a novel approach to music software. Games, puzzles, and riddles focus on learning to identify the sounds of different instruments, recognize musical themes and melodies that have been transformed, and familiarize kids with the classics. Of MGI’s three titles, Mozart’s Magic Flute is the Museum’s favorite for its engaging storyline and ease of use.
• Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel [Ages 10 and up]
  Her Interactive, Inc., 2003 [PC] http://www.herinteractive.com
  A great addition to Her Interactive’s Nancy Drew series, this title incorporates knowledge of electronic circuitry and programming activities into Nancy’s latest mystery, as well as calling for deductive reasoning and interpersonal skills.
• Nancy Drew: Danger on Deception Island [Ages 10 and up]
  Her Interactive, Inc., 2003 [PC] http://www.herinteractive.com
  This newest and best title yet in Her Interactive’s Nancy Drew series challenges players with brain-building logic puzzles and science activities, while also engaging them in the classic problem-solving exercises characteristic of all Nancy Drew titles.
• Stagecast Creator v 2.0 [Grades K through 12]
  Stagecast Software, Inc., 2002 [Mac and PC] http://www.stagecast.com
  Kids can create their own simulations with this visual programming tool that looks and feels like a game. Excellent tutorials make it easy to get started.
• Hungry Red Planet [Ages 9 and up]
  Health Media Lab, 2002 [PC] http://www.healthmedialab.com
  This program cleverly adapts the style of city- or world-building simulation games to the problem of choosing a nutritionally sound diet.

The Top Choice Award winners above are in a class by themselves, but the eight titles below also merit inclusion in ComputerPlace:

• Click and Create with Mia [Ages 5 and up, Kutoka Interactive]
• Cross Country USA 2 [Ages 9 and up, Ingenuity Works, Inc.]
• D.M. Dinwiddie: Physician-in-Training [Ages 8 and up, Health Media Lab]
• KaleidoDraw [Ages 3 and up, Protozone]
• Little Bill Thinks BIG! [Ages 4 to 6, Scholastic, Inc.]
• Math & Music [Grades 7 to 12, Wildridge Software]
• Math & the Cosmos [Grades 7 to 12, Wildridge Software]
• Space Simulation Series – Liftoff [All ages, Entertainment Technologies]

 
 Museum of Science, Boston