Children Explore the World from a Scientist's Perspective with Thinkin' Science from Edmark.REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 1997--Edmark(R), developer and publisher of award-winning educational software, today announced the shipment of Thinkin' Science(TM), the first in a new series of titles that help children understand scientific concepts and encourages them to think like scientists. Kids ages six to eight enter the Super Secret Science Station(TM) and meet some very "down-to-earth" characters that serve as guides through the five engaging activities in Thinkin' Science. The program covers dozens of major topics from first grade and second grade science curriculum, and includes hundreds of challenges that will help direct a child's natural curiosity into scientific exploration. "Learning science is not just memorizing facts; it's asking questions, seeking answers, exploring and experimenting," said Donna Stanger, General Manager of Edmark. "Children are naturally curious and eager to know about the world around them. In Thinkin' Science, we build on that curiosity, by introducing interesting concepts and encouraging the use of scientific methods, skills and problem-solving processes." The interactive activities in Thinkin' Science introduce children to the basics of Earth, life and physical sciences. Guided instruction is offered through science challenges. As children successfully complete these challenges, they earn printable print·a·ble adj. 1. Capable of being printed or of producing a print: printable negatives. 2. Fit for publication: printable language. treasures, including science puzzles and games. The "Science Web," a child-friendly research, reference and exploration tool, offers unique opportunities for self-directed learning. Thinkin' Science is designed to help children understand the concepts behind the facts by using hypothesis, experimentation, observation and deduction deduction, in logic, form of inference such that the conclusion must be true if the premises are true. For example, if we know that all men have two legs and that John is a man, it is then logical to deduce that John has two legs. . Learning opportunities include: --Practice observation and memory skills --Strengthen visual memory and discrimination --Interpret data --Develop problem-solving strategies --Measure and observe lengths, weights and time intervals --Manipulate variables --Understand cause and effect --Use deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning Using known facts to draw a conclusion about a specific situation. --Follow instructions and procedures involving multiple steps In Thinkin' Science, four ordinary objects -- a paper bag, a rock, a leaf and a sock sock white mark on the feet. In horses this means from the coronet to halfway up the cannon. In dogs and cats, it is white from the paws up to the carpus or hock. -- are transformed into "Science Scouts" - who locate science challenges, explain problems and offer helpful feedback. Bobbie, the sock; Buddy, the leaf; and Einstone, the rock scour scour, scours 1. the chemical and physical cleaning of fleece wool. 2. diarrhea. dietetic scour see dietary diarrhea. peat scour see secondary nutritional copper deficiency. the globe for challenging science scenarios and then send signalsback to headquarters. Back at the Super Secret Science Station, Carrie, the friendly brown paper bag, explains the signals appearing on the Radar Screen and provides a set of tools that help kids solve the science problems beamed back by the Scouts. Five Engaging Activities Each of five activities in Thinkin' Science features an adjustable "Grow Slide" that automatically advances to provide children with more challenging problems as they learn and succeed. All Grow Slides can also be set manually to allow children to practice in specific topic areas. --Day and Night is a simple, yet powerful model to help children understand the relationship between the Earth and the sun. By rotating ro·tate v. ro·tat·ed, ro·tat·ing, ro·tates v.intr. 1. To turn around on an axis or center. 2. a model of the Earth, they can see the effect of their actions from two different views -- the ground and space. They discover that the Earth spins on an axis, rotates once per day, and that the sun's position in the sky changes from season to season. --Physics of Motion lets kids experiment with ramps, catapults and pendulums to explore and learn about important concepts in the physics of motion such as slope, weight, time, energy, velocity and position. This activity also helps strengthen perception, deduction and experimentation. --What Did You See? exercises observation, memory and visual perception skills. Children observe a scene and then try to recall the location of the animals in the scene from memory. The activity includes instructions on specific memorization mem·o·rize tr.v. mem·o·rized, mem·o·riz·ing, mem·o·riz·es 1. To commit to memory; learn by heart. 2. Computer Science To store in memory: strategies to help increase a child's ability to recall. --Animal Tracking is where children must carefully observe key aspects of biology and ecology ecology, study of the relationships of organisms to their physical environment and to one another. The study of an individual organism or a single species is termed autecology; the study of groups of organisms is called synecology. to identify the tracks of different animals. As they begin to understand categorization and classification, they can also learn interesting facts about animal behavior, characteristics and habitats. --In the Mystery Cave, kids use tools to collect information about the smell, texture, color, shape, size and weight of a mystery object. This activity can improve children's ability to gather and interpret data, form a hypothesis and make a deduction -in order to solve the mystery. Kid-Friendly "Science Web" Children learn more about animals, physics and Earth science in the "Science Web." This easy-to-use section includes brief reference articles which help explain science concepts introduced within the program. Children can print text and illustrations or listen to recorded narrations, which offer insightful information on key topics. The "Science Web" offers self-directed learning by allowing children to navigate (1) "Surfing the Web." To move from page to page on the Web. (2) To move through the menu structure in a software application. freely and access the tools within the program. Children can explore a physics playground Playground - A visual language for children, developed for Apple's Vivarium Project. OOPSLA 89 or 90? , conducting experiments with barricades, catapults, ramps and pendulums or rotate a globe model to discover what causes changes such as day, night and the seasons. Children manipulate these images, and delight in making science come to life. Insightful Information for Parents Thinkin' Science includes a "Dear Parents" video presentation in which Edmark's General Manager, Donna Stanger, award-winning software designer and teacher for two decades, discusses the educational underpinnings of Thinkin' Science and the role parents can play in helping their child to look at the world from a scientific perspective. Windows(R)System Requirements To be used efficiently, all computer software needs certain hardware components or other software resources to be present on a computer system. These pre-requisites are known as (computer) system requirements and are often used as a guideline as opposed to an absolute rule. Windows 3.x Windows 3.x can refer to either an individual or all of the following versions of Microsoft Windows:
Super VGA - Super Video Graphics Array graphics, 640x480, 256 or more colors; Double-speed (2X) or faster CD-ROM drive A device that holds and reads CD-ROM discs. CD-ROM drives generally also play audio CD discs by sending analog sound to the sound card via a 4-pin cable. For specifications of 10x, 20x, etc. drives, see CD-ROM drives. See CD-ROM, CD-ROM changer, CD-ROM server and CD-ROM audio cable. ; Windows-compatible sound card. Optional: Windows-compatible printer. Macintosh(R) System Requirements System 7.0.1 or higher; 68030 (25 MHz or faster recommended), 68040 or PowerPC; Hard disk with 5 MB free; 8 MB memory (RAM), 16 MB RAM for PowerPC(R); 640x480 Monitor, 256 or more colors; Double-speed (2X) or faster CD-ROM drive. Optional: Printer. Pricing and Availability Thinkin' Science is available on CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). for Windows and Macintosh at major software retailers and through software catalogs for approximately $30 (retailer prices may vary). For more information, customers may call Edmark's Customer Service Department at 800/ 691-2985 or visit Edmark on the World Wide Web at www.edmark.com . Editors may contact Sue Whitcomb at 6727 185th Ave. NE, Redmond, WA 98052, 425-556-8825, or by e-mail at suew@edmark.com . -0- Edmark Corp., an IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) (R) company, is a leading developer and publisher of educational software with more than 25 years of experience applying proven educational concepts to the development of educational products for children. The company develops products that run on Macintosh and Windows based (1) (Windows-based; upper case "W") Refers to Microsoft Windows. (2) (windows-based; lower case "w") Having resizable windows. Same as "graphics based" or "GUI based." Graphical user interfaces are all windows based. Contrast with text based. systems for both the consumer and education marketplaces. Edmark's award-winning line of educational software includes KidDesk Family Edition; the Early Learning Series; Thinkin' Things Collection 1, 2 and 3; Strategy Challenges Collection 1 and 2; the Imagination Express Series; and the Mighty Math Series as well as Let's Go Let's Go may refer to: Television
(C) 1997 Edmark Corp. All rights reserved. Edmark, the Edmark logo Imagination Express and Thinkin' Things, are registered trademarks of the Edmark Corp. Thinkin' Science, Let's Go Read! An Island Adventure, KidDesk Family Edition, Mighty Math, Strategy Challenges and Super Secret Science Station are trademarks of the Edmark Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. All other trademarks are designations of their respective companies. CONTACT: Edmark Corp Sue Whitcomb, 425/556-8825 suew@edmark.com |
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