A Kingdom Of Fun And Learning
A Review of Disney's Lion King Activity Center
Grace Smith, Ph.D.
If you are looking for good software to help children learn by doing, The Lion King Activity Center is a product they'll love, learn from, and return to, again and again.Replete with images from the recent movie, the Activity Center features three levels of difficulty, supports point-and-click or discovery learning, and uses icon-based screen commands. A 56-page program/activity book and gift box accompany the software.
When you begin the adventure, a young Simba introduces you to the kingdom from the viewpoint of Pride Rock. From this main screen, you can travel to four other areas in the Pride Lands: Jungle, Rafiki's Tree, Magic Pool, or Shadowlands, each of which contains numerous activities.
The Jungle area includes three learning activities that are interactive, cleverly designed, and fun. Timon's Bug Matching Game helps youngsters develop understanding of color, spatial and geometric shapes, sets, and concepts of patterns. Timon and Pumbaa's Spelling Game emphasizes letter forms, word patterns, and letter-sound relationships as children spell four-to-eight letter, jungle-related words. Pumbaa's Hidden Animal Friends focuses on the development of pre-reading, observation, and perception skills as children search for animals in varying scene patterns.
The Rafiki's Tree area helps children develop a sense of color and design, use perception skills, and practice cause and effect strategies. Through dot-to-dot art work, stamp selection, and magic pictures, children complete art-based activities using chalk, paint, or a magic brush along with a 30-drawing coloring book or a canvas in the Art Center. Picture Puzzles features electronic puzzles for children to complete by using the mouse to click and drag shapes. Achi, an African version of tic-tac-toe, encourages logical problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
The Magic Pool area features clips of favorite episodes from The Lion King for encouraging discussion and thinking skills. This area encourages you and your child to work together to learn more about the world of animals, geography, and other interests. Several suggestions for encouraging your child to imagine, draw, tell, or write are included in the program booklet.
The Shadowlands area focuses on music, memory, and mazes. Here, your child can match musical sounds, play memory challenges, and develop skills of perception, directionality, and observation while moving through a series of twisting mazes.
For many years, children and their parents have cherished the characters and merchandise associated with the Disney movies. This newer art form, the electronic activity center, has all the bells and whistles we've come to expect from the Disney organization.
School House Scorecard
| Product: |
Disney's Lion King Activity Center |
| Company: |
Disney Interactive
|
| Cost: |
Not Available |
System Requirements:
IBM or 100% compatible PC (486SX-25 or higher processor)
Windows 3.1 or higher
MS DOS 6.0 or higher (not required for Windows 95 users)
4 MB RAM
5 MB free disc space (for saving your work)
256-color display
Double-speed (2X) CD-ROM drive (minimum 300 KB transfer rate)
Sound Blaster-compatible sound card
1 MB Hard Drive space
Microsoft-compatible Mouse
Breakdown:
Ease of Use 5
Learning Value 5
Entertainment Value 5
Graphics 5
Sound 5
Overall Score:
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