Long-running children’s nonfiction magazine Kids Discover has made an admirable jump to digital — twenty-one of their issues on natural and social sciences are currently available as apps. I took a look at the digital version of volume 11: Ancient Egypt (Joe Zeff Design, 2013).
The app offers eight content chapters: “The Gift of the Nile;” “Mighty Pharaoh;” “Daily Life;” “Cliff Carvings;” “Gods, Priests, and Temples;” “Leaving Their Mark;” “Pyramid Builders;” and “Mummy Makers and the Afterlife.” As in the magazine itself, each chapter begins with an introductory paragraph, then offers a browsable selection of related facts. These tidbits of information are arranged with plenty of breathing room alongside illustrations, crisp photographs, and colorful Q&A sidebars.
A handful of animations — including 3D renderings of a pyramid, the Sphinx, and Tutankhamen’s famous funerary mask — allow users to get up close and personal to the locations and artifacts described in the text; unobtrusive music and well-placed sound effects also accentuate the content. (One unfortunate choice on the sound-effect front: a Hollywood monster-worthy moan when a sarcophagus opens to reveal a mummy).
An activities section with a maze, memory game, and coloring pages; a short quiz; and recommended reading and websites round out the app. This well-conceived and engaging digital edition provides users with a brief, broad overview of Ancient Egypt and may inspire them to seek out more information. A few free resources are available on Kids Discover‘s website.