App Review: Scott's Polar Trip - A Fun Educational Story About A Young Explorer

Reviewed by Elena – I’m a SAHM who is trying to homeschool my 18 month old. I have a BA in Computer Science and Information Systems. My professional background is in quantitative analytics.

Details

This is a fun educational story about a young explorer, Scott, who helps an Inuit boy, Inook, save a baby whale caught in a fishing net. In the process, he makes friends with Inook who takes him home and introduces him to the culture and traditions of the Inuit.

The story is narrated by default, but more advanced readers can turn off narration and read on their own. Similarly, story text and background sound can be turned on or off. The story narration is available in three languages, English, Spanish and French.

A very nice surprise was the many bits of educational information that could be found throughout the book. A magnifying glass would appear in the lower right-hand corner. Tapping on it would open a small window with information about Inuit people, polar animals, etc.

There are several mini activities within the story for kids to play. The activity is denoted by a small rotating icon that kids can press to access. The activities are building an igloo, making an Inuit snowman, finding murre eggs and playing blanket toss which is an Inuit game. There is also a setting to note whether the reader is aged 3 to 4 or 5 to 7 which turns hints on or off in the activities.

There are links to the developer’s website and app store.

What Elena Liked

The illustrations were very unique it reminded me a little of claymation. I really enjoyed the informational bits found throughout the story. I liked that the story was available in Spanish and French, in addition to English. The kids really enjoyed learning about the polar animals and wanted to learn more.

Suggested Enhancement

The snow blocks in the igloo building and Inuit snowman making activities were hard to manipulate, especially, the long blocks. The long blocks would swing around and sometimes knock off other blocks.