Review
Astro-Mania teaches all the important facts about 38 astronomical objects such as planets and stars. It has a learning database that includes essays, images, and lists of all the important facts for each of the 38 space objects. The space objects include the nine planets, stars and star types, asteroids, meteorites, galaxies, and more.
Games based on this database allow the player to connect to the facts in four different ways, enhancing learning. Not only do players connect the fact (or clue) to the name of the object as do traditional games, they also make three more connections. They are: matching the fact to the object's image, matching the name to the object's image, and finally matching one fact about the object to another one.
Additionally, Astro-Mania includes a review screen after each round. This review screen includes the part of the essay that relates to each fact. Thus, game players can read additional material about the fact to place it into context. This allows the players not only to know the fact but also to understand it.
Astro-Mania includes one study level and seven game levels. The seven game levels allow the player to advance sequentially, to master one level before tackling another. Level one is easy whereas level seven is quite hard, even for those who know astronomy. Each level includes a ranking so that players know exactly how they rate. Players will see their scores jump from Learner to Scientist and finally to Einstein. |
