What
Toca Lab is the newest Toca Boca app, and was launched just before last Christmas. It’s a science app for primary-school kids and upwards, and encourages a love and knowledge for science with fun experiments. Toca Lab has 118 elements on the periodic table, and to perform an experiment, you choose a blob character from the table, and the press an arrow to begin. It’s available for iOS for $2.99.What the developers say
Toca Lab is a place for playing and having fun, and with it we hope to inspire kids to explore science. While the periodic table in Toca Lab is accurate, the way new elements are created is not. Instead, it’s a fun way to experiment, discover and create curiosity in the world of science. Toca Lab is just a starting point for further exploration!
Discover elements by experimenting with the lab tools!
* Take your element for a spin in the centrifuge.
* Warm them up in the Bunsen burner.
* Put the element on ice with the cooling agent!
* Add a drop or two of mysterious liquids from the test tubes.
* Change their voltage and make them magnetic with the oscilloscope.
My experience
Every time a new Toca Boca app is launched, I’m happier than my child when hears an ice cream truck. I’ve been buying and loving their apps their years, and Toca Lab doesn’t let the side down.
I admit to battling at first to work out how to unlock experiments, and how to make my way round fully, but once I cracked it, I had fun doing experiments and learning some science (something I loathed at school).
With characteristic Toca Boca tunes and no words or prompts, this app has lots to offer, and teaches through experiments and “doing” rather than teaching.
The fab
– There are no ads or in-app purchases. External links are in a parent-protected section on the main page.
– Cool experiments
The good
– Each element on the periodic table has its own blob character
The downer
– Not entirely intuitive all the time – takes some swiping to figure out everything
For a look at a video clip of the app, click here:
