MaroPolo Ocean- Children’s Technology Review – 2014 Editor’s Choice Award
I was given the app, free of charge, for purposes of this review. All opinions are 100% my own.
About the MarcoPolo Ocean app:
Make dolphins jump. Build a coral reef. Explore the deep sea. Create your own aquarium. These are just some of the fun things you can do with MarcoPolo Ocean, a “digital sandbox” for kids to play in that sparks their interest in the most unexplored part of our planet – the ocean.
Build and Explore
Five build-and-play activities bring the language and the images of the ocean to life. Ocean is playfully narrated and animated to reinforce vocabulary, physical attributes and ocean concepts: Coral Reef, Marine Mammals, Fish, Boat, Submersible
Free Play Exploration
The open ocean is a personal aquarium your child can explore however he or she chooses!
“Through self-directed discovery, we expose kids to early skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), focusing on the following concepts:
*The wide variety of animal species that live in the shallow and deep parts of the ocean
*Ocean landscape
*Construction and characteristics of a boat (shipping vessel) and submersible
*Characteristics of fish and marine mammals
*Topic-specific vocabulary exposure and acquisition”
My Review:
The first thing that caught my eye is the wonderful colors! You really feel like you are in a Coral Reef. I love the music that accompanies the first page before you hit play. It takes you to the beach whether you want to go or not.
The puzzle section is my favorite part! I love how it tells you about each object and each part of the object. Like the Orca Whale for example, it tells your child some facts about it and tells you about the dorsal fin, blow hole, pectoral fin, etc when you drag them to the right place on the puzzle. You can build/puzzle together a submersible, a boat, coral, and other Mammals as well.
One of my favorite parts is being able to make the dolphins jump. How fun is that? I love Sea World because The app is so versatile, your child can swipe to the bottom of the ocean and learn more about those deep, dark creatures. You can even make the submarine do tricks under water. My son figured out how to sink the ship. Or rather, if you try to sink it, even the people jump up when it comes back up to the surface. He had us both laughing as he played.
In the Parents section, the more tab has an impressive array of books to read with your child to reinforce what they just learned. I think this is the first app I have seen that had the forethought to add a section like that. It even has ideas for “test” to do at home.
My son is 11 and he enjoyed tapping abound and putting the puzzles together. Even though the recommended age is 3 and up, I think kids of all ages would love to play in the MarcoPolo Ocean. I would be curious to see if children with learning disabilities loved this game too. I bet they would. The colors, sounds, and easy play make it perfect fit for anyone.
I give the MarcoPolo Ocean app TWO big thumbs up! I look forward to their next app in their serious about the natural world!
Be sure to follow MarcoPolo on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
Watch the Video trailer: gomarcopolo.com
Visit the App Store: http://bit.ly/1eag37u
