Whole Wide World [iOS]

Have you been looking from some educational but fun apps for your children? I recently stumbled across a brand new app called Whole Wide World. Children ages 5-8 will ‘travel’ to different countries and learn about their culture and geography.

Whole Wide World is a part of the Fingerprint network of apps for kids. You may have to help your child set up a few things before they can play this app. After an explorer is chosen, scroll around the globe to select a country.

Each country has a unique, costumed tour guide to lead your child through games and share with them fun facts. Some of the guides speak with a slight accent based on the area they are from. This is really cute and enhances the traveling experience. I hope they add this for all the countries at one point.

The Kangaroo game in Australia was easy to control as you tilt the device to collect items while avoiding dangers. The game in Iceland is similar to this but the orientation is upside down and it’s a bit confusing. In Egypt you search for letters by leading the character around the area while in China you search for certain hidden pictures. My daughter enjoyed the games for Australia and China best while Egypt was her least favorite. I like the variety but wish there were more game options per country to up the replay-ability factor.

To continue to the next level, a simple math question must be answered and stamps are awarded. Later they can collect all the stamps to unlock a virtual postcard to send to their parents, letting the know about their latest adventures and discoveries.

The app is free and includes the countries of Australia, Iceland, Egypt, and China. Additional countries can be purchased for 99 cents each (so far only Italy and Mexico are available but more coming). Right now the app feels very basic but it has a lot of potential (i.e. when they add more countries and maybe even include additional facts and games for the existing content). With friendly characters and bright colors, your kids will enjoy their global adventures in Whole Wide World.

With educational content designed by award-winning children’s writer and content designer Rachael Tobener, the app encourages kids to develop their knowledge of geography, social studies, history and culture through exciting action, logic tests, puzzles and matching games.
– Press Release