The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective - E
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that while this game has eight short mysteries and 24 fun arcade minigames, it delivers a serious message about eating healthy and exercising. The target audience is 9-10 year-olds, but most of the minigames can be enjoyed by children as young as 6. Parents will appreciate one unique feature of this game: It turns itself off after 20 minutes of play and won't let kids back in for 60 minutes. The game tells kids that while they are waiting they should go and be active ("do 100 push-ups"). The game can be played in English or Spanish and comes with teacher and parent materials. It also offers printables with more lessons on healthy living; one is a scavenger hunt about reading food labels.
Families can talk about each of the eight mysteries. Why was the child featured in the mystery unhealthy, and how did your actions change his or her life? Have you ever experienced any of the problems these children faced? Which of the printable materials did you find useful? The recipes? The exercise logs? The scavenger hunt?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jinny Gudmundsen
A new free online game is taking aim at childhood obesity. In THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF THE AMAZING FOOD DETECTIVE (www.AmazingFoodDetective.com) children join forces with a detective to solve eight mysteries of why some kids are unhealthy. By playing the game, kids learn about healthy foods and exercise habits.
Kaiser Permanente, a leading health maintenance organization, brings the game to the Web as "part of Kaiser Permanente's continuing efforts to address the epidemic of childhood obesity," explains Ray Baxter, Senior Vice President of Community Benefit at Kaiser Permanente. "Kids spend a lot of their time in front of the TV and computer, and we know we need to reach them wherever they are."
In the game, the Amazing Food Detective, an animated female gumshoe decked out in a traditional trench coat and hat, provides kids with a lineup of eight children from diverse cultural backgrounds, each representing a mystery.
One of the mysteries involves Michael, a boy who "doesn't exercise enough." Michael's a little chubby, and his dossier reveals the unhealthy habit of "too much computer time." His activity level is "way low" explains the detective, suggesting that Michael needs to get more "play in his day." The mystery takes you back in time to when Michael is sitting on the couch watching TV. The room has many interactive objects, but you solve the mystery by clicking on the soccer shirt. Michael puts it on and joins a soccer team. As the detective stamps "case closed," she explains that "Doing something active gives you more energy."
Some of the other mysteries deal with children who exercise but are not very strong (solution: eat more protein), who skip breakfast, and who eat too much. In each, the player helps the unhealthy children make changes to their lifestyles.
Solving each mystery unlocks three of the game's 24 arcade minigames. The minigames vary greatly but are usually themed to the eating or exercise problem brought up in the mystery.
A unique feature for this online game is that it shuts off after 20 minutes, encourages kids to go do something active, and then keeps them out of the game for 60 minutes. The game can be played in English or Spanish.
In addition to the minigames, each mystery also links to printable materials including healthy recipes, Internet scavenger hunts, experiments, exercises, and more.
Kaiser Permanente has partnered with Scholastic to distribute this game and related teaching materials and parent guides to 5,000 schools. Teachers and parents interested in these supplemental materials can find them for free on the Web at www.AmazingFoodDetective.com.
Another exciting game that teaches about nutrition is Hungry Red Planet.
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Social BehaviorSends a great message about being active when it shuts off after 20 minutes, tells you to go be active, and won't let you back in for 60 minutes. |
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CommercialismDeveloped and sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and their branding is present. |
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Educational ValueDelivers a serious message about eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise. |
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