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  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 4, age appropriate for kids over 7; suggested age 7.

  • Is it any good?

    5.0

  • Common Sense says

    Virtual fair's rides and exhibits teach and entertain.

On this site kids can:   create an avatar, do activities, do research, learn about a specific topic, play in a virtual world

Why We Rated This on for Ages 7 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Kids can learn lots by paying close attention to Mr. Wonder, an affable animated tour guide who explains what things are and how they work in each of the 15 park adventures. Each of the activities, which range from zip-lining through a tropical rainforest to hot-air ballooning over the Serengeti to running a smoothie stand, is supplemented by additional reading material kids can delve into for more details. Completing an adventure unlocks an associated quiz where kids can test their newly acquired knowledge.  At any point kids can pause the action and consult a glossary for unfamiliar terms.

  • Messages:

    The site encourages kids to explore their world and educate themselves so they can become successful, caring adults. Through the dozen-plus adventures kids learn that life is a feast of interesting opportunities,  from starring in movies to supporting worthwhile causes to helping run our country’s government as elected officials.

  • User-created content:

    Kids can't post content. They can only dress their avatars and decorate their treehouses -- "treepods" -- with certificates and purchases.

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.

  • Sex:

    It's not sex, but there is a sheepish-looking cartoon boy sitting on a toilet at the end of the human digestive system adventure.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    The site is completely ad free. Kids do earn Wonder Dollars, which can be spent on snacks, souvenirs and postcards, just like in a real theme park. However, kids don't have to blow all their money on junk food and stuffed animals. For instance, buying a healthy snack from one of the 12 food stands, such as yogurt or carrot sticks instead of cheese fries or cinnamon buns, gives avatars more energy for exploring the park. Also, kids can hire blimps to fly over the park raising awareness of their favorite causes, such as saving marine mammals. 
     

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.

How safe is it?

  • Personal privacy:

    The personal info kids have to reveal to sign up is negligible, and they can't post anything personal because the site doesn't allow content creation or interacting with other users.

  • Online interaction:

    Kids have to create an avatar in order to use the site. They have the option of creating a companion avatar as well, to walk alongside them, and they can see other avatars milling around the park, waving, smiling and waiting in line. However, to keep the site safe and focused on learning, all avatars are scene dressing only, to create a parklike atmosphere. Kids can't communicate or interact with each other in any way -- there are no chat, talk bubble, message board or commenting tools.

  • Parental controls:

    Parents enjoy a tight rein, in part because users have to pay to join. Kids can't use the site until a parent or guardian has purchased a year's pass and activated it. Parents can keep tabs on their kids' activities with a monitoring tool that tracks which adventures a child has completed, the topics he's read more about, and even how many quiz questions he's answered correctly.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Wonder Rotunda was written by Carla Thornton

Parents need to know that this vibrant virtual world is designed to replicate the sense of wonder and excitement the creator felt as a child visiting the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. About as close to perfection as an online experience for preteens can be, Wonder Rotunda is safe, fun and highly educational. Eric and Diane Garfinkel, founders of the company Back to Basics Toys, used their own worldwide travel experiences and input from their four children, ages 9 to 23, to develop the colorful animated adventures and fascinating background facts. (Did you know that the fifth type of tastebud is called umami and located in the center of the tongue?) This closed site is not free, but there are no ads.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about the changing landscape of learning. Wonder Rotunda offers lots to play with as well as learn. Read more about raising kids in a digital world.
     
  • Even though this site is educational, kids should still practice reasonable computer time limits.
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More on Wonder Rotunda

Is It Any Good?

It’s a little slow to load in places, but overall Wonder Rotunda is gorgeous to look at and easy to use. This virtual theme park does a nice job of using exciting avatar-driven rides and experiences to inspire kids to learn more about the world around them. Kids will have fun zooming down into the colorful park map, entering various buildings and rides, and feeding their avatar from the food booths. The cartoon narrator, Mr. Wonder, explains things on a grade schooler’s level; for instance, “urine, also known as pee.”  Throughout each adventure, kids can pause the program to read a few paragraphs on topics they’ve just encountered. For instance, as their submarine whizzes through the human digestive tract a la Fantastic Voyage, kids can stop to learn more about the taste buds and salivary glands. 

The best thing about Wonder Rotunda is the rich variety of interactive adventures, which cover topics as diverse as tropical rainforests, African wildlife, marine life, money and business, American government, nutrition, classical music, and social causes.
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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Parent Reviewer
    jill3108
    Kids ages: 8
    I rate this title on for age 7 and give it 4.0

    WonderRotunda

    Very fun and educational!

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate

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