Parents' Guide to Brainapse

The deep dive into the brain has some strengths and some challenges, leaving it a mixed bag for learning. There's no doubt that being able to look at a virtual model of the brain is fascinating. The chance to zoom in, rotate, and even see the various parts is pretty cool. The use of AR in the process isn't always smooth, but it's OK. That same AR is a real problem in the quiz game, though. Kids need to be in an area with enough light and surface for the app to display a number of different brain parts. It could detract from the learning because it's possible that the part you're looking for just isn't displaying correctly. Beyond the AR, there are still a number of ups and downs. The section on how the brain communicates is dazzling to look at, while the part on evolution includes pages and pages of dense text. The quiz could use additional elements: When kids tap on a brain part as a possible answer, the name of the part isn't shown. They're simply told if they are correct or incorrect. There's a lot of good to be found in Brainapse, and it may be worth the purchase for anyone who is studying the brain, but some parts are smarter than others.