Dr. Panda's Carnival
By Lisa Caplan,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Kids explore carnival attractions in open-world funhouse.
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Dr. Panda's Carnival
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What’s It About?
It's always the right weather to visit DR. PANDA'S CARNIVAL. Kids jump right onto the midway where they can freely explore amusement park rides and carnival-style games, cook up some fun treats, put on face paint, play dress-up, and capture their creations in photos. The animals roaming the park star in stories your child invents, and kids get to try carnival games such as knocking over cans to earn stars and prizes. There's also a seek-and-find element to the app with stars hiding on the fairgrounds that perform delightfully unexpected tricks. As kids complete games, they earn stars, which they can use to buy virtual toys and treats. Though they can lose a game, it's possible to play again and again until they win.
Is It Any Good?
In this installment kids will have fun exploring an amusement park, but its fun focus is less educational than other titles in the series. The graphics are inviting, polished, and interactive, hiding surprises and stars. Some of the games have more value than others: Letting kids do virtual face painting and dress-up allows for creativity, but placing characters on rides becomes somewhat redundant. Also, the magnetic ducks might stump kids at first, so they'll have to figure out what's expected to win. There's no doubt kids will love spending some time at this carnival, but parents hoping for more learning opportunities might want to look elsewhere.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about past and future visits to carnivals, fairs, and theme parks in the real world and explore the differences between digital play spaces and the real thing.
Talk with your kids about what might be happening at the carnival to encourage storytelling. Maybe friends are encouraging one another to go on a ride. What is going on inside the haunted house?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Subjects: Language & Reading: storytelling
- Skills: Creativity: imagination, Tech Skills: using and applying technology
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: September 16, 2015
- Category: Educational Games
- Publisher: Dr. Panda Ltd
- Version: 1.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 8.0 or later; Android 4.0 and up
- Last updated: July 27, 2016
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