Common Sense Media Review
By Mieke VanderBorght
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Solid body systems info needs more support to digest.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
How Does the Human Body Work?
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Tap play to enter the body factory in HOW DOES THE HUMAN BODY WORK? Choose from five bodies (four different kids and one pregnant woman) to examine, and tap play again. Pick one of the eight icons representing the skin and the digestive, respiratory, nervous, circulatory, urogenital, skeletal, and muscular systems. Each system shows diagrams and labels of the major system parts, and kids can zoom in to some areas in closer detail. Interactive activities include feeding the body to see how the digestive system processes food, or watching the heart beat faster as the body runs. If kids choose the pregnant woman, they can adjust the months of gestation. Tap the system name to read about it, and tap the puzzle icon to drop the labels and place them correctly.
Is It Any Good?
Though there are some nice diagrams and animations of the human body's systems, the overall organization of this app doesn't have enough scaffolding to allow for meaningful learning. There are plenty of positives in terms of the art, animations, and quality of information. And free play and exploration are wonderful ways to let kids take the lead in their own learning; there are other, similar apps that take this approach successfully. But How Does the Human Body Work? can be a bit confusing, in regards both to app navigation and to how the information is presented, perhaps because it's trying to do too much. With no help or explanation about the many different icons and buttons -- some of which do things, some of which don't -- it can be tricky to know what to do next. Also, the text-heavy overview of what each system does is sometimes written in language that isn't always kid-friendly. Some demonstrations, like the heart beating faster as the body runs, are straightforward enough to stand on their own. However, many others aren't. It would be nice to see some level of support or explanation so that kids can understand what they're watching when, for example, the signal from a mosquito bite travels through the nervous system. How Does the Human Body Work? works best as a tool for kids to use together with a grown-up who can provide all the missing context and explanation.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the body systems in How Does the Human Body Work? Watch and play with your kids and fill in the gaps to explain what they see.
Help kids make real-life connections between the models they see on-screen and their own bodies. For example, do some of the activities represented in the app and observe how it makes your body feel, such as running in place for a couple minutes and taking your pulse before, during, and after.
Read books and watch documentaries to learn more about how the human body works.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Science : biology
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : June 7, 2019
- Genre : Education
- Topics : STEM
- Publisher : Learny Land S.L.
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 9.0 or later
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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