Common Sense Media Review
By Mieke VanderBorght
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Super-simplified STEM games are best for young kids.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Play and Learn Engineering
What's It About?
Tap the left or right arrow to browse through four game sets in PLAY AND LEARN ENGINEERING. Obstacle Course, Roller Coaster, Boxy Towers, and Snack Time each has one open-ended sandbox activity and one guided game. For example, in Robo Builder, kids use a variety of objects to experiment with building a tower. In Kitty Rescue, they must build a tower to a specific height to help the kitty get down from a tree branch.
Is It Any Good?
These STEM games are nicely balanced between open ended and guided activities but don't offer much depth of learning. Play and Learn Engineering appeals to kids with colorful graphics and super simplified games. In fact, the games are so watered down that they'll really appeal only to the youngest kids. Each game explores a different concept, but there are only a few options for kids to experiment with. That is, kids don't really do all that much in each game. To really bring home the learning, kids will need some additional input. It's a great help that the parents' section offers some excellent suggestions for how to do just that. Though most of the games are really easy to play, some -- like the tower builder -- have controls that aren't very intuitive, which may frustrate kids. Yet overall, Play and Learn Engineering gives a decent - and free - very basic introduction to engineering fun.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the STEM content in Play and Learn Engineering. How did the pulley help the player get around that obstacle? What kind of machine can you use to guide the sandwich to the bear?
Be an active participant in your kid's learning on and off the screen. Build simple obstacle courses and stack blocks in your living room. Read the suggestions in the parents' section for more ideas on how to encourage STEM learning.
It's hard to turn off the screen when your having fun. Make your family's rules and guidelines clear before handing over your device.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire
- Subjects : Science : engineering , momentum , physics
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : problem solving , spatial reasoning
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : May 4, 2020
- Genre : Education
- Topics : STEM
- Publisher : PBS KIDS
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 10.0 or later; Android 4.4 and up
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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