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Universe in a Nutshell
By Mieke VanderBorght,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Size up everything from elephants to electrons with a swipe.
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Universe in a Nutshell
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Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What’s It About?
UNIVERSE IN A NUTSHELL opens with animated graphics of a human, a giraffe and an FM Radio wavelength, among other objects. Swipe to adjust the zoom, and continue zooming in to find objects both big and small. A scale on the bottom of the screen indicates where the user is in the zoom scale. Tap on any object to learn more about it. A glossary section lists the objects by size. Leave the background music on, or easily mute it from the main screen.
Is It Any Good?
This super accessible reference app gracefully brings the universe down to size. It can be really hard to wrap your head around the size of really big or really small things, but swiping through the scale makes the amazing size comparisons feel tangible. The graphics are nice, though some kids might appreciate seeing actual images of the objects, when available. Each object has a brief, and sometimes amusing, description. Since there's not much depth, these blurbs simply whet kids' appetites. They may be inspired to learn more but they'll have to go elsewhere to do so. In fact, the reference information here is really limited to just the basics. For example, though kids can get a sense of just how much bigger the sun is than a grain of salt, there are no explicit comparisons among any particular objects (e.g., how many salt grains could fit in the sun?). That said, there are some interesting and creative points on the scale such as the number of steps a human takes in a lifetime or the daily growth of a bamboo stalk. Universe in a Nutshell is approachable for anyone. But kids who like to geek out on science -- and on matters bigger or smaller than what they can tangibly imagine -- will particularly appreciate this experience.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the scale of objects included in Universe in a Nutshell. What's the biggest thing you can imagine? What's the smallest thing you can see with the naked eye?
Which objects pique your kids' curiosity the most? Help them find out more about what interests them. Go to a library, a museum, or do some internet research together.
Help kids experiment with measurement and size using things you find all around you. Break out a ruler or a measuring tape, or make up your own units of measure. Make sure to take notes so you can look back later and make comparisons.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Subjects: Math : measurement, Science : animals, astronomy, measurement
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning : spatial reasoning
- Pricing structure: Paid ($2.99)
- Release date: September 22, 2020
- Category: Education
- Topics: STEM , Space and Aliens
- Publisher: in a nutshell - kurzgesagt GmbH
- Version: 1.0.4
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 11.0 or later; Android varies
- Last updated: October 5, 2020
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