Common Sense Media Review
By Christopher Healy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
A fun and educational game for dino-loving kids.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Digging for Dinosaurs (DS)
What's It About?
DIGGING FOR DINOSAURS starts off by putting kids in the shoes of a globe-trotting paleontologist. They can scroll a world map and choose where they want to dig for fossils (as long as they have enough points to enter that dig). Once they've used clever touchscreen controls to unearth a dino skeleton, they'll have access to that dinosaur's mini-game. By playing mini-games (like defending a nest against predators, flying between treetops, navigating a maze, hunting in the dark, or battling it out with another fierce carnivore) kids can earn more points that can be spent to access more digs. At the end, they can have a full dinosaur museum.
Is It Any Good?
Kids who love dinosaurs tend to REALLY love dinosaurs, and those kids will also love this game. Digging for Dinosaurs is a great package, with a very neat touchscreen method for unearthing fossils and reconstructing skeletons. It's got loads of interesting dino facts, including some neat new tidbits that even your obsessive dino lover probably hasn't heard yet. And it's got a slew of exciting and challenging mini-games. The game is labeled as being for ages 5 to 8, but kids on the lower end of that range might have difficulty with some of the mini-games.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why science is fun. Many kids may not even think of this game as science, but remind them that it is, and that exploring other realms of science can be entertaining as well.
Ask kids which dinosaurs are their favorites and why? Do they prefer the scary meat-eaters? Or the strong, armored plant-eaters that know how to defend themselves well?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo DS , Nintendo DSi
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Scholastic
- Release date : October 26, 2010
- Genre : Edutainment
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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