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Educational: 5.0
Overall Design: 4.5
Ease of Use: 4.5
(4.0 = good, 4.5 = very
good, 5.0 = excellent)
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Program Description Commentary Who Is This Program For
Why We Selected This Program Computer Requirements
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The New Way Things Work is an interactive junior encyclopedia of the mechanical world. From the main page your can access the program's content by either starting with the machines themselves, or with the history of invention, scientific principles, inventors, or choosing from a warehouse of all kinds of machines and devices.
Whichever way you start, you are presented with a written introduction to what you have selected, plus a high quality illustration or diagram. (See right) You can click on the various parts of the illustration to access more information about the machine. On the same page, you can access information and pictures on the inventor, related scientific principles or the time and place in history.
In the text there are key words that you can click on that provide scientific definitions and explanations of the principles at work. You also can easily access a list of devices related to what you are viewing. For example, if you are looking at a piano, you can select from a list of other musical instruments, such as the violin, viola or the electric guitar.
One of the areas we took a close look at was the hot air balloon. Through this we learned that the first hot air balloon was invented in France by the Montgolfier brothers in 1782 and were able to read interesting historical detail around the story of the hot air balloon's invention. From the text area, you also can access and read about hot air, heat, temperature, weight and gravity, - in short - all the scientific characteristics and principles that are involved in how a hot air balloon works.
The New Way Things Work's content covers over 200 machines and devices, contains 25 short videos, many animations and over 1000 full colour screens. The program also has a quiz game to test your knowledge.
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Learning the mechanics of the jet engine
How a lock works
Learning about famous inventors
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"My son who is 10 found this program really useful to look for ideas for several projects for school. My husband who is a real gadget freak loved this program" - mother of Ronnie, age 10.
" I really like gadgets and stuff. This program was really interesting to look through. I found it really interesting to see how airplane engines actually worked. " - Sam, age 13
The New Way Things Work is for the child who has a great curiosity about the physical and mechanical world and enjoys reading. Compared to a lot of software programs, The New Way Things Work is very much a reading based experience. It will suit the child who doesn't need a lot of interactive stimuli to be engaged in the content of the program. It is also a very useful reference program to have around when a question arises or when a science project from school is on the horizon.
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The written text is simple and easy to understand for young readers. The illustrations are superb and the introductory videos with David Macaulay are fun to watch.
Given the purpose of the program is to stimulate a child's curiosity and provide an introduction to the physical and mechanical world, the amount of information in each module is just right for this age group. The program is very easy to navigate and is well designed to allow a user to wander all over the place through the various internal links in the program.
If your child has a science type project and has to select their own topic, the program is a great exploratory tool. You can move from one area to another very easily. You can also easily find very specific information through the index section in the program .
David Macaulay's work in book form is well known and exceptionally well done. The same quality can be found on this program. Like top quality reference resources, this is a great program to have around.
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Pricing and Online Ordering
(or call toll free -1-800-250-9229 )
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MacIntosh: System 7.0 or better, CPU 68LC040 25MZ, RAM 8MB, Screen display 640 X 480 pixels, 256 colours, CD-ROM 2X or better, Hard drive 8Mb, Audio 8 bit sound card.
Windows® 3.1 or 95/98:, CPU : 486/33Mhz or better, RAM : 8MB fro 3.1x, 12Mb for Windows 95, 16Mb for Windows 98 Screen display 640X480 pixels, 256 colours, CD-ROM: 2X or better, available space on hard drive 8Mb, audio 8-bit sound card
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or to see other science programmes
My Amazing Human Body - ages 5-10
Magic School Bus Explores Bugs - ages 4-9
Field Trip To The Rainforest - ages 9 - 16
Starry Night Complete Space & Astonomy Pack - ages 12 & up
Science Matrix (cell biology) - ages 12 & up
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