Like it or not there’s no escaping from science, so you might as well learn about it. I think these were the words of Einstein, who if he were around today would no doubt be a big fan of using the PC as a tool for education. Of course, science comes in a variety of flavours, namely physic, chemistry and biology. Thankfully, there are computer programs that can help with all these facets, and which are aimed at all levels of education. Here are some to try:
Primary: If you’re under the age of 10 then you probably don’t want to be hearing about Newton’s laws of motion or the density of lead. In fact you probably just want to mess around and play games. Luckily for you, science and games do go together. For instance, you could play Diego’s Dinosaur Adventure, in which you will learn about the anatomy of prehistoric creatures by playing a series of cartoon puzzles. Likewise you could try installing 3D Mad Scientist Penguins, where you’ll be able to watch some hilarious science experiments involving aliens, ghosts, keys and a hat made of fruit. Just don’t try them at home kids.
Secondary: Like it or not, at some point during your high school education you’ll have to learn the periodic table of elements. Get Periodic Table installed on your computer and you’ll be able to learn the table off by heart in next to no time, as well as picking up points for learning some interesting stuff about each element’s properties. Finding out what happens when chemical elements are mixed can be a dangerous task if you don’t know what you’re doing. Fear not though, because you can always install ModelChemLab, an interactive chemistry set for Windows. If you’re more interested in what’s above us than what’s around us then check out an astronomy application such as Starry Night or Worldwide Telescope and get a glimpse of the celestial world beyond.
College: For those boffins out there who decided to further their science studies after leaving school, there’s still a bevy of software apps to help you in your quest for knowledge. For instance, Populus is perfect for examining evolutionary ecology; WinIQSM is superb for studying sound signals, and RPN Engineering Calculator provides you with instant solutions to complex engineering calculations.
