Packed with a level of enthusiasm you hope for - and increasingly expect - from educational software, Science Genius: Solar System Explorer is designed to bring the discovery of outer space to an eight- to eleven-year-old audience (tying into Key Stage 2).

Claiming to tie closely in with the science that's taught in schools, the program presents, in a bright and breezy manner, a series of scientific lessons and experiments. These, at their least interesting, are presented in a textual way should you so wish (with the option for you to write down your own reports and do your own drawings), but the real meat of the program proves to be the interactive experiments which it defaults to. These are well thought out and engaging, with a clear voiceover explaining what's going on and how the user needs to interact.

It's not, as you may think, a fully space-based affair. There's a variety of content covering the galaxy (with a requisite rocket or two as well), as you'd expect, but also looking at the likes of water and electricity. Throw in some planets, stars and astronomy, and it's quite a range. It all ties together, of course, but it's to the program's credit that it mines such a range of activities and things to do. It presents its various topics in a considered way, with animations and chatty narration taking over when interaction isn't required.

It's all presented through a series of so-called Smart Kids, and you can flick between your hosts, each of whom has their own voiceover to grate your speakers with. But for the younger user, the target audience of this particular CD, they prove to be genial guides, even if you may want the volume turned down a bit.

It's not all plain sailing, though. Our test subject did struggle with the program interface, and it's not always abundantly clear when and where you need to be clicking. Navigation could use some fine tuning, and it was also frustrating that the waiting times were a little longer than we would have liked, thanks to the continual need for the program CD to be accessed. That slows some of the program's momentum down, although not catastrophically so.

Yet, these grumbles aside, there's little doubting that Focus Multimedia has added another smart and worthwhile educational title to its range. For £9.99 there's a host of good, well thought out content here, that will act as a welcome complement to what's being taught in the classroom. Worth checking out.

Verdict
A useful piece of educational software that's in need of some fine tuning to get it running a little smoother, but offers few quarrels over the quality of its content.

Company: Focus Multimedia

Contact: 01889 570156

Tags: focus multimedia educational compact disc outer space solar system target audience astronomy education