An intriguing hands-on science kit, for use on the computer and off. Widget Workshop lets kids devise gadgets and puzzles and "what if?" experiments, by connecting up widgets and seeing what happens. It pushes them to think harder than most other software. But it's so challenging that many kids will need your help to take advantage of everything it offers.
,p>In Widget Workshop, kids build things simply by clicking among a wide array of widget parts - like timers, sounds, and switches - dragging them into an on-screen workspace and clicking to connect them all. Click a keypad widget, for example, and click again to connect it to the solar system "superpart." Click and connect a "multiplier." Then, push the green "Go" button and watch the results. Kids jump right into this kind of trial-and-error discovery without hesitation (although our testers recommend working through the software tutorial, too).Beside making their own inventions, kids can tackle one of 25 challenging puzzle widgets or 30 experiments in the Workshop Activities book. Using both the software and the tools packaged with it - magnifier, thermometer, spinning top and more - kids can explore distance, speed, gravity, sound, light and weather, computer programming and a lot of math. Starting with simple constructions, Widget Workshop takes kids into abstractions like digital data, logic gates, flow charts, and mathematical formulas.
The bottom line: a good program for children who love mental challenges and for families that like to explore science together.
 | for Learning | Hands-on science inventions and experiments that push kids to think |
 | for Looks | Imaginative, easy to get started |
| for Longevity | Lots of possibilities; may be too abstract for some kids |
