I am probably the last person in my city to have an Ipod. At least, it seemed so. But my Ipod-free world is no more. On Sunday we traipsed into the local electronics store and used a whole whack of gift cards to buy an Ipod Touch.
Now, officially this is so that we can use Facetime to communicate with my husband when we are away from each other. Unofficially? Well, let’s just say I went a little crazy on the apps last night. Particularly those of the nerdalicious variety.
Let’s face it: apps are cool. They’re wee little programs that allow you to do one thing well. They let you make your photos fancy, help you with your text messages, or yes – let you play Angry Birds. But apps can be a lot more than that, and these apps will have anyone in love with science.
Project Noah provides kids with the opportunity to tag pictures and information about animals and plants that they see, creating a new generation of citizen scientists.
Do you remember the periodic table? Probably a little, but I doubt whether a lot of it stuck in your head. The Elements: A Visual Exploration is a stunning look at the periodic table, with visual representations of each element, accompanied by information about the history and uses of the elements.
Leafsnap is my personal, drool-worthy favorite. If you’re any bit of a naturalist, you’ve probably wished the you could simply scan a leaf into your brain and identify it. Now you can use biometric technology with the camera on your Ipod or Iphone to scan leaves, and your phone will provide you with suggestions as to what the plant might be. Although it only works for Eastern US species at the moment, perhaps one day it will work across North America. And it’s free!
Skywalk and Pocket Universe are two amazing apps that allow you to look at the night sky and understand what you’re looking at. They use the GPS in your Iphone or Ipod to locate you on the Earth, then they superimpose a picture of the stars on top of it.
Do you have a dino lover on your hands? The Ultimate Dinopedia contains an encyclopedia of 1000 dinosaurs, all with detailed entries.
For cool but simple, Ball and Stick will do. This chemistry app allows you to make your own molecules before you ever test them out in the lab.
Do you have science apps on your mobile device? Which ones do you use?
Image Credit: [picaland]