Science360, developed by Bottle Rocket Apps and published by the National Science Foundation, is a beautifully crafted (and unbelievably FREE!) iPad app designed to make the user feel as though they are peering out from “inside a spinning globe” of information. Targeted toward audiences of any age, this app will undoubtedly become a favorite of the science geek in all of us.
With an app mission statement of “awakening the science geek in everyone by giving them a glimpse of the future now,” Science360 will show the world that science is entertaining, fun and worth sharing with others. The goal of the app is to present the National Science Foundation‘s content in a manner that is interesting for anyone, whether or not they have a direct interest in science.
“Where Discoveries Begin” is the tagline for the National Science Foundation. Their goal is to keep the United States at the leading edge of discovery from astronomy to geology to zoology.
The app uses stunning photography and breathtaking images to make a big impact and encourage exploration. The app was designed with the goal of expanding NSF’s content to a much broader audience. Most of NSF.gov’s visitors are currently either hardcore science aficionados or scientific professionals in a variety of fields exploring grant opportunities. The Science360 app will present NSF’s amazing information in a more approachable and entertaining manner, introducing NSF to a completely new audience.
Science360 is perfect for both active learning and actively whiling away an afternoon. Users could spend hours surfing through the awesome globe of content with no real goal in mind. Or, fire up the app, and using the tags featured, find a category and discover a specific topic to explore. Teachers could use the app to demonstrate science subjects on a large monitor or TV through the iPad Apple Digital AV Adapter, available now, or via third party app connection capabilities of AirPlay to an AppleTV using iOS 5.0 available this Fall.
Low-vision users will be happy to hear that Bottle Rocket worked especially hard to design the app to take full advantage of Apple’s accessibility API’s available in the iOS SDK. Low-vision and blind users can enjoy the full use of iPad gestures to explore videos and hear the full text descriptions read to them aloud. The app even automatically increases font sizes for low-vision users when in accessibility mode. This the first of several apps developed by Bottle Rocket to make better use of the excellent accessibility features built into Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating systems.
Again, Science360 is free giving users access to NSF’s giant library of content for hours of enlightenment, education and entertainment.