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Sammy's Science House 
by T.J. Linahan

[product box]Sammy's Science House is a great educational tool for your three to six year old. This program is made to teach you child basic science skills and also how to have fun while learning. This is not only important now, but also later in life. The program is not only easy to use it is also easy for anybody to to get around in with ease. Offering five different stations it will keep your child entertained for ages.

 At the workshop, your child will learn how to follow plans and instructions. While they do this they will build interesting toys and machines. After they build them the object comes to life, which is really exciting for them. My five-year-old brother, Chip, said, "This is really cool!" He is always asking me to come watch him build different things.

 Acorn Pond is another exciting part of the program that will teach your child about the environment. Acorn Pond shows your child how plants and animals adjust to the seasonal changes in the world around them. There is also an explore and discover mode which allows your child to explore and learn about Acorn Pond. There is also a question and answer mode, which is like a quiz or test.

 Make-a-Movie teaches children to put things in chronological order. After they put the pictures in the right order they get to play the movie. If the pictures are not in the right order it will ask you to try again.

 The sorting Station teaches your child how to put things into categories. After they hear the name of the plants, animals and minerals they have to put the objects into the correct bin.

 Another neat option that this program offers which allows you to control what your child does while using it. By holding down the Crtl and Alt keys when pressing "A" the menu will pop up. From there you can select whether you want the child to be able to print, exit, play the theme music and control the volume.

 System requirements are a Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, 4 MB of RAM (although 8 MB is recommended), a CD-ROM drive, a 386 DX/33 MHz processor (although a 486/33 or better is recommended) a Super VGA monitor with 256 color or more and a hard drive at least 2 MB free.

 Sammy's Science House retails for $39.95. It is manufactured by the Edmark Corporation and is available in local stores.

 T.J. Linahan is a sophomore at Clark High School. His youngest brother, Chip, is in Kindergarten at Howsman Elementary School.