The American Museum of Natural History Just Launched OLogy, an iPad App Version of Its Science Website for Kids

Starting today, kids will be able to access the American Museum of Natural History's kid-friendly science website, OLogy, through a new iPad app.

The free AMNH app, compatible with iOS versions 11.0 or later, includes games, multimedia lessons, quizzes, and other activities across a variety of “-ologies,” from archaeology to marine biology. It includes some of the same content offered on the website, but the app gives kids a more tactile experience—and the chance to download things for offline learning.

Of the 36 interactive modules available on the app so far (with more to come in future updates), there’s something to interest just about every kid. Dinosaur aficionados can learn about the anatomy and senses of a Tyrannosaurus rex, while nature lovers can explore Cuban wildlife in a game where they match species to their habitats. The next generation of space pioneers, on the other hand, might gravitate to the lesson about calculating the distance to stars. There’s even an introduction to the flu, which teaches kids how diseases can spread.

OLogy, created by a team of career scientists and AMNH educators, aims to bring complex topics to a kid-friendly level in fun, easily digestible ways that accommodate different learning styles. One especially illuminating feature is the “Ask a Scientist” series, where real-world scientists in different fields respond to questions submitted by kids of all ages. According to one geneticist, the “silliest thing that humans used to believe about the brain” is Aristotle's theory that humans’ thoughts and emotions were found in the heart, while the brain was “a pretty useless organ.”

You can download the app for your iPad here.