Cognitive Kid Introduces Multi-Sensory Educational App for the iPad

Hillsborough, CA (May 6, 2011) - Forget about the pith helmet and passport, all you need for an interactive African adventure is an iPad! Thanks to Cognitive Kid, a new company specializing in educational apps, kids can travel to Africa any time they want with Ansel and Clair's Adventures in Africa.

The apps from Cognitive Kid, starting with Ansel and Clair's Adventures in Africa, truly take advantage of the iPad's capabilities. Stunning graphics, exciting interactions, adaptive difficulty, and immersive gameplay make for an experience that educates and entertains, while holding a child's attention for hours.

In Ansel and Clair's Adventures in Africa, best suited for ages 4-9, you embark on an amazing African journey with Ansel and Clair, and explore three stunning interactive locales: the Nile Valley, Sahara Desert and the Serengeti Plains. In each place there are animals, plants, places and landmarks to explore.

Your friendly travel companions are Ansel, an intergalactic travel photographer from the planet Virtoos, and a knowledgeable Virtoosian robot named Clair. Both of these original animated characters were specially designed for the touch screen. Together, Ansel and Clair are on a mission to take photographs and document their journey so they can teach their fellow Virtoosians all about Africa.

But Ansel and Clair can't do it alone, they need your help! In each locale take photographs of the things you've learned about and arrange them in a travel log to document their experience. That way, Ansel and Clair can share them with everyone when they return to Virtoos. And don't forget to help Ansel along your journey by finding him food to eat when he is hungry, lighting a fire to keep him warm, or saving him when he is in trouble.

As you begin your journey and head into Africa, Ansel and Clair's spaceship (named Marley Peterson) breaks apart, scattering parts across Africa. Once you land, you'll have to find all the missing parts before Ansel and Clair can return home to Virtoos!

To get started, pick one of the three African locations to explore. Clair has an encyclopedic knowledge of, well, everything—and is there to share information and fun facts with you and Ansel.

In the Sahara Desert, Clair shares information about ostriches, camels, oases, sand dunes and much more. Interactive activities include cooking an egg on the hood of a car without a pan, changing the scene from day to night by dragging the sun down, feeding a camel and even dusting off after a sand storm by wiping your finger across the screen to clear the sand.

The Serengeti is full of exciting African animals including lions, elephants, giraffes and a hippopotamus. Here, you can match animals to their respective furs in a given time span in the Fur Ball-a-tor game. Watch how the change of seasons affects the Serengeti by moving the clouds to switch between the wet and dry seasons. See the Baobab tree lose its leaves and the Wildebeest migrate. Be sure to wipe the rain off the screen to get a good look at everything in the wet season! In the spectacular Nile Valley learn about pharaohs, mummies, sphinx and other ancient treasures.

Feed Ansel dates by tapping the Date Palm, and save him from drowning in the Nile. Arrange the stages of the frog's lifecycle to learn about metamorphosis, and use the iPad's built-in accelerometer to maneuver Ansel through secret passages and trap doors in the Pyramid by tilting the iPad to different positions.

The whole African journey is a seamless blend of education and entertainment. While the interactions are thrilling, they're really geared towards teaching. Kids learn without even realizing it. Innovative “ClairVision,” supported by both text and audio, enables kids to learn even more with 50+ screen overlays that provide additional information on the subjects at-hand. Further, with the app's non-linear design, children can explore the different places at their leisure without getting “stuck” in one spot.

The multi-sensory experience provided by the iPad was an important factor for Cognitive Kid in creating the Ansel and Clair series. First, because the iPad is capable of so much, it provided a platform to seamlessly combine education and fun. Second, the interactive experience has long been considered integral to the learning process. As the Chinese proverb says: “I hear, I forget; I see, I remember; I do, I understand.” And, in Ansel and Clair's Adventures in Africa and in upcoming Cognitive Kid apps, they aim to not only show and tell, but also involve the users so they retain the information.

The app was first released in early May, and it's already receiving rave reviews, including the review below from Kelly Tenkely at www.ipadcurriculum.com:

“Ansel and Clair's Adventures in Africa is everything an educational kids app should be. The app is truly spectacular with animations, quests, puzzles, games, excellent graphics, fantastic storyline and plenty of ways for kids to engage in play and learning. Ansel and Clair's Adventure in Africa is one of those wonderful apps that packs in all kinds of learning and important thinking skills. Honestly, this is what I WISH every textbook looked like. This app immerses kids in learning in a fun and engaging way that encourages discovery and inquiry. I cannot wait to see more from Cognitive Kid, they know how to make an educational app! I have to say this is one of the BEST apps I have seen. I am truly amazed.”

Ansel and Clair's Adventures in Africa is available now through iTunes. It is $4.99 and compatible with all iPads. Visit www.anselandclair.com for additional information.