I always struggled with geography at school, which was partly my fault for being a lazy, daydreaming little tyke, and partly (I suspect) because it wasn’t taught very interestingly.

If only there’d been an app like The Earth by Tinybop around at the time. It does a brilliant job of explaining why “our planet and the geological forces that shape it” are so fascinating – by getting children to play with those forces.

“Trigger earthquakes! Make volcanos erupt! Investigate plate tectonics, weathering, erosion, and deposition. Travel across time to see how our home has changed over eons, pre-Pangea to the present,” explains its App Store listing.

It’s a marvellous app to give to your child and let them explore for themselves, with lots of layers (pun not intended) and hidden depths (oh, alright, maybe a little bit) to dig into (yes, sorry, sorry).

From advancing glaciers to rock deposits and frost wedging – plus the always-of-interest volcanic eruptions – this is a playful toolbox to understand how the earth works.

Like previous apps from Tinybop (which we’d thoroughly recommend) there’s also a downloadable ‘handbook’ with more information for parents, teachers and children alike – here’s the English one for The Earth. It’s a great idea, especially if you (like me) weren’t so hot on these topics at school.

The Earth by Tinybop costs £2.49 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.