Disney has launched a new series of educational apps for kids under the banner of “Imagicademy”, with the first going live for iPad this morning: Mickey’s Magical Maths World.
As the title makes clear, this is squarely focused on mathematics: counting, sorting, shapes and general problem-solving, with the help of classic characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, and Goofy.
It takes a space theme, with five worlds – one per character – each with its own maths mini-game to play. Kids will be building rockets and robots, sorting space jellies and recycling with Goofy, for example.
The app is aimed at younger children – 3-5 years-old I’d say – with LOTS of interactivity to keep them amused beyond the five main games. Every world is a buzzing environment of its own, as spaceships fly past, robots wander around, and with scenery that can be interacted with in a playful way.
What’s more, the things kids make – those robots for example – are in the world, providing a reminder of what they’ve created in the past. The more they play, the more they’ll discover too.
Mickey’s Magical Maths World is a free download for iPad from Apple’s App Store, with a limited version of each world available to play with. However, to unlock all the features, you’ll need to pay: £2.99 per world, or £13.99 to unlock the lot. This is handled via in-app purchase, carefully put under the control of parents.
That’s not all there is to Imagicademy though. Disney has also released a separate (completely free) app for parents: Disney Imagicademy Parents. It functions as a dashboard to help you see what your children have been creating and achieving in the Magical Maths World app – and in future apps in the series like Mickey’s Magical World of Arts and Frozen World of Science.
However, the parental app also works in a standalone way, suggesting educational activities and physical play that your children may enjoy, as well as providing access to a community of parents to chat to.
Disney isn’t alone in exploring this kind of idea. Just this week, I wrote about how American company Kidaptive is doing a very similar thing with its Leo’s Pad Enrichment Program app for kids and companion Learner Mosaic app for parents.
It’s a good idea, so I’m eager to see how well it works for both companies in the coming months. Mickey’s Magical Maths World looks very good indeed, although having had a sneak preview of the second app, Magical World of Arts, that’s shaping up beautifully too – it’ll be out in January.