Solar Walk: Space Simulator 3D

What kids do

• Explore planets in a 3D solar system
• Switch between an orrery and a scale view
• Watch animations of Moon phases and tides

Who it suits

The developer aims it at children and adults alike and doesn’t name a teaching age. The App Store’s 4+ is a content rating, not a learning level.

Notes for parents

It is described as a simulator for all ages, and seems to lean toward open-ended exploration more than structured lessons.

In these guides

• Why does the Moon change shape? Space apps and websites for kids’ big questions: Seven space apps and websites for curious kids, matched to the questions children often ask about the Moon, seasons, planets and stars.

More Science

• Science for Kids by Tappity: Interactive science videos, questions and a science journal, covering topics such as magnets and volcanoes.
• MarcoPolo Weather: Children adjust wind, temperature and precipitation and watch a landscape and its characters react.
• MarcoPolo Ocean: Reef building, a submersible to assemble and marine animals to find, with narration that introduces ocean words.
• Coral Reef by Tinybop: Children explore a reef food web, hide an octopus and follow food through a jellyfish to see how ocean life connects.
• Star Walk Kids: Astronomy Game: Cartoons, narrated facts and quick quizzes guide children around a moving solar system and a mobile observatory.
• The Earth by Tinybop: Volcanoes, earthquakes, fossils and shifting sediment, all on screen, showing how the Earth’s surface changes.
• Space by Tinybop: An interactive solar system model where children compare planets, tilt the Earth and follow the phases of the Moon.
• Plants by Tinybop: Children move through the seasons in forest, desert and grassland habitats, looking at plant life above and below the soil.