The Top 5 iPad Science Apps
surprising number of science-related apps designed for the iPad are now available through iTunes. These fascinating apps cover a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including but not limited to astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, oceanography, and physics. Although many of these science apps are good, there are far fewer great ones. We've sorted them out for you here, highlighting those that are both informative and—dare we say it?—fun.
All the apps we've chosen are accessible to non-scientists, and all bring their content alive even to those who are unfamiliar with their subject matter. They all take advantage of the iPad's excellent graphical abilities and are chockfull of photos, graphs, tables, animations, audio, and even rotatable 3D virtual reality objects. Some of the apps work the iPhone$384.95 at Amazon as well, but most are made for the iPad and its larger screen.
Be sure to click the titles of the short blurbs below to visit the full reviews, which include plenty of images—these apps are gorgeous, and they're well worth a look. Finally, keep in mind that we're always on the lookout for great iPad and iPhone science apps, so if you think we've missed a great one, tell us about it in the comments below.
Featured in This Roundup
The Elements: A Visual Exploration
$13.99
The Elements: A Visual Exploration is a compelling and visually stunning guide to these basic chemical substances, combining informative (and interlinked) text, spinning VR images, and even an animation set to a theme song.
$13.99
The Elements: A Visual Exploration is a compelling and visually stunning guide to these basic chemical substances, combining informative (and interlinked) text, spinning VR images, and even an animation set to a theme song.
Focus on Earthquakes
$3.99
The Focus on Earthquakes iPad app is a great introduction to the subject, combining a globe showing recent earthquake activity with a comprehensive e-book packed with animations, images, and maps.
$3.99
The Focus on Earthquakes iPad app is a great introduction to the subject, combining a globe showing recent earthquake activity with a comprehensive e-book packed with animations, images, and maps.
EarthViewer
Free
EarthViewer (for iPad) covers 4.5 billion years of Earth's geological and atmospheric history, and its also has cool animations depicting continental drift.
Free
EarthViewer (for iPad) covers 4.5 billion years of Earth's geological and atmospheric history, and its also has cool animations depicting continental drift.
SkySafari 3
$2.99
SkySafari 3 stands out among iPad planetarium apps for the variety of objects it shows and the thoroughness of the information it provides about them.
$2.99
SkySafari 3 stands out among iPad planetarium apps for the variety of objects it shows and the thoroughness of the information it provides about them.
NASA App HD
Free
The Impressive NASA App HD packs a wealth of news stories, features, images, video, and more into the U.S. space agency's flagship app.
Free
The Impressive NASA App HD packs a wealth of news stories, features, images, video, and more into the U.S. space agency's flagship app.
