Impact: Ground Zero
All Around Us Interactive	Ages 10 and up

Rating Scale 5 = great,    1 = poor

Educational Value 4.5

Kid Appeal 3.5

Ease of Use 5.0

System Requirements

PC / Mac Price Survey

Product Support

“65 million years ago -- a 10 kilometer asteroid or comet smashes into the Yucatan Peninsula killing the dinosaurs and wiping out almost 70% of all species living on Earth”.

Impact: Ground Zero informs, predicts and amazes with an arsenal of information presented through narrated text, video interviews with renowned scientists, photos, reference materials and more. Those interested in extraterrestrial involvement in our universe will be fascinated by this enlightening program.

Educational Value

Impact: Ground Zero is divided into four main sections aptly named, The Dinosaur Impact, Impact Timeline, The Impact Files, and Impact Today. Each section features in-depth information, presented in a variety of manners including narrated text, scientist interviews, and book excerpts. An interactive quiz allows users to test their understanding of program information in a simulated disaster situation reminiscent of recent blockbuster movies (which, along with other subject-related films are reviewed and rated for scientific accuracy).

A reference library is provided for those wanting to conduct more extensive research on the subject. This section consists of an Acrobat PDF file with 240 printable pages on a variety of related topics, a photo slide show, and a Web Link listing related Internet sites (mostly NASA government sites).

Kid Appeal

Although our kid testers found some of the scientist monologues more than a little monotonous, they were, for the most part intrigued by the subject matter. Because of the easy-to-use program interface, students were able to access information they found stimulating, and save more tedious sections for another day.

Some of the information presented in this program is alarming and may frighten young users. Parents are encouraged to explore this program along with their children, especially the ‘Impact Today’ section which includes information about scientists’ efforts to eliminate the threat of future destruction caused by asteroid and comet impacts.

Ease of Use / Install

To install this software, the user must select Run from the Windows Start menu, then type “D:/setup” where “D” represents the letter given to the user’s CD-ROM drive.

Impact: Ground Zero requires QuickTime for Windows v. 2.1, which is included on the CD-ROM. Once the program is installed, we recommend viewing the ReadMe file for brief but helpful troubleshooting tips.

Best for... / Bottom-Line

Whether you’re a casual astronomer intrigued by the recent movie releases “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact,” or a committed student of celestial phenomenon, Impact: Ground Zero is sure to satiate and inspire.

See SuperKids' comparisons with other science software titles, and the Buyers Guide for current market prices of the PC and Mac versions of this program.

PC: Windows 95, NT, P90 or faster cpu, 10 MB hard drive space, 16 MB RAM, SVGA display, 4X CD-ROM, 8-bit sound card.

Mac: System 7.1 or higher (System 8 compatible), Mac 68040-33 or PowerPC, 10 MB available hard drive space, 16 MB RAM, 13" or larger color monitor 16-bit color, 4X or faster CD-ROM

Reviewed on:

Pentium166 with 48MB and 12XCD

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