Mobile Computing | News

PBS Kids Launches Free Augmented Reality Math App

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 11/14/11

PBS Kids has launched Fetch! Lunch Rush, an educational augmented reality app for iPhones and iPod Touch devices.

Designed for students in grades 1-3, the free multiplayer game uses the device's camera and overlaid graphics to create 3-D imagery designed to "reinforce the early algebraic concepts, helping kids to make the connection between real objects and corresponding numeric symbols," according to information released by the company.

The object of the game is to feed a crew working on Ruff's movie. To play, users print out game pieces from a downloadable PDF and distribute them around the game area. Ruff then gives orders for food and users choose the game piece with the number corresponding to the correct answer by looking at it through the phone and tapping it.

Funded through a Ready to Learn grant from the United States Department of Education, the app was created by WGBH and based on Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman, a PBS Kids Go! series also produced by the member station.

"The Fetch! Lunch Rush app is designed as a 3-D game, which helps kids visualize the math problems they are trying to solve," said Lesli Rotenberg, senior vice president of children’s media at PBS. "At PBS Kids our goal is to use media to nurture kids' natural curiosity and inspire them to explore the world around them; we can’t wait to see what this new app will mean for furthering that exploration."

The iTunes page for the app currently warns that the game may not work on the iPhone 4S. "Users of the iPhone 4S may experience a blue screen when trying to play the game," according to information on the site. "The app does work on all other iPhone and iPod touch devices, and we are currently working to fix this issue as soon as possible."

More information about the app is available at itunes.apple.com. Visit pbskids.org for more information about PBS Kids.