App review by Christy Matte, Common Sense Education | Updated August 2013
Color Uncovered
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Color Uncovered

Engaging ebook combines art with science in playful ways

Get it now
  • Download from App Store
Learning rating
Editorial review by Common Sense Education
Community rating
Based on 7 reviews
Privacy rating
Not yet rated Expert evaluation by Common Sense
Grades
5–12 This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
Subjects & Skills
Arts, Science, Character & SEL, Critical Thinking
Price:  Free
Platforms:  Android, iPad
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Take a look inside

3 images
Learn about paints and pigment.

Pros: Cool optical illusions and surprising facts.

Cons: Could use links to web resources or other experiments on their site.

Bottom Line: Color Uncovered is a great way to enhance an art curriculum or to bring a more playful and artistic side to science.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

This is great for independent work related to an art class, but also has topics related to physics, biology (physiology), and psychology. Use the individual pages as a springboard for more in-depth discussions, or bring in additional experiments from the Exploratorium website. Kids may be inspired to do further research in any one of the subject areas covered.

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Standards:

Color Uncovered is an ebook app from the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco. It explores a range of science topics related to color, including colorblindness, light refraction, optical illusions, the "feelings" of color, painting, and pigment. Each of the 18 pages introduces a new concept with an experiment or surprising tidbit of information (did you know that they used to make brown paint with resin from mummies?). The experiments typically involve optical illusions that highlight ways in which our eyes and brain process information and, although they aren't games, they are fun to share with other people. 

There is a lot of information packed into the ebook, and it's done in a playful and interactive way. Since it's a book rather than an activity app, it doesn't have some of the features you'd expect with educational gaming apps, but it also doesn't need them. Kids may develop an interest in subjects they may not have cared about or considered before after such an engaging introduction.

Overall Rating
Engagement Would it motivate students and hold their interest? Is it visually appealing? Would it inspire teachers to try something new or change their instruction?

This interactive ebook has kids asking why and how through a series of fun experiments they can do right on the device. It's not a game but kids may be inclined to share it with others.

Pedagogy Does the tool help teachers promote a more student-centered experience? Will students gain conceptual understanding or think critically? Does it deepen teachers’ pedagogical thinking?

The content makes kids look at the world in a different way while introducing some challenging science concepts.The experiments illustrate the science and are followed up by an explanation of how it all works.

Support Can students and teachers get assistance when they need it? Is it created with people of different abilities and backgrounds in mind? Is learning reinforced and extended beyond the digital experience?

The publisher of the app has a website with additional experiments for kids to try.

Common Sense reviewer
Christy Matte Educator
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Key Standards Supported

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

  • 4-PS4-2

    Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen.

  • MS-PS4-2

    Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.

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Community Rating

(See all 7 reviews) (7 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Jim P. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Melvindale High School
Melvindale, United States
Engaging interactive ebook, which can be relied on in for many uses.
After looking for a color resources that would give my students better information than some handouts that I had been creating on the computer, I can safely say that intergrating this app into my class, especially courses that focus on color, like Painting 1-2 have seen their comprehension of the scientific meanings grow. I now have a tool to use to create assessments from, as well as push students in the direction to use on their own time. The price point doesn't hurt either!
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