''GeoSafari'' is a product line of technological

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

s, including the GeoSafari electronic teaching aid, GeoSafari Globe, and the Phonics Lab, owned by Educational Insights, Inc. GeoSafari is an electronic self-teaching device created by brothers Burton and Stanley Cutler, who founded Educational Insights, Inc. in 1962. Educational Insights, Inc. released the GeoSafari electronic geography teaching aid in 1987, which came packaged with Map Lessons created by the National Geographic Society. It was later re-released by Educational Insights, Inc. in 1990. The system uses two-sided,

laminate Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials ...

d cards that fit into the front of the machine. The center of the card has numbered elements that correspond to the answers, and the sides of the card have a list of questions or prompts. During game play, the device activates a light next to a random question, and the user types in the number of the answer element. After all the questions are answered, the machine presents a score. Card topics include

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, foreign languages, reading, and various others. Several versions were released through the 1990s, but Educational Insights no longer produces the GeoSafari.

Video games

A GeoSafari quiz game application created by

Educational Insights Interactive Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

was one of eight program applications included in the 1995 Microsoft Home Pack, which featured Microsoft's "social interface"

Microsoft Bob Microsoft Bob is a Microsoft software product intended to provide a more user-friendly interface for the Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems, supplanting the Windows Program Manager. The program was released on March 11, 199 ...

. The following year, Education Insights developed other quiz games with a completely new interface independent of the Microsoft Bob framework and compatible on both Windows and Macintosh. Each game is about a specific topic: *GeoSafari Animals (October 1995) *GeoSafari Geography (1995) *GeoSafari History (1995) *GeoSafari Science (1995) *GeoSafari Knowledge Pad: The Plato Collection (2001) The games are narrated by

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...

. In those quiz games, there can be up to four players. A player then picks a sub-topic out of a collection concerning the relevant topic. During gameplay, a player is asked a question, provided with facts and clues, and then has to pick one out of several multiple choice answers in a limited time to score points. The player then has three chances to get the question right. Upon running out of time, getting the answer wrong or choosing to show answer, the player is shown the actual answer with no points scored. Upon completing all the questions, the player's score is totaled. Achieving a perfect score grants the player a medal. If a player earns medals for all the sub-topics of the game topic, the player is awarded a trophy.

References

Children's educational video games Classic Mac OS games Educational toys 1960s toys 1995 video games 1996 video games Video games developed in the United States Windows games {{Toy-company-stub