10 Apps to Prevent the Summer Slide

Keep kids entertained during a road trip with this fast-paced geography game. Astana is the capital of which country? If kids can come up with the correct answer, Kazakhstan, they’ll earn a country to add to their “stack”—a Tetris-like onscreen tower of animated country shapes. When the stack is high enough to reach the goal line, players earn a country reward.

Adding to ten gets a little tricky with this number puzzle app, which challenges little learners to match numbers that equal ten on a number board. This is a quiet game with a simple premise—the longer the string of numbers you line up that equals 10, the more points you earn. Example: 3-0-1-6 earns 3,016 points; 5-5 is worth only 55 points. Both logic and arithmetic skills are required.

Young Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo inspire kids to reach new heights of brilliance and originality as they tell the story of their friendship. The interactive "appisode" is a story that's stuffed with learning activities. The graphics are stunning, and gameplay is adaptive. Since it grows with each child, there’s less of a chance little learners will tire of this engaging interactive tool.

Kick start an early love of physics with Amazing Alex, an addictive puzzle game that kids will love so much, they’ll forget they’re learning. This app starts simple, giving users the very basics: a movable shelf, a ball and a basket. Your kid’s job? To get the ball in the basket once gravity gets going, taking into account the effects of force and motion.

Take a trip around the world with this interactive 3D globe! With just the swipe of a finger you'll travel across colorful continents that are packed full of information and pictures. Observe wildlife and landmarks, hear music and get interesting facts about other cultures and countries around the globe. The stunning animation and carefully curated photos, text, and narration make this app a wonderful experience for kids and adults alike.

A ghoulish mansion beckons kids from beyond a creaking gate—do you dare enter? I SPY Spooky Mansion sends kids on a hunt around a haunted estate with instructions to find a variety of skeletons, eyeballs, rats and other eerie elements in a series of dusty rooms. But wait—there's a catch! While the game seems pretty self-explanatory, exploring new areas requires that children first solve riddles.