Across the U.S. people are looking forward to the long Presidents Day weekend. And while this secular holiday is indeed a great time for car sales and even app sales, the point is not just to participate but to educate. In that spirit, we’ve scoured the App Store to bring you eight of the best iOS apps to help young and old get to know the 44 men who have held the highest elected office in America.
American Presidents for iPad
An in-depth look at the presidents from Washington to Obama, American Presidents for iPad serves up 1.500-word biographies, not just factoids. Interactive timelines, maps that track American expansion and quizzes are accompanied by 300 photographs, famous speeches and the app comes with copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Presidents!
A clever traditional trivia game, Presidents! focuses on the facts, but also the images. The app emphasizes recognition along with knowledge so players don’t just memorize facts, but put faces on the famous names.
Presidents vs. Aliens
There are tons of trivia apps that cover the presidencies, but how many involve aliens and tossing the top dogs around while still being factual and informative? An educational app with settings for children and adults, Presidents vs. Aliens has the quotes, major events and biographical data, but with a gaming twist sure to amuse everyone on both sides of the Aisle.
Roadside Presidents
If you’re taking a road trip this weekend, or any time, and want to learn more about the presidents, not from fact guides, but by seeing where everything happened, Roadside Presidents is for you. Just plan your trip and the experts from RoadsideAmerica.com will guide you to memorials and birthplaces, but also to curious landmarks off the beaten track.
Britannica Kids: US Presidents
Aimed at students, Encyclopedia Britannica put together an educational package that makes learning presidential history fun. Britannica Kids: US Presidents has the academic facts on all 44 presidents with quizzes, but also fun facts and even a sing-along to “Hail to the Chief”.
Presidents By the Number
An historical reference app, Presidents By the Number has the basic presidential 411, but the biographies are presented in rhyming verse! Acting as a mnemonic, the poems help children and adults retain the knowledge they glean from the app. This app focuses not just on the men at the top, but also their vice-presidents, cabinets and of equal importance in shaping a legacy, the First Ladies too.
US Presidents (Match’Em Up History and Geography)
For the youngest Americans, US Presidents (Match’Em Up History and Geography) employs the classic card-matching memory game to teach kids about the 44 Commanders-in-Chief. Along with simple picture matching, there is name-to-portrait matching and a variant that focuses on chronology. There’s head-to-head action and various difficulty settings suitable for preschool through middle school.
The White House
Looking back at the presidents who shaped the nation is what President’s Day celebrates, but keeping an eye on today’s White House goings-on is vital too. This app is not just named The White House, it’s published by them and brings updated news, photos and streaming video events from the Obama administration right to your iPhone. The information seems to be largely from whitehouse.gov, and sharing and push notifications are included.
