About Wonder Rotunda
Overview
The Wonder Rotunda is an educational website designed to open the eyes of youngsters to the wonders of our world. At the Wonder Rotunda, kids navigate through a virtual theme park where learning modules take form as exciting rides, games and adventures.
Set on an island in New York Harbor, the Wonder Rotunda theme park covers topics as diverse as tropical rainforests, African wildlife, marine life, the human body's digestive system, money and business, American government, nutrition, globalization, film making, classical music, the performing and visual arts, space exploration and, making a difference in the world. The learning adventures move briskly and with excitement, while affording youngsters the option of probing more deeply where they have the interest.
To read more about what makes Wonder Rotunda unique in the world of educational games, click this link.
To navigate the Wonder Rotunda, youngsters create a personal avatar (a virtual self). They learn as they travel by hot air balloon over the Serengeti, zip-line through a tropical rainforest, steer a submarine through the human digestive system, dive the Great Barrier Reef or maneuver the command module of Apollo 11 to the Moon. Kids test their newly acquired knowledge on "TV game shows," search for gold coins, earn rewards and Wonder Dollars (the Wonder Rotunda's currency) and shop for souvenirs. Keeping their avatars energized requires youngsters to make healthy choices at 12 food stands. Kids have personal TreePods which they customize and use to display the certificates, souvenirs and badges they earn.
The Wonder Rotunda is unique in that it allows parents to create their own avatar and join a child on a visit. The Wonder Rotunda blends game play with rich educational content. With an emphasis on stimulating curiosity and learning, it is an alternative to the internet’s typical offerings for kids. Wonder Rotunda is not a social network and is without ads and commercials.
A one month unlimited access pass is $12. A one year unlimited access pass is $45. Passes can be renewed for an additional year for $35.
Read what the press and reviewers are saying about the Wonder Rotunda.
Mission
Our mission is to help young people find things that they are passionate about and inspire them to think about how they might make their mark some day.
The Wonder Rotunda is not intended be a comprehensive resource on the topics explored, but rather to inspire kids to find their interests and passions, much as a real world trip to many of the museum's adventure venues might.
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Wonder Rotunda Is Free of Ads, Commercials or Social Networking
The Wonder Rotunda is not a social network, and it is ad and commercial free.
The Wonder Rotunda is a single user environment. Although, kids will feel as if they are in an environment with others, they cannot communicate with other avatars.
Giving a Pass to the Wonder Rotunda as a Gift
If you would like to give a Pass as a gift, at the end of your transaction just print out the Pass (w/code #), a Map and Guide, and give to the gift recipient. The pass will be activated by the child's parent or guardian before entering the Park. The Map and Guide provide youngsters with an overview of the Park's adventures and activities.
Tracking Tool Helps Parents Identify A Child's Interests
A useful feature of the Wonder Rotunda is the activity level tracking tool that can be accessed through your My Account. View your child's activity including the adventures your child has explored, frequency of visits, and the topics he or she has probed to learn more about. Use this information to identify emerging interests and passions.(This information is identifiable only to you, only by your child's first name and not shared by the Wonder Rotunda.)
Current Adventures at the Wonder Rotunda
The following is a list of the current adventures at the Wonder Rotunda. Each adventure takes about 15-25 minutes to experience, depending on how often a child probes more deeply for information.
Climate Change
Join a research expedition at the North Pole to learn how scientists are studying climate change and what can be done about it. Youngsters explore the evidence of climate change, learn about alternative energy sources, and what they can do to reduce their own carbon footprint.
Human Digestive System
Take an exciting submarine ride through the human digestive system to learn about the body’s digestive process and each of the organs involved including the salivary glands, stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and small and large intestines, among others.
Marine Life and Coral Reef Conservation
Scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef to learn about coral reefs and marine life including Green Sea Turtles, Box Jelly Fish, Stingrays, Parrotfish and the Giant Maori Wrasse, among others.
African Wildlife & Serengeti Migration
Take a hot air balloon, African safari in the Serengeti to learn about the animals of the Great Migration, including the Big Five of Africa. Visit the Ngorongoro Crater and Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Our Solar System & Man's Flight to the Moon
Travel to the Moon aboard Apollo 11, help guide the command module through the maneuvers of the actual 1969 mission and learn about the planets of our solar system, comets, asteroids, the galaxies and Universe.
Rainforest Layers, Animals and Conservation
Take a Zip-line Tour through a tropical rainforest to learn about the animals and plant life of the rain forest including Red Eyed Tree Frogs, Blue Morpho Butterflys, Spider Monkeys, Sloths, Marguays, Iguanas and Anteaters, among others.
Symphony Orchestras, Instruments & Composers
Conduct a symphony orchestra before a live audience, learn about musical instruments, how the different sections of the orchestra bring a composition to life, and explore the great composers.
Money Facts & Running a Business
Run a business selling Strawberry-Banana Smoothies in the Park while learning about making money, saving, investing and giving to good causes.
Globalization and the Role of the United Nations
Take a trip around the world to learn about the United Nations, and how countries of the world work together to find solutions to global issues such as poverty, climate change, health care and disease.
American Government and VIP Tour of Washington DC
Take a VIP Tour of Washington, including a meeting with the President of the United States, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Visit and learn about the Capitol Building and many of the famous monuments and museums.
Marsupials, Penguins, Sea Lions & Platypus on Kangaroo Island, Australia
Take a moonlight safari at Kangaroo Island, Australia to learn about marsupials such as Kangaroos, Koalas and Wallabies. The adventure also includes encounters with a Platypus, and colonies of Fairy Penguins and Australian Sea Lions.
How Movies Are Filmed and Edited
Star in a Hollywood movie while learning about scripts, lighting, camera angles, blue screen technique, audio editing and special effects.
Magical Overview of the Visual & Performing Arts
Visit the Magic Curtain of the Arts for an introduction to many of the visual and performing arts.
Healthy Eating & Nutrition
Take a thrilling roller coaster ride to learn about the nutrients and food groups necessary to stay healthy. Using this knowledge, youngsters must keep their avatars energized by making healthy choices at the Park's 12 food stands.
Giving Back & Making a Difference in the World
Take a run-away subway car ride to explore how each of us can make a difference in the world. After the adventure, youngsters can fly Blimps over the Park calling attention to causes they feel strongly about.
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Recommended Ages
In our experience, kids, as young as 7 and as old as 12, come away from the Wonder Rotunda excited and eager to learn more about the "adventure museum's" many topics. However, since every child is different, we hesitate to establish firm age guidelines.
The Wonder Rotunda is unique in that it allows parents to create their own avatar and join a child, much like a museum visit. This is particularly helpful with children at the younger end of the spectrum.
We strongly recommend that you take the Free Park Tour by clicking the Tour button on the home page TV set, and decide whether Wonder Rotunda is right for your child.
This is especially important since we cannot provide refunds for Passes.
Inspiration for the Wonder Rotunda
The Wonder Rotunda draws inspiration from the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair and expos and fairs like it. Young people visiting the NY Fair learned about the innovations in computing (IBM), communication (ATT picture phone), automobiles (Chrysler, Ford) and chemistry (Dupont), among others. At the Illinois pavilion, they watched a robotic Abe Lincoln deliver a portion of the Gettysburg Address and at the GM and GE pavilions they glimpsed the future.
The Fair introduced youngsters to the important issues of the decade, emerging technologies and international culture. For many, it played a seminal role in defining their interests, passions and career choices.
The Wonder Rotunda is designed to open the eyes of youngsters to the wonders of our world, much the way world’s fairs and expos have for prior generations.
The setting for the Wonder Rotunda was inspired by Governors Island in New York Harbor.
Wonder Rotunda Glossary
A glossary of many of the terms used in the adventures is available while exploring at the Wonder Rotunda. Kids can click the pause icon on the side menu bar to pause an adventure or game show when they want to use the glossary. They can then click the play icon to resume their activity.
Text Captions
After entering the Wonder Rotunda, click the "Captions" button on the left side Menu to activate the text captions. The captions will enable a child to read along with all of the narration and factual information presented by the park's guide, Mr. Wonder.
Creators of the Wonder Rotunda
The Wonder Rotunda was produced by Wonder Rotunda Productions LLC.
It was conceived and developed by Eric Garfinkel.
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