Children are challenged to explore Animal Junction with their mouse. Some hotspots lead to the program's eight featured activities. After successfully completing short rounds of the activities, children earn pieces of a puzzle. Once the puzzle is completed, a video clip plays in which the Kratt brothers and Zoboo find the hidden "treasure".

Activities open with a short, live-action video clip from the television program. Unfortunately, most of the games are rather mediocre in both entertainment and educational departments. Furthermore, they are rather brief. The best of the bunch is a pattern-extension game in which children are challenged to complete a pattern by clicking on the correct falling blocks. Other activities include a matching/memory game in which children attempt to match objects that are hidden in a fox's "cache", a "spot the difference" game, and an underground maze activity. The coloring activity is more educational than similar activities found in many other programs, however. In this one, children select an animal habitat, add stamps of creatures that belong in the environment, and then fill the scene with colors. Color mixing is also possible, though it is a little tricky to figure out.

Children can view cute live-action videos and learn a handful of facts about a number of different animals--from the cheetah to the bluturong--in the program's Creature Notebook.

Our favorite software title featuring Zoboomafoo is Zoboomafoo: Animal Alphabet (see our review), which has more depth and stronger educational content.

Technically Speaking
Minimum system requirements are Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, Pentium II 266, 64 MB RAM, and 4X CD-ROM. Mac users require a PowerMac 266 MHz or G3/G4, System 8.6-9.1, 64 MB RAM (32 MB free RAM), and 4X CD-ROM. The program requires 20 MB of hard drive space, and a printer is optional.

Skills Covered
Children learn facts about animals and their habitats. They develop skills in color recognition, memory, hand-eye coordination, number recognition, adding, counting, and pattern recognition.

Educational Value
While the activities require some work with numbers, patterns, and memory, we wish the program had stronger educational content.

Entertainment Value
Though the games don't stand out as especially unique, they are doable and moderately fun. The treasure at the end of the hunt is somewhat disappointing. However, children will enjoy the gorgeous video sequences featuring animals.

Design
The activities can be uncovered naturally as children search for treasure, or they can be accessed independently of the adventure. Three difficulty levels are possible for most activities.

Replayability
Earning a puzzle piece requires very little effort--children need to play activities for a brief time before they receive a piece. This makes the program manageable for children with shorter attention spans, but it does not do much for the program's overall replay value. However, interested children are free to start up a new hunt for treasure, or continue playing the activities beyond the required time.

Dollar Value
This title retails for $19.99 US.