Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Bill Nye and Descartes' Cove for cheap!

Homeschool Buyers' Co-op, which is open to afterschoolers as well as full-time homeschoolers, is offering a group buy on Bill Nye's videos for the original series on DVD and on Descartes' Cove, the well-respected computer math game from JHU, geared for 6th-8th graders.

The more people who buy, the deeper the discount the buyers receive, so please feel free to spread the word! I'm considering buying both under the circumstances.

www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org

Happy shopping!

Kriston, I saw that, too. Are the Bill Nye prices for the series? Why are there little checkboxes after each title? Didn't see how that affected the price. How many titles do you get for the $40+, and can you pick and choose through the different parts (as they are listed top to bottom in alphabetical order, so it's random which subjects are included in each "Part"). DS loves these, so I'd like to supplement what we can get from the local library.

Also, note, there are a few Bill Nye titles available on Discovery Streaming, but not the more entertaining titles.

I'm not sure. I didn't wind up ordering the Bill Nye yet. I was reading it to mean that $40 cost was per DVD, which would make them ridiculously expensive actually, even on sale. But it's hard to believe they're selling the DVDs for $40 per show before the discount! I mean, yikes! So maybe I'm misunderstanding.

That's what I get for posting before I do the math, huh? Sorry!

The deal on Descartes' Cove could get really good though. I was buyer #9 already at $120 (down from $150!). The price goes down to $112.50 (as I recall...) if just one more person buys, and will go down one more notch to $45 off if enough people buy.

Kriston,

I'm familiar with Bill Nye, but not with Descartes' Cove. Could you enlighten me? I've been searching for a computer math game for my DS. Everything that I've found so far has been either too easy or too hard (or dry) for him. I'm having trouble finding something in the 6-8th grade range that he considers fun. Very curious!

I need something to get him to put the Lego Star Wars game down, since it was only a brief summertime excursion and not intended for the school year. (It has been put up on a high shelf now that school has started!) He loves games like Chemicus and Physicus, where you have to wonder around and solve clues to science puzzles in order to progress through the game. But he doesn't like math games that are more focused on drills and problems. I've probably goofed by letting him play too many exciting computer games. Time for a brief detox and withdrawal, I guess.

Ebeth - science games?!!!!! Thank you!

OT: EBETH!!!!!!!!!! More info on Chemicus and Physicus!

Do we have a Descartes' Cove thread here?

Yes, I'll third the request for info on the games, ebeth.

Descartes' Cove is a "wander around and solve clues" (!) math game that people who have gotten always seem to rave about. It's a virtual world with algebra and geometry and such sort of puzzles to solve. Very problem-solving oriented, not drill-and-kill. I recommend checking out the link if you're interested. They give you all the info you could ever want, including an online video of the game being played so you can really see the sorts of problems as well as the graphics. It's good stuff. It was just too expensive for me at $150 when DS7 isn't quite ready for it yet. But at $112 or $105, I'm a lot more willing to give it a go. I suspect by the end of the year, he might be ready for it, and maybe he'll get there faster if he has this game as incentive!

It sounds like it might be a potential fit for your DS, maybe?

Thank you questions, for reminding me about the library. In MN, we have an interlibrary loan system for pretty much every library in the state, and i searched and found over 300 bill nye videos! Maybe other states have such interlibrary loan? Those Bill Nye videos are pricey!

I went to www.billnye.com which referred me to Disney. Here's their price list. I think these things are about $40/dvd. I think we'll stick with the library. (For some reason, the link doesn't highlight, but you can cut and paste or follow from billnye.com)

http://dep.disney.go.com/educational/search?form.keywords=Bill+Nye

Descartes Cove, however, sounds great. I wonder why CTY would undersell their own kids. Doesn't really make sense, unless they're coming out with something new.

http://cty.jhu.edu/cde/cove/index.html

Strange...

Well, the co-op gets these sorts of deals all the time with all different companies. I think the idea is that the companies can reach new customers who wouldn't otherwise buy, and they can sell in bulk to them. I think CTY is probably treating it as the sort of discount they would give to a school system that is buying multiple copies at once.

The co-op has some 10-15 group buys going on right now, in fact, and they change all through the year. And prices are always cheaper than they would normally be because of the bulk buy thing.

My son raced through Physicus and really enjoyed it. He was seven at the time, but he knows a fair amount of physics. It is part of a series of Myst-like games that teach science. Others are Chemicus (which we have), Bioscopia (which we want), and Master of the Elements (which was way, way to easy for our son at age 7... but then again he has been fascinated by the periodic table of elements since he was 3!)

Here is a link for a review of Physicus. It is on a gaming web site, which is geared more for adult gamers. So they didn't give it the best review in the world, based on plot complexity, etc. But for kids, the game is great!!

http://www.geocities.com/ataniel/physicusreview.htm

Where can you get them? I googled it and looked at a sight that offered free download from torrent but didn't push the button!

I have an ID(Internet Disability) and was fearful that I would download a computer-virus-of-death-and-destruction!

Ooh! That sounds great for our physics-based math unit! Thanks, ebeth!

I found them at Amazon.com. Hhmm going to research...

'Neato. I'm pretty computer/internet disabled myself. I usually let my DH handle all of the purchases on the web. My one foray into purchasing on-line by myself was for the Standard Deviants' tapes, which I still have not received! So I am not the best one to ask. I can ask DH (who is currently not answering his phone at work.)

It looks like you can get Physicus from an Amazon seller for under $4 buck though, not including shipping. A free download would be great, but it might just be a teaser. (i.e. it may just let you see the first beginning screens, in order to get you hooked.) But the games are fairly old by now, so they should be cheap. And they come in Mac versions, too.

We also have a cool game called Crazy Machines that DS really liked. It has over two hundred puzzles that are based on pulleys, gears, etc. You start out with a target (say a ball) and try to put the necessary gears, power sources, or dynamite in order to get the target to the finish line. Very Rube Goldberg-like!

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/puzzle/crazymachinesthewackycontraptionsgame/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review

We now have Vista computers. I looked at the ...us games, but I'm not sure they'll work with Vista, since they're older.

Crazy Machines 2, however, is Vista certified. DS got it for his 8th birthday and loves it.

I was eyeing that one, too, ebeth.

My one worry with Physicus is that it might not work on my computer. It says it's for Win 95, 98 and NT. I have Win 2000.

Harumph.

I'm still thinking about risking it though. I just hate paying for software that doesn't work, you know? But it's just the kind of computer game that I want for DS7 in the morning while I work on my book. It may be worth the $8 risk!

Darn, we have vista too.

Hummm... I will have to forward computer questions to DH! Both Crazy Machines and Chemicus say Win98/ME/2000P. But I can't find the original box for Physicus. We have a newer Mac for DH and me (3 years old), and an older Mac (7 years old) for DS. I'll ask DH, the computer geek, this afternoon or evening and post more info later.

Thanks, ebeth! That's great! I would really love to find out that Physicus would work for us. It just sounds PERFECT for our plans for this year!!!

we have Crazy machines (Mac) and the boys really enjoy it.

Thanks e-beth! Will check out Crazy machines, but I really should be saving up for NXT!

Back to Bill Nye...This is what the e-mail said about the deal:


Does that help any? It made it seem clearer to me, I think.

15% off is still pricey, as they normally cost nearly $50! (The e-mail didn't say that!) And they need to sell 501 individual shows to get the price down to 40% off, or under $30. For the length of the shows, that's probably not worth it to me.

Bummer. I wonder why they're so expensive? Most videos of this sort aren't that much!

I'm guessing they're so expensive because Disney bought them. I seem to remember a while back when these were available free on the internet somewhere.

Incidentally, since i was a sucker when DS was born, and felt low on disney classics, i signed up for the disney movie club. There are about 5 bill nye dvds on the club now, for $21.95, and there's a buy-one-get-one at 40% off deal right now. they'll probably add more/change these titles at some point. If you feel like signing up for the club, and i can use you as a refer a friend (so i get a free movie) send me a pm! Of course you can sign up without me. I think you get like 10 movies free when you sign up - don't know if these include bill nyes or not.

I want the physicus and such too!

Discovery Streaming has Bill Nye video. It's on the computer rather than TV but you cannot beat the price. BTW Kriston you may even find math history movies there.

I looked at it, but I'm not sure I want to spend the money there. I need some things I can put on the TV, not just the computer if I'm going to get any writing done.

I'm still thinking about the Discovery Streaming though. How much would we have to watch to get our $129 worth, I wonder, especially since we already have two PBS stations, Discovery, Discovery Kids, the History Channel, the Science channel, etc.?

Hmmm...

Discovery Streaming is a nice curriculum supplement. I think the main difference is that Discovery Streaming has lots of movies available immediately. For some reason TV doesn't seem too co-operative with my "Let's see if we can find something about ..." You know like watching the launch of Saturn V as we did the other day. I could look at the TV guide and see if there is something the kids may like and go from there, but I also want to be able to see things they are interested in right away.

The other nice thing is that Discovery Streaming will find the segment you are interested in and you don't have to watch the whole movie. You are done in 5 minutes which is not what you are looking for but it is something I like.

We a game called Contraptions that sounds pretty similar to Crazy Machine. I hadn't even thought about letting DS6 try it. DH had it from before we had kids and had time to sit around playing computer games together (ah, those were the days, lol).

Thanks, LMom. That's a very helpful review. Can you burn them to a CD or DVD and play them on TV? Or only on the computer?

I'm still seriously considering buying. DH says, "Go ahead. It's only $129." But I keep thinking that $129 here, $69.95 there...pretty soon it adds up to the cost of the GT school's tuition!

But other than Physicus, I think this is the last more-than-pocket-change purchase I'm really considering, so maybe I'll just do it.

The last? Every week there are more and more tempting things. Too bad we're not all closer so that we can share. Co-op anyone? LOL!

You know, questions, I was just thinking the same thing. With only one child, it seems like there are many, many things that we could pass along when we are done with them. It is too bad that we don't all live close to each other. Maybe we need a gifted material ebay-like thread for gently used material?

You know, I really don't like shelling out a bunch of money up front, only to find that it was all a waste. I'd prefer to spend it in dribs and drabs all year as things change. I think that's a much better plan, 'Neato.

Ah, a co-op with you gang would be SO fabulous! <swoon>

If wishes were horses, my back yard would need a good shoveling right about now!

BTW, I THINK when you sign up to buy with the co-op you can mark an option that says buy when item hits.... and then select the discount. You may want to double check that, though.

In most cases I keep telling myself that I would have bought it anyway even if DS were at school. Even with him in Montessori last year I had a big set of Singapore workbooks. 95% of the science books we will use next year were bought before we decided to hs. I would have got HeyMath! regardless and the list goes on and on. There are a few things I wouldn't have bought but not that many.

Thanks, 'Neato, but the Discovery Streaming is as low as it's going to go. And the price is a good one: $129 instead of $250+, so no complaints there.

I'm just being cheap, I think. I hate spending all this money at once. Silly!

I checked the library and they are getting Physicus and many of the Bill Nye stuff. So I requested a hold.

Ren

Ren that's great! Let us know how you like Physicus, I would love the get that for the girls.

The Physicus may take a while as there were a few holds a head of me.

YEAH my library system has two copies of Physicus. None for Chemicus unfortunately.