No matter what you're looking for these reference guides will have you covered. These amazing apps are not just your average reference guides. They have interactive elements, 3D visuals and will provide you with any information you want on all different subjects.
Highest scored apps in the category
Selected by Apple as Best of 2014, and winner of the 2015 Digital Book Award for Best Nonfiction App
Selected by Apple as Best of 2014, and winner of the 2015 Digital Book Award for Best Nonfiction App.
Bestselling author Professor Ian Stewart is your guide through Incredible Numbers. Numbers define the patterns of sunflowers; they bring pleasure through music; and they help us answer existential questions like; ‘How many ways are there to lace my shoes?’ Interactive examples –...
INCLUDED IN BEST OF 2014
INCLUDED IN BEST OF 2014
“Few iOS apps are as thoughtfully designed as Molecules, and even fewer combine superb visuals with clear writing that encourages exploration.”
– Macworld
“Molecules uses its predecessor as a springboard to further greatness.”
– Stuff
A book about molecules, and a chance to touch, stretch and twist them!
Molecules by Theodore Gray is the extraordinary sequel to The Elements, the bestselling...
With this beautiful iPad app from Touch Press you can explore the incredible pyramids and tombs of ancient Egypt
With this beautiful iPad app from Touch Press you can explore the incredible pyramids and tombs of ancient Egypt. Fly around the plateau where the pyramids and the Sphinx are located at Giza near Cairo. Enter and wander around the labyrinthine tombs and passageways. Examine stunning wall paintings in incredible detail, rotate royal statues and spin 3D objects. Everything has...
Apps with average score
‘One of my favorite science-based apps...The Elements in Action is easy to navigate and attractively designed.’
– The New York Times
The periodic table comes to life with 79 video explorations of the weird, wonderful, and sometimes alarming properties of the elements. Filmed by BAFTA award winner Max Whitby in partnership...
‘Jammed with information about the workings and history of a long list of inventions...bring[s] complex ideas alive in an interactive and modern way.’
– The New York Times
“...a marvellous, marvellous app.”
– The Guardian
Pick up and play with some of the most extraordinary objects in the history of science and technology....
A new way to experience classical music. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the world-renowned Philharmonia Orchestra, performing extracts from eight works representing three centuries of symphonic music.
Features:
• An orchestra at your command: Experience classical music like never before with fascinating features, including video, synchronized score, simplified score and commentary by Esa-Pekka...
Stephen Hough performs one of the most complex pieces of piano music ever written, and helps you uncover its subtle elegance with a multi-perspective performance and the innovative NoteFall visualisation.
“It‘s like a personal guided tour of a great castle, keys to every room, access to every secret.” – Stephen Hough
Features...
Read about Churchill, and try to make decisions like he would.
The app is styled after a graphic novel to depict each of the six tough decisions you will have to make. Each decision is analyzed and deciphered as you're giving the scenario and have to make a choice. The includes over 80 authentic original documents from the Churchill library.
Explore all of Leonardo’s human anatomy drawings with Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomy.
Go on an epic prehistoric journey for survival, fraught with danger – blizzards, volcanic eruptions and deadly predators.
Set in the Arctic 70 million years ago, Scar, a young Edmontosaurus, embarks on his first thousand-mile migration. It is a world of extremes: Searing hot summers with 24-hour sunlight are replaced...
If you are looking for detailed information about the real dinosaurs of the Jurassic World movie (the 4th installment of the Jurassic Park movie), you can find it in this wonderful encyclopedia.
Book of dinosaurs with more than 200 entries and hundreds of pictures, perfectly clasified.
With exclusive illustrations from the paleo-artist...
Rated as one of the best iPad Apps by Gizmodo.com (one of the biggest tech blogs).
A very comprehensive App on World War II made specifically for the iPad. Brings World War 2 alive on your iPad screen. World War II Interactive covers the biggest conflict in history with stunning photos,...
Could be good for special cases
Get closer than ever before to an exquisite collection of the most valuable and highly coveted gems, gemstones, and jewels that have captivated human beings for millennia. Learn about the rocks, minerals, and organic materials that are transformed by the jeweler's art into things of great beauty.
Reviews from the first edition:
Super cool!!! *****
By Science Mommy – Version 1.0.0 – May 31, 2011
We love this app! Not only is it very cool with amazing technology, but my science-minded son has learned a ton! The pictures are simply incredible and the information is presented in a fun, but effective way…extremely engaging.
I LOVE THIS APP! *****
by CAROL BARNETT – Version 1.0.0 – May 11, 2011
This is what educational, photography, reference apps should all strive to be! It is SO MUCH FUN and EDUCATIONAL at the same time. The interaction is SPECTACULAR, CAPTIVATING, and BEAUTIFULLY done. I love gemstones and I feel like I am holding these in my hand, even better than seeing them in person at the museum!
Gems and Jewels is the dazzling new ebook from Touchpress, creators of The Elements, Solar System and The Waste Land for iPad. In partnership with the University of Chicago Press and The Field Museum of Natural History, Touchpress presents this stunning visual treasure trove. Over 300 beautiful objects have been painstakingly photographed as 360-degree rotations specially for the iPad. Every one is fully rotatable and even, thanks to new technology from Touchpress, pinch-zoomable. The quality of the interactive imagery will take your breath away.
Beyond the beauty lies a deep and authoritative text written by Lance Grande, Curator of Gems and Senior Vice President of The Field Museum. The reader is taken on a fascinating journey through the natural origins of jewelry, from diamond mines deep underground, to pearl oysters nestled in shallow seas. By classifying each gemstone by its chemical and mineralogical type, the reader comes to see the order and science behind those stones humankind has selected to represent its highest aspirations for wealth, power, and beauty.
Gems and Gemstones presents the multifaceted nature of these objects with an intimacy and clarity rarely experienced. Hold in your hands on your iPad: an Etruscan Gold necklace from Italy, an 8 carat black Diamond, and the Aztec “Sun-god Opal,” carved in the 16th century.
Rather than remaining locked away in a display case at a museum or in a bank vault, these rare objects can now be enjoyed and manipulated —larger than life—and viewed from multiple angles and perspectives. Watch the faceted surface of a Brazilian amethyst sparkle, see the back side of 37-carat tanzanite necklace set in a sea of Diamonds and come face to face with 30-million year old insects embedded inside a piece of Amber filling the screen.
Detailed captions accompany each gem, stone, and jeweled piece, as well as scientific data from Wolfram|Alpha, including classification, group, hardness scale, and chemical compound. Accompanying text unfolds from the upper left corner of each page and explores the roles of particular gems in human culture, explains geographic origins, and recounts the extraordinary histories of particular jeweled pieces.
Rockhounds, jewelry aficionados, and mineralogists alike, we invite you to enjoy this unprecedented presentation of these exquisite natural minerals and the works of art into which they have been crafted.
A comprehensive interactive timeline of the American Revolution takes you through all the events from 1754 to 1789 from the French and Indian War to the inauguration of George Washington. With over 515+ photographs and articles, this beautifully designed app takes you right through the birth of the United States of America via the Revolutionary War.
Features:
* All major battles, significant events, leaders, etc. See more details below.
* Over 515+ rare images, sketches and paintings from the defining years of American History. Zoom in to see photographs in detail.
* Search the entire app for a particular word.
Additional Multimedia:
* Quotes slideshow
* Picture gallery
* Video summary
Benefits:
* Ideal for students, adults or history enthusiasts.
* An interactive visual treat, better than reading a normal book.
* Easy to navigate and use. Swipe left or right to browse the timeline.
Topics covered include the French and Indian War, the Boston Tea Party, Battles of Lexington and Concord, Continental Congress, Battle of Quebec, Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Long Island, Declaration of Independence, Fort Ticonderoga, Oriskany, Saratoga, Cowpens, Chesapeake, Surrender of Cornwallis, Treaty of Paris, Evacuation day, the signing of the Constitution, First Presidential Election, etc.
A most comprehensive app on World War 1 made just for the iPad. Brings action from the Great War right on your iPad screen. World War I Interactive covers one of the biggest conflicts in world history in a very innovative interface. The app gives you a complete interactive experience with photos, videos, audios, timelines, articles, etc.
With many interesting tidbits, it’s definitely worth a download, especially if you’re a history nerd like I am. - Brent, AppAdvice.com
Students and history buffs will appreciate its detailed look at a brutal turning point in world history. - Katie Bircher, The Horn Book Reviews
Read about the major battles and events of the First World War in detail. Swipe through the detailed timelines for every month of the war. Watch rare video clips from WW1. See stunning photographs. Learn about the people who led the Allies and the Central Powers. Read below for more details
Benefits:
- Better than reading a book. Spend hours with it.
- Ideal for anyone above age 12: students, adults and history enthusiasts alike.
- Hundreds and hundreds of rare photographs.
- Gives you a complete overview of the First World War.
- Does not overload you with unnecessary information.
- Extremely easy to navigate, use, read and understand.
- Features a complete index making it easy to jump to any section at any time.
- Wonderfully designed with pictures, videos and sounds.
----------------More Details---------------
Topics covered:
The App is divided into 7 periods: Events leading to the war, the 5 years of the war (1914-1918) and the post war world. All the major battles and events (from every theater of the war) are summarized in detail. Topics covered include roots of the war, Balkan wars, assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Mons, Tannenberg, Galicia, Marne, Race to the Sea, Ypres, Sarikamish, Gallipoli, Zeppelin raids, Sinking of Lusitania, Russian retreat, Kut, Verdun, Asiago, Jutland, Somme, Russian revolution, Entry of the United States, Passchendaele, Lys, Hundred days offensive, German revolution, Treaty of Versailles, etc. and many more.
The important leaders, generals, small events/battles, etc. have all been covered.
Timelines:
7 extensive timelines for the events before and after the war and in detail for every month of the war from 1914 to 1918. The timelines are interactive, you can go to related articles from there itself.
Photographs:
Over 1200 amazing photographs with an exclusive Photo Features section featuring leaders, soldiers, life in war, artillery, naval warfare, air power, posters, memorials, art, etc.
Videos & Audios:
40 rare video clips depicting action from the battlefields and elsewhere. 5 audio clips including music, a speech, etc.
Experience the five years which changed the face of Europe forever.
A very comprehensive app on the Vietnam War just for the iPad. Brings action from the Vietnam War right on your screen. Vietnam War Interactive gives you a complete interactive experience with photos, videos, timelines, articles, etc.
Read about the major battles and events of Vietnam War in detail. Swipe through the detailed interactive timeline from 1858-1976. Watch video clips from the battlefield. See rare photographs.
Benefits:
- Ideal for anyone above age 12: students, adults and history enthusiasts alike.
- Gives you a complete overview of the Vietnam War without overloading you with unnecessary information.
- Very easy to navigate, use, read and understand.
- A complete experience with with pictures, videos and sounds.
- 21 video clips depicting action from the battlefield and elsewhere.
- Over 400+ photographs with an exclusive Photo Features section featuring air power, naval warfare, war protests and the battlefield.
Topics covered:
The App is divided into 6 periods: Events leading to the war, the Diem era (1955-1963), the Johnson years, Escalation of war, Nixon years and America's exit. All the major battles and events are summarized in detail. The important leaders, small events/battles, etc. have been covered.
