Indoor Garden Musings: Curiosity Quest (Review for the Schoolhouse Review Crew)

We received the Curiosity Quest DVD Combo Packs for review purposes!

Product Links: DVD Combo Pack – Produce (Mushrooms, Cranberries, Orange Packing) and DVD Combo Pack - Swimmers of the Sea (Sea Turtle Rescue, Penguins, Salmon)

Vendor Information Link: Curiosity Quest

Age Appeal: ages 7-14

Format: DVD, 3 episodes which are about 30 minutes long each

Price: as of April 11, 2014, each DVD is $24.95

Curiosity Quest is a television show for families, hosted by Joel Greene. In each episode Greene takes the viewer on a quest by on a question from another viewer.

In our two combo packs we learned about:

Mushrooms: how they grow and how to pick and pack them.
Oranges: how they grow and how to pick and pack them.
Cranberries: how they are harvested, cleaned and selected, then packed.
Salmon: what they eat, how long they live, and how they know how to come back to the same place where they were born.
Penguins: what they eat, how to pet them, what noise they make, why penguins don’t fly.
Sea Turtles: how fast they swim, how big they can get, and reasons why they need to be rescued.
and more!

Our Experience:

We love learning about different subjects. Videos can be a fun way to learn about something we may never be able to experience ourselves.

B and C were excited when we received the DVDs in the mail, so we stopped what we were working on and decided to watch the episodes about cranberries, mushrooms, and oranges.

We learned how mushrooms are grown, about harvesting cranberries, and orange packing. We couldn’t believe the amount of information that was given in thirty minutes.

On another day we learned about sea turtle rescue in the Florida Keys, Magellanic penguins, and King, Pink, and Sockeye Salmon.

I know these videos will be favorites in our family for years to come. We plan on watching them with the cousins this summer.

Mama’s Thoughts:

I really enjoyed how involved each episode was. Even though each episode was only 30 minutes, I learned a lot of things I didn’t know about salmon, sea turtles, penguins, cranberries, oranges, and mushrooms.
One of my favorite parts of each episode was when they asked questions to people off the street. The questions were interesting and not all the people knew the right answers. That was interesting. There were many questions where I did not know the answers.
I did not know it was against the law to touch a sea turtle. Now I am wondering what happens to you if you have to touch a sea turtle to rescue it when you are at sea.
I enjoyed everything about these videos, there was nothing to dislike.

B’s Thoughts (boy, age 10, officially in fourth grade):

I really liked Curiosity Quest.

Here is what I have to say about each episode:

The episode about mushrooms was my favorite. I really liked how they broke down the hay and turned it into soil. I also liked learning that the hay can get over 100 degrees. It was interesting learning how mushrooms grow.
I enjoyed learning about cranberries. I learned a lot of new things in this episode. I used to think that they grew cranberries in water, not that they flooded the bogs to make the cranberries float. I also learned about all the products that contain cranberries.
I learned a lot about oranges. I did not know there were so many steps to take before they arrive at the grocery store.
The episode on penguins was my second favorite, because the penguins were so cute and cuddly. I really liked how they walk.
I liked watching the episode about salmon. I thought it was interesting how millions of fish are raised in the hatchery each year.
The episode on sea turtles was my third favorite, because I like the way they look, move, and swim.

What I didn’t like:

In the episode about salmon they didn’t mention what they did with all the salmon after they die from spawning.

Overall, I think these two Curiosity Quest DVDs would be good for people of all ages.

C’s Thoughts (girl, age 8, officially in second grade):

I really liked Curiosity Quest.

I really enjoyed watching the episode about penguins. I learned what they ate and how to pet a penguin.

The other episode I liked was about oranges. I learned that they took good care of the oranges when they were in the processing plant. There was even a washing machine for the oranges.

It would be good for people of all ages.

Dad’s Thoughts:

Joel Greene's Curiosity Quest videos are informative, fun, and best of all realistic. He doesn't rely on special effects to make the videos entertaining. His direct approach to conversations with the owners/operators/staff is refreshing and informative. I like how Joel uses readers' letters to determine the topics for each Curiosity Quest episode. I would say that Joel does his best to make each topic a learning reality show and that's what makes you want to keep watching episode after episode. You can watch sample episodes at their website, www.curiosityquest.org, which I highly recommend because they have some great stuff on Rugby, Go Karts, and Challenge Courses.

Joel and his crew are doing a fantastic job with Curiosity Quest ! My kids and I will keep coming back for more.