A new and improved learning system that contains a highly interactive environment rich with educational information. The new and improved learning system contains an interactive educational software program with a companion hands-on educational activities kit. The learning system includes software which guides the user through activities, instructions, and educational material. The program's virtual expert explains material. The program also consists of several virtual machines that the user interacts with. One virtual machine holds readily accessible entertaining and scientific facts; another holds a readily accessible glossary of scientific terms. There is also a virtual machine that functions as a laboratory journal for user input of desired observations and measurements. At the completion of the project, the software compiles the user's information into an accessible final report for reading and printing. The kit is a seed growing kit with which the user experiences plant germination, anatomy, photosynthesis, and other relating educational concepts firsthand. With the help of the virtual expert, the user steps through a sequence of activities timed with plant growth. The activities generally last one to two weeks. The software delivers the necessary instructions and information for the user to successfully grow the seeds in the kit, access related facts, and input and compile observations and measurements during the learning process. The present invention has the potential for abundant educational information available from the software, the kit provides for thorough hands-on interaction with the subject, and the user is fully in control of the learning process as no supervision is necessary.
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