Summer Upgraded: Apps That Can Bring the Fun!

Whether traveling far, dealing with travel delays, or adverse weather interfering with enjoying outdoor fun at home, these apps can help make summertime planning easier.

 

 

 

Traveling Far or Staying Home This Summer? Check Out These Fun and Educational Apps

 

As the long days of summertime approach, we have gathered a few favorite apps for whatever your summer plans include—whether your family loves to travel or is looking forward to staying home and enjoying quality time together.

The apps below include fun tools for learning, organizing travel plans, finding places to eat and play, and more!

 

Fun Ways to Explore Weather

Summertime weather can be wild and just downright unpredictable, which means it can also cause anxiety. To help kids learn more about how weather works and even “create” weather themselves, check out the Pango Kumo – Weather Play app.

It is a creative play learning app designed for young children, but can be enjoyed by children of all ages to explore weather patterns, cause-and-effect relationships, and more.

Every action the user takes leads to something happening, keeping kids engaged during play. The app is not free; it is a one-time cost at download, meaning your child will not be bombarded with ads or repeated requests to subscribe or purchase more content.

We love the idea of using this app to explore weather patterns different from those where we live. People who live in hot climates that never get snow can explore that, or maybe they are visiting a beach area and experiencing those summer pop-up storms near the coast for the first time, and need a fun indoor activity while it passes.

 

Learn About Plants, Trees, Birds, and More

When the weather is nice, and your family wants to spend time outdoors, a fun activity is to try an app like Picture This – Plant Identifier. It is a tool that allows users to take or upload photos of plants and trees in the app, then receive information about them, such as how to care for them, where they originate, whether they are poisonous to people or animals, and more.

Although it is free to download and use with limited features, it does have some features that are only available through in-app purchases. The app is a great tool, however, for gardeners or for people who just enjoy outdoor walks.

A similar feature is also available to Android users through the Google Lens app, which allows them to search images for more information. It is free and can also be used to learn more about plants, trees, birds, and more when spending time outside.

For Apple users, Lens is part of the Google Photos: Backup & Edit app, which is available for both Android and Apple devices.

 

Travel and Planning Apps

If planning to travel this summer, the Wanderlog – Travel Planner is an app packed with tools to help plan the perfect getaway. Whether traveling with small children, adult children, extended family members, or friends, there is something for planning every size and type of trip in this app.

Users can add details for flights, hotel and restaurant reservations, places they want to visit, packing notes and reminders, and so much more. Think of it as a place to organize all of those confirmation emails and sticky notes about necessary items that cannot be left behind! Users can even invite others to the trip via the app, so that planning responsibilities can be shared.

Yelp: Food, Services & Reviews is known as a place to read crowd-sourced reviews on all types of businesses, from handymen and home improvement services to food and entertainment. However, many people on the BridgingApps team use it as a great tool for finding restaurants when traveling or just discovering hidden gems right in your own town.

One of the accessibility options we love is that when creating an account with Yelp, users can choose to indicate that businesses must be wheelchair-accessible. Although in the year 2026 EVERY place should be, we know that many still are not. This can be really helpful when visiting unfamiliar towns, helping everyone enjoy a stress-free experience. There are also options to mark dietary preferences so the app filters results based on these needs.

 

Fun Game and Video Apps

Lastly, a few fun apps for days when everyone just wants to relax or to help pass the time while waiting at airports, train stations, or however your family chooses to travel.

UNO! is the mobile version of the classic card game, complete with sound effects and colorful visuals. Users can play alone and be matched with teammates and opponents, or invite friends to connect online and play together. This is a great solution for relaxing at home or sitting in waiting rooms for medical or therapy appointments.

Although the app is free, some features must be purchased or earned by playing and winning. Also, it requires internet connectivity to play, which may not make it the best solution for road trips.

Two other favorite educational apps, created with younger kids in mind, are Puzzle Games for Kids 3+ Years and PBS KIDS Video. These are both completely FREE apps with lots of engaging educational content to keep your kids learning while having fun during those long summer days when it is too hot or rainy to venture out or while taking a road trip, since both apps work offline!

 

 

*Item prices are current at the time of writing this article.

 

Pango Kumo- Weather Play

$4.99

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/pango-kumo-weather-game-kids

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pango-kumo-weather-play/id1437805285?uo=4

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.studiopango.kumo

 

Wanderlog- Travel Planner

Free• Offers In-App Purchases

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/wanderlog-travel-planner

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wanderlog-travel-planner/id1476732439?uo=4

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wanderlog.android

Web App: https://wanderlog.com/

 

Yelp: Food, Services & Reviews

Free

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/yelp-food-delivery-reviews

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yelp-food-services-reviews/id284910350?uo=4

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yelp.android

Web App: https://www.yelp.com/

 

 

PictureThis- Plant Identifier

Free• Offers In-App Purchases

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/picturethis-plant-identifier

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/picturethis-plant-identifier/id1252497129?uo=4

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cn.danatech.xingseus

Google Lens

Free

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/google-lens

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.ar.lens

 

Google Photos: Backup & Edit

Free

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/google-photos

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-photos-backup-edit/id962194608?uo=4

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.photos

 

UNO!

Free• Offers In-App Purchases

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/uno

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/uno/id1344700142?uo=4

Google Play Store:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.matteljv.uno

 

Puzzle Games For Kids 3+ Years

Free

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/puzzle-games-for-kids-3-years

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/puzzle-games-for-kids-3-years/id1244400052?uo=4

Google Play Store:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rvappstudios.jigsaw.puzzles.kids

 

PBS KIDS Video

Free

BridgingApps Review: https://search.bridgingapps.org/apps/pbs-kids-video

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pbs-kids-video/id435138734?uo=4

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pbskids.video

Web App: https://pbskids.org/videos

 

 

Check out the BridgingApps App Search Tool to search for apps, create lists, and even share them.

 

BridgingApps, a program of Easter Seals Greater Houston, is a community of parents, therapists, doctors, and teachers who share information on using mobile devices with people with special needs.

 

 

Amy Fuchs is the Program Manager at BridgingApps and a former special education teacher. Amy Barry is the Digital Marketing Lead at BridgingApps and the mother of five children.

Cristen Reat is co-founder of BridgingApps and a mother who found success when using a mobile device with her younger son, who has multiple disabilities. We share a passion for using mobile technology to enhance the lives of people of all ages with disabilities.