Frequently Asked Questions

GeoWhiz™ is a virtual world in which kids safely discover and play. Kids from around the world learn about fascinating destinations, historical events, different cultures, and inspiring scientific discoveries by playing mini-games, participating in quests, watching videos, and reading stories told by GeoWhiz character guides. Our virtual worlds combine visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic elements to capture kids attention and enhance their learning about a given place or mission.

GeoWhiz is designed for children age three to twelve. But younger and older kids are welcome to play too.

You can be sure your kids are playing and learning in a virtual world that is safe. We never collect personally identifiable information from kids. Communication with other players is only done through scripted chat pull-down menus. So no personal information can be given to another player.

We asked for your parent’s email address so that we could let them know that you want to be part of the GeoWhiz community. We care about your and your parent’s privacy – their email address that you provided will not be used or shared for any other purpose, and the GeoWhiz website will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information unless we get the OK from your parents. We will never sell or rent your information to a third party or use it without your permission. For more details, you and your parents can visit our privacy policy page. If your parents don’t want you to be part of the website, they can just ask us to delete their email address. To do this, please ask them to email us at tech@geowhiz.com. Or if they’re feeling old-school, they can write to GeoWhiz Universe, LLC, 15950 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 300, Dallas, TX 75248. (You can send us fan mail at either address too!)

GeoWhiz requires a computer or mobile device with Internet access and Adobe Flash Player.

You may be having problems playing GeoWhiz because your Flash Player has been disabled or is out of date. Don’t worry! Follow the troubleshooting tips below to get back to your game. You may want to ask a parent or guardian for help. Link to the instructions for your browser Google Chrome | Mozilla Firefox | Safari | Internet Explorer

Playing on a Google Chrome Browser?

You might need to update your browser. It’s very simple. To update your Google Chrome browser:

1. Close ALL Google Chrome browser windows you have open. Make sure you don’t forget any!
2. Re-launch Google Chrome. Your browser will update automatically.

Important! If you are using a Mac, you will have to choose the “QUIT” command from the Application menu in the top left corner to fully close your browser.

Still not working?

If Flash refuses to run, try this. Click on the buttons you see in the pink circles below!

	1.     Go to “SETTINGS.” You can find “SETTINGS” when you click on the three dots on the upper right corner of your browser. Open the window. Click on “SETTINGS.”
	2.     Go to “SHOW ADVANCED SETTINGS” Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the SETTINGS page until you see “SHOW ADVANCED SETTINGS” in blue and click on it.
	3.     Go to “CONTENT SETTINGS” Once you open advanced settings, you will see a list of categories below it. Under PRIVACY, click the “CONTENT SETTINGS” button.
	4.     Scroll down to FLASH heading, select “ALLOW SITES TO RUN FLASH” and press “DONE”
	5.     Refresh the GeoWhiz page. Click the circular arrow to refresh the page.

 

Playing on a Mozilla Firefox browser?

You might need to update your Flash Player. Follow the troubleshooting tips below.

1. Check the status of your Flash Player. View your plugin status here: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/ Or try Adobe’s Flash test page: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
2. If your version is outdated, then manually download and install the latest version of Flash Player from Adobe: https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Important! Make sure you clear the checkbox in the “OPTIONAL OFFER” section before you click “INSTALL NOW.”

3. When your download has finished, close Firefox by clicking the “MENU” button in the top right corner, and then clicking “EXIT.”
4. Open the Flash Player installer file you downloaded, and follow the prompts to install the new Flash Player on your computer.
5. Re-launch Mozilla Firefox.

If you are unsure about any of the steps above, please ask a parent or guardian to help you troubleshoot your Flash Player issues. Still having issues? If you followed the directions above, and you are still experiencing problems with your Flash Player, please contact us here: tech@geowhiz.com

Playing on Internet Explorer?

1. Click the “TOOLS” icon in the upper-right corner of Internet Explorer. (The icon looks like a cogwheel.)
2. In the pop-up menu that appears, click “MANAGE ADD-INS”.
3. In the dialog box that appears, select “TOOLBARS AND EXTENSIONS”.
4. In the list of “ADD-ONS”, look for “SHOCKWAVE FLASH OBJECT” (another name for Flash Player). In the STATUS column, check to see whether SHOCKWAVE FLASH OBJECT is “DISABLED.” If it is disabled, click the row for SHOCKWAVE FLASH OBJECT to highlight it.
5. In the lower-right corner of the MANAGE ADD-ONS dialog box, click “ENABLE.”

Playing on Safari?

Check the status of your Flash Player on Adobe’s Flash test page: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/ If your Flash Player is out of date, follow these steps to update it.

1. Download the up-to-date software from Adobe: https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
2. Important! Make sure you clear the checkbox in the “OPTIONAL OFFER” section before you click “INSTALL NOW.”
3. When your download has finished, close Safari.
4. Open the Flash Player installer file you downloaded, and follow the prompts to install the new Flash Player on your computer.
5. Re-launch Safari.

Still not working or your Flash is up-to-date?

Enable Flash on Safari 9:

1. Open the “SAFARI” menu and select “PREFERENCES.”
2. Click the “SECURITY” tab. Make sure the following boxes are checked.

• Enable “JAVASCRIPT”
• “ALLOW PLUG-INS”

3. Click “MANAGE WEBSITE SETTINGS”
4. Choose “ADOBE FLASH PLAYER.”
5. Find “WHEN VISITING OTHER WEBSITES” and select “ALLOW.”

For more help, try the Adobe and Apple sites.

Enable Flash on Safari 10:

	1.     Go to “PREFERENCES” under the Safari menu. Click “PREFERENCES.”
	2.     Select the “SECURITY” tab. Check the boxes for: a.     Enable JavaScript b.     Allow Plug-ins
	3.     Click “PLUG-IN SETTINGS” on the security menu tab. It will open up a pop up that looks like this. If GeoWhiz appears on the list, select “ON.” If not, make sure the “WHEN VISITING OTHER WEBSITES” is set to ‘ON.” 4.     Press “DONE.”

For more help, try the Adobe and Apple sites.

If you’re new to Apple’s mobile devices, you might not know there’s no default Flash support on iOS devices.

To play a GeoWhiz on your iOS device (iPhone and iPad) you will need to install the Puffin Browser from the iTunes Store access the Flash content and games at this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puffin-web-browser-free/id472937654?mt=8

Welcome to GeoWhiz! Our business partners offer many worlds to explore and each one is different. Follow these four simple steps to get registered:

	1.     GeoWhiz offers worlds of fun. To get started enter the web address you have been given or go to the GeoWhiz Hub at http://play.geowhiz.com/ to preview the world you will enter. Click the “PLAY NOW” button in the bottom left hand corner to start the registration process.
	2.     The first time you register for a world you’ll be sent to this “First Time User” page. Start by coming up with a “User Name.” Next enter your birthday (“Date of Birth”)
Children under the age of 13 will have to get their parent’s approval to register. So ask your parent to help you complete the registration process. Enter the PARENT EMAIL address you want to use for this world.
NOTE:   Parent’s if you are registering more than one child in your household, we suggest you use the same email address for each child so that you can keep are your parental controls in one place. Right now you will have to register each child on your account separately.   We’re working on making the process simpler and apologize for any inconvenience. Pick a “PASSWORD” to go with your “USER NAME.” It must be a minimum of five (5) characters. Don’t forget to make a note of these because you will be entering them every time you log in. Then confirm the “PASSWORD.”
	3.     The first time you enter a child a VERIFICATION EMAIL like this will be sent to the PARENT EMAIL. Click on the “Click here to login to your account.”
	4.     At the “WELCOME BACK” screen enter the email address and password provided in the Verification Email. Click “PLAY” to start building your avatar.

It’s time to build your avatar and give them a name.

	1.     To get started select the girl or boy avatar by clicking on the image. You’ll be taken to the build your avatar page. You can select and change items in any order you choose. At any time you can change these options by selecting the “Black” t-shirt on the left hand side of the play area screen. Here are your options:
	a.     Now select your skin color from the six options.
	b.     What color eyes would you like? Pick one of the four options.
	c.     Which hairstyle would you like? There are lots of options from which to choose.
	d.     What to wear? You can start by selecting your avatar’s top.
	e.     Now select the bottoms. Not happy with how they look together? Go ahead and make a change, you’re in control.
	f.      Lots to explore. What shoes will you pick for the journey?
	g.     You’ll need a bag to hold all the goodies you collect. Which one fits your style? Click to choose.
	h.     You can pick one of the country flags or go international and select the “GeoWhiz” flag.
	2.     When you’re done building your avatar, click “FINISHED” button on the bottom of the screen.
	3.     One last step. Give your avatar a name. This is the name other kids will see as you explore. Show your personality. Make it fun. But don’t use your real name. Go incognito! The name must start with five (5) to eight (8) letters and end with four (4) numbers.
	4.     Once you’ve given your avatar a name click “Save.” We’ll let you know if your name is already taken and you need to come up with a different one. 5.     When your name is approved, you’re done and ready to discover the world of GeoWhiz.

Absolutely. You can quickly change what your avatar wears, how they look, or add new accessories by clicking on the “BLACK T-SHIRT” on the left of the screen. You’ll be given all the options you had when you built your avatar.

Follow these steps to reset your password or that of one of your children.  You must input a Parent email address your parent needs to verify the email address to complete the “forgot password” process.

	1.     To get started enter the URL for the world you want to enter. 2.     Enter your username or email and hit “FORGOT PASSWORD”
NOTE: Each GeoWhiz world has a separate web address. User names and Passwords from one world are not automatically transferred to another world. Players must register and set up a new avatar for each world. We apologize for any inconvenience while we work on creating a universal username and password feature.
	3.     Enter the Parent Email Address used to set up the account and we’ll send an email to that address to retrieve your password. Hit the “RESET PASSWORD” button.
	4.     Check your email box for a GeoWhiz – Password Recovery message. Select the “Reset Password” link for the player that forgot their password.
NOTE: If you have one or more children associated with this Parent Email the user name for the parent and each child registered for this world will be presented with a link to reset password.
	5.     You will be sent to the Change Password page where you can enter and confirm your new password. Hit “Change Password.” We’ll rest your password and return you to the world you want to enter.

You can change your password by following the “I Forgot My Password. How Can I Retrieve It?” instructions provided.

Sorry to hear that! You can contact us by emailing tech@geowhiz.com to get that fixed pronto. Be sure to tell us your username and the parent email you used when you signed up so we can find your info!

We use a pre-scripted chat system to talk with other players. How it works. Players are provided with question and answer options to choose from in order to communicate with each other. We purposely omitted free chat functionality to make sure our virtual world is safe for children. To begin a conversation, click the TALK BUBBLE on the left of the screen. You will be given a choice of questions to ask the other player. Select the question and it will appear on the other user’s screen. When they click on the TALK BUBBLE they will be given a series of answers to respond.

Sorry, not yet, but we’re working on it to make it easier for you and your parents. For now you have to register for each world separately.

A parent can request for their child’s account to be deleted after we verify your information.

Your account may be deleted after six months of inactivity.