Odyssey: matter in motion v2.0
Fable Multimedia
Belfast: Fable Multimedia 2006 | £159 single-user licence; £349 five-user licence; £549 school server licence |
Reviewed by Tim Jolliff

Odyssey: matter in motion is a sophisticated molecular modelling package designed to support in teaching chemistry in post-16 courses. The software is interactive and represents molecules as dynamic three dimensional models which move, vibrate and rotate. You can view individual molecules, close up, from any angle, or groups of up to about 50 molecules. You can see, for example, how they are affected by temperature and can measure some properties such as entropy and average speed.

Included are nearly 80 tutorials on different topics. Some of these do not correlate with the content expected at A-level so teachers would need to use them with some discretion (the original software was produced in the US). The A-level course mappings make suggestions of which parts of the software you might want to use with each topic in your A-level specification. This feature makes it easy to get started, you can use the package in class (with a projector) almost right away. There is also scope for the more experienced user to explore the wide range of options available.

The program does not show any reactions, not even hydrogen ions jumping between water molecules in acidic solutions. However, it does show hydrogen bonding, dipoles and solvation clearly. The large library of molecules includes several biologically important ones. A new feature of this version of the software is the facility to build your own molecules. Incorporated into existing lesson plans, this package would help A-level students of all abilities to gain a better understanding of the mobile and dynamic nature of molecules, while some of the tutorials could be used to stretch the most able. 

This software  is well worth considering for institutions delivering post-16 chemistry courses, if the budget will allow. The school server licence is not cheap but many schools and colleges would get good use out of the single- or five-user licences. The program requires a reasonably modern computer to run at its best, so check before you buy. A useful tool in its own right, the free demo version is available to download from the Fable Multimedia website.