(If you don't see the above applet, then you need to get Java. It's very easy to do and will install through most internet browsers if you're using Windows.)

Instructions:

• Click and drag to create points connected by lines. Connect the points into whatever shapes you wish.
• Press the "s" button to begin the simulation. Gravity will start pulling your shape toward the ground (which is the red line). Strong, reinforced shapes (with trusses, for example) will generally keep their shape, while flimsy shapes (try making a simple parallelogram) will usually collapse.
• Press the "s" button again to stop the simulation and bring all of the points and lines back to where they started.
• Press the "c" button to clear all of the points and lines.
  
  

The Idea

The plan with this program is to create a framework where kids can build whatever they want, online. It's inspired by games such as Pontifex and the slightly-less-related The Incredible Machine. Right now it's just lines and points, but I'm hoping to create something where the kids can draw objects, which will then physically interact with the environment. It could be totally free-form, but I'm also hoping to create "levels" where the kids will have to accomplish a particular goal by creating a Rube Goldberg-type machine with lots of different moving parts. If I add special components like fans, rope, balloons and so on, I think the kids could really enjoy it.

There's also some other less free-form applications, both based in engineering. Trying to build strong, wind-resistant towers is totally possible with the system as it exists above - try it, it's not as easy as it sounds! I'd also like to extend it so that the kids can build bridges, and then test them by running (virtual) trains over them. This is similar to an activity done at Science Outreach, where the kids learn about engineering, structures, and design.

Collaboration is also a really exciting possibility. If kids in different locations could work together to build a structure, or a machine towards a common goal? That's the real idea: "Okay, the kids in Toronto will build a machine to get the ball across the lake to flip the electrical switch, then the kids in Halifax build something to use the electricity turned on by the switch to raise the flag, and then the kids in Vancouver use the raised flag to drop the cage on the mouse!" .

Example

Here's my CN Tower. Let's see what happens when it hits the ground.	Ulp! Well, that's no good. I guess I should have reinforced the "bubble" part a bit more. At least it's still standing!	Scratch that. Perhaps a wider base would be in order as well.	Here's a different version with those improvements, which has successfully survived colliding with the ground.