Some time back (probably about a year or two – I forget now), hubby got a touchscreen for his desktop at work. It was pretty cool because he had the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 on it, which has:
- Microsoft Blackboard
- Microsoft Garden Pond
- Microsoft Rebound
- Microsoft Surface Globe
- Microsoft Surface Collage
- Microsoft Surface Lagoon
If you haven’t seen it yet, you should check out this demo to see how cool it is:
Okay, I’m digressing… What caught my attention was the Blackboard Physics game. Watch it here:
Although this game is probably too advanced for Aristotle, I figured it was a good one we could work on together to teach him about finding solutions to problems.
When we got the iPad, I tried to find a similar game but was unsuccessful so I forgot all about it until Aristotle was playing another game with a similar concept on a borrowed Galaxy Note. The game is called Crayon Physics (and yes, it’s available for the iPhone, too) and it looks like this:
The game is slightly different but the concept is still the same. Other similar games:
Aim of the game: Get the wheel to the star by drawing shapes with a crayon that come to life. These shapes will interact with the wheel following the laws of physics so tap into your knowledge of motion to win the game.
If you enjoyed Touch Physics, this sequel will offer you a whole new 50 levels of fun.
Can you design a bridge to support the weight of passing vehicles? It’s time to put your engineering skills to the test!
In this wacky physics golf game, the aim is to get the ball into the hole in as few shots as possible. But beware! It is not as easy as it seems – you will have to avoid many obstacles along the way as you use a variety of tools, like dynamite, rockets and crayons to achieve your task.
In this doodle-style physics game, you have to get the seeds back into the pots using a little bit of ingenuity and creativity.
What I like about these games is that they promote creative thinking and problem solving skills. Most of these games might be too advanced for younger children (especially once they get past the easier levels), but perhaps we’ll be able to find something with a similar concept that is more appropriate for the younger children. Anyone seen anything? Hope you can share your apps in the comments section – thanks!