Simple Machines Teaches Kids STEM Through Games

Simple Machines (not to be confused with Simple Minds — and don’t you forget about them) is an app from Tinybop that aims to teach kids “the playful side of STEM” — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

The app contains six simple machines that let users play and learn. A game about biking over unsettled terrain makes for a good physics lesson, as does another game about launching objects at a castle. Kids can even make music using a pinball-inspired game board outfitted with inclines that make sound when they’re hit with objects.

Regardless of the game selected, and regardless of the lesson it teaches, players are encouraged to experiment on their own in order to experience how the on-screen levers and pulleys work together to produce cool results.

Simple Machines is available now for iOS. Consider grabbing it for that special smart child in your life — though there’s nothing wrong with adults throwing things at digital castles, either.

Nadia Oxford

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In the early aughts, Nadia fell into writing with the grace of a brain-dead bison stumbling into a chasm. Over the years, she's written for Nerve, GamePro, 1UP.com, USGamer, Pocket Gamer, Just Labs Magazine, and many other sites and magazines of fine repute. She's currently About.com's Guide to the Nintendo 3DS at ds.about.com.