A 2D Physics Simulator as a Design Tool for a Children's Programming Environment

Abstract

This paper describes a 2D physics simulator for children used to gather information for a new programming environment for children incorporating a 2D physics component. It was developed to examine how children interact with such a simulator and how easily they could use the simulator to construct different physical objects such as seesaws, cars and bridges. Two different studies were conducted with children playing with the simulator. In the first, groups of children of ages 6-7 and 9-10 briefly worked with the simulator. This showed a few minor problems but also showed that the older children quickly overcame these problems and could construct requested objects without difficulty. The second included a questionnaire asking 10 and 11 year old children what they would make with such a program and what they would like their created objects to do.