Soda Constructor

Soda Constructor is a physics and engineering simulator that runs in a web browser. Using Soda Constructor you can make structures and creatures by putting springs and masses together. The springs are then connected to a muscle wave that makes the springs expand and contract rhythmically. With careful design of the springs you can make your structure move across the screen.

There is a Soda Constructor zoo, where users can share the creatures they have made.

To successfully build a structure, builders must understand the concepts of centre of gravity and cross-bracing. These concepts can be discovered by trial and error.

Students can experiment with existing creatures from the zoo or built in library and explore the effects of adjusting gravity, friction and spring strength.

In addition to the SodaZoo, there is a SodaRace competition, which consists of an online olympics competition.

Soda Constructor can be found at http://sodaplay.com/

There are a number of tutorials that show you how to get started with Soda Constructor.

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This page has been produced by Margaret Meijers. Questions concerning its content may be directed by email to margaret.meijers@education.tas.gov.au. This page was last modified on Sunday, 22 June 2008. The URL for this page is http://www.mindtools.tased.edu.au/soda_constructor.htm .

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.
Attribution should include the statement: "This has been adapted from a resource originally created by Margaret Meijers at http://www.mindtools.tased.edu.au"