Free iPad app makes engineering fun for teens

Software firm Autodesk has announced that its new Autodesk TinkerBox App for iPad, a game designed to playfully spark teens’ interest in mechanical engineering, is now available free of charge on the iTunes App Store. The app allows players to experience the fun and excitement of invention, while gaining confidence in their ability to excel in engineering. To solve the challenging mechanical puzzles and physics problems presented in Autodesk TinkerBox, players insert gadgets, assemble components, and test their inventions. Completing each challenge inspires players to create more and increasingly complex innovations. The game’s Invent mode enables players to design their own contraptions and share them with friends. In November 2010, Autodesk polled more than 1,000 American teenagers between the ages of 12 and17 about their attitudes toward academic subjects that provide the foundation for a career in engineering. The survey findings suggested that teens understand the importance of engineering, but are concerned that the subject matter is too difficult:

• More than half of all teens surveyed believe science and technology (54 percent) and engineering and math (53 percent) are important to their careers and future prosperity.
• Students don’t find the subjects boring or nerdy, but rank engineering and math doubly hard compared to other subjects (16 percent vs. 8 percent for English and languages).

“Students need to be given opportunities to experience success with engineering long before they reach colleges and universities," said Samir Hanna, vice president of consumer products at Autodesk. “The Autodesk TinkerBox App shows kids how fun and exciting science and mechanical engineering can be. This game helps combat the idea that science and engineering are ‘too hard,’ while allowing kids to create some pretty amazing inventions." In addition to the new app, Autodesk said it is providing free access to its 3D design, engineering and entertainment software and accompanying curricula though the Autodesk Education Community as part of its commitment to educating the next generation of designers and engineers. — Newsbytes.ph