Physics by Paint
During the last months I stumbled about a new type of game which seems to become extremely popular among developers.
The games do not have any real objective but instead allow you to experiment with gravity and mechanics in a very easy and playful way. You can create objects by simply drawing them. They then behave like real physical objects and interact with each other and the the game world physics
The first one I saw is called Crayon Physics. A first first prototype is available for download but it's not as enhanced as the final game will be. Have a look at the video for what will be possible when released 1):
The second game is called Pocket Physics and is a homebrew game for the Nintendo DS. Not too advanced but available and a cool thing to show on your homebrew enabled DS. Here's a video of what you can do in the game:
The last game is called Phun. It is the most advanced of the three and available for Linux and Windows. Playing around with it is really as much fun as the name suggests. You can not only create simple objects but can also attach motors and create liquids. Even changing the friction of objects is possible. Check this video before downloading:
I think those games could be quite useful for teaching kids basic mechanics – what do you think?