Science
Simple Machines by Tinybop
Kids tinker with levers, pulleys, ramps, wedges, wheels and screws to launch, lift and topple things.
Simple Machines by Tinybop is a richly illustrated physics playground organized around the six classic simple machines. Each gets a scene of its own: kids slide a lever’s pivot to fling objects farther, add pulleys to haul up something heavy, tilt a ramp, drive a wedge, turn wheels and axles or twist a screw. They can drop in different objects and see how weight, distance and force change the outcome, and many experiments seem to end in a satisfying crash. Labels pop up to name the parts as kids play, and the camera can pull photos into the scenes. There appear to be no levels or scores, only open-ended tinkering. Tinybop aims it at curious kids from four up, and the slapstick collapses look likely to keep slightly older children experimenting too.
- Ages
- Ages 4+
- Works on
- iPhone and iPad app
- Topics
- Science, Making
- Languages
- English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese
- Listed
- 2026-10-18
What kids do
- Slide a lever’s pivot to launch objects
- Add pulleys to haul up a heavy load
- Tilt a ramp and race things down it
- Turn wheels and axles to move a load
Who it suits
Ages 4+. The publisher provides this age guidance.
Notes for parents
From Tinybop, the Brooklyn studio behind the Explorer’s Library series, and offered in dozens of languages. Play is wordless enough that non-readers look able to dive in.
What you need
- iPhone or iPad
Visit Simple Machines by Tinybop
More Science
- Solar Walk: Space Simulator 3D: A 3D model of the solar system to move around in, with scale comparisons and animations about Moon phases and tides.
- Science for Kids by Tappity: Interactive science videos, questions and a science journal, covering topics such as magnets and volcanoes.
- MarcoPolo Weather: Children adjust wind, temperature and precipitation and watch a landscape and its characters react.
- MarcoPolo Ocean: Reef building, a submersible to assemble and marine animals to find, with narration that introduces ocean words.
- Coral Reef by Tinybop: Children explore a reef food web, hide an octopus and follow food through a jellyfish to see how ocean life connects.
- Star Walk Kids: Astronomy Game: Cartoons, narrated facts and quick quizzes guide children around a moving solar system and a mobile observatory.
- The Earth by Tinybop: Volcanoes, earthquakes, fossils and shifting sediment, all on screen, showing how the Earth’s surface changes.
- Space by Tinybop: An interactive solar system model where children compare planets, tilt the Earth and follow the phases of the Moon.