Flipsticks: Key Animation Programming for Kids Flipsticks was
inspired by and created based on years of many people's work at
the MIT lead by Seymour Papert (see, Papert.org). From the
Constructionist point of view, LOGO and computers, wooden
blocks, Lego bricks, and other "construction kits," can inspire
children to create and experiment, explore and build, and self-
express themselves with others in the process of building a
digital artifact. MaMaMedia's goal was to adapt this powerful
learning concept to the Internet; to create a simple gadget
online, in this case an animation activity, where kids could
program the fun! The goal of Flipsticks was to help children
gain preliminary understanding of programming key-frame
animation -- by direct manipulation of a figure's actions and
movements, programming mathematical variables in objects' length
and angles, and changing sequences and speeds -- to create a
story. The key strategy was to design a simple tool, where the
animations take place only when children ta