‘Angry Birds’ started life as a simple yet addictive mobile game but now the light-hearted pastime has taken on a whole new purpose in the classroom helping to teach physics lessons.

 

Angry Birds, which is available for smartphones, is a popular sling-shot game in which players must aim their birds carefully in order to defeat the army of pigs who have stolen their eggs and are hiding in the many humorously designed brightly-coloured landscapes. Having long been a favourite amongst commuters and those looking to pass the time of day, the low-cost game is now being hailed for its educational value when it comes to teaching the basic principles of physics.

 

US-based physics teacher, John Burk, has been utilising the game in conjunction with his smartboard to make his lessons more engaging. He said:

 

“We’re using physics to explore this completely new video game world. We get to ask questions just like scientists ask when they’re trying to figure out the atmospheric composition of a planet, or the motion of a new never-before-seen asteroid.

 

“What are the laws of physics in the Angry Birds world? My students get a chance to be scientists and be among the first to find the answer to this question.”

 

 

Burk says he got the idea of incorporating Angry Birds into his lessons from Rhett Allain, an Associate Professor of Physics at Southeastern Louisiana University who has spent time analysing and reporting on the physics found throughout popular culture. Allain commented:

 

 

Recalling how his pupils reacted to Angry Birds being introduced into their lessons, Burk said:

 

“I think my students were pretty psyched when we started a new unit by projecting Angry Birds on the smartboard and played a few games as a class. It was a definite hook to get them asking questions.”

 

Angry Birds was created by Finnish games developer, Rovio and is reported to have sold over 12 million copies of the game through Apple's App Store alone since it was first released in December 2009. For more information, click here.