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Unit 4: Simulation

About this unit

A believable world frequently contains objects that need to move in a realistic way, but are too complicated or numerous to move individually “by hand” - things like leaves on a tree or hairs on a monster’s body. In this lesson, visitors will learn how Pixar uses computer programming to create believable simulated hair as seen in the film Brave.

Hair simulation 101

Explore how millions of hairs can be simulated using a mass spring system. This lesson is appropriate for grades 5+ and takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

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Practice

Code your own simulation

In this lesson we'll show you how to code a spring-mass system which is the basis for many different kinds of simulations. This lesson is most appropriate for grades 9+ and takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

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