In development · not yet released
Open virtual engineering lab for children
A free engineering lab for every child
Children design machines, circuits and robots from virtual parts, run engineering simulations and see real calculated results. When something fails, they find out why — and make it better.
- No expensive kits
- Modest phones and computers
- Designed to work offline
- Many languages
What is MEKALUMI?
A virtual lab for real engineering ideas
MEKALUMI is an open educational project. It brings together an interactive 2D/3D lab, engineering simulations and lessons that teachers can create and share.
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Build from virtual parts
Gears, wires, beams, logic gates, sensors, motors and more: choose parts, connect them and create your own device.
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Simulate and measure
Start the simulation and the lab calculates what happens — forces, currents, motion and signals. You see results, not just animation.
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Learn from mistakes
If the bridge sags or the lamp stays dark, that is useful information. Change one thing, test again and understand why.
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Share lessons as files
Teachers will be able to create lessons and pass them on as .mekapack files, even without an internet connection.
How it works
Five steps every engineer repeats
Engineering is a loop, not a straight line. Each turn of the loop teaches something new.
- 01
Imagine
Think of a device that solves a problem: a crane, a night light, a bridge, a robot.
Example: a footbridge “I want a small bridge that can carry a heavy toy truck.”
- 02
Build
Choose virtual parts and connect them. Nothing is expensive, and nothing breaks for real.
Example: a footbridge Lay beams across the gap and join them together.
- 03
Simulate
Start the simulation. The lab calculates forces, currents or motion step by step.
Example: a footbridge Drive the truck onto the bridge.
- 04
Discover
Look closely at the results. Where does it bend? How much current flows? What moved, and how fast?
Example: a footbridge The middle of the bridge sags too much.
- 05
Improve
Change the design, test again and explain why the new version works better.
Example: a footbridge Add triangles and the bridge becomes stiff. Now you know why real bridges use them.
Then back to the start, with a better idea.
8 engineering areas
From the first gear to the first robot
MEKALUMI covers eight connected areas of engineering. Each has its own experiments, and together they show how real devices are made.
Mini lab
Try three small experiments
These small models run right here in your browser and keep working offline once the page has loaded. They are simplified teaching models, not the MEKALUMI simulation engine.
Simplified model Runs in your browser
Tip: drag the left gear to turn it by hand.
Gear train
Change the number of teeth on each gear. Watch how the speed and the turning force change.
- Gear ratio
- 1 : 2
- Output speed
- 15 rpm · 2× slower
- Turning force
- × 2
- Direction
- Opposite to the motor
When a small gear drives a big one, the big gear turns more slowly but with more force. Winches, bicycles and clocks use this idea.
Model: ideal gears without friction or slipping. Motor speed: 30 rpm.
Keep the LED safe
Choose a battery and a resistor, then close the switch. With too little current the LED stays dark. With too much, a real LED could burn out.
- Current
- 11.4 mA
- LED
- Shining safely.
A resistor limits the current. Ohm’s law tells you how much: current = (battery voltage − LED voltage) ÷ resistance.
Model: ideal battery; red LED with a fixed voltage drop of 2 V, safe up to about 20 mA.
Logic gate
Switch the inputs on and off, then choose a gate. The lamp shows the output.
- Output
- Lamp off (0)
AND: the lamp lights only when A and B are both 1.
| A | B | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
Logic gates follow exact rules, so this model behaves like real digital logic.
Who is it for?
For curious children — and the adults who support them
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Children and teenagers
Anyone who asks “how does it work?” and wants to build something of their own.
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Parents and carers
A safe place where mistakes cost nothing and every experiment teaches something.
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Teachers and clubs
You will be able to create your own lessons, adapt them to your class and share them as files.
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Schools, libraries and communities
Build local libraries of lessons in the languages children speak.
Why it matters
Talent is everywhere. Equipment is not.
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Why free?
Robot kits, lab benches and fast computers are expensive. A virtual lab removes that barrier, so a child’s chances do not depend on their family’s income or on where they live.
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Why practice?
Reading about a lever is not the same as moving its pivot and watching the load rise. Practice turns formulas into understanding, and builds the confidence to try, fail and try again.
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Why open?
MEKALUMI is developed as an open project, so that schools, teachers and communities can use it, adapt it and add to it.
Built for real conditions
Designed for modest phones and unstable internet
Many children learn on shared, low-cost Android phones with little mobile data. MEKALUMI is designed with them in mind.
- The Android version has been tested on an emulator with 2 GB of memory.
- Testing on real phones with 2 GB of memory is still ahead.
- Engineering calculations run on the device itself.
- Lessons can be shared as files, without the internet.
Honest status
Where MEKALUMI is today
- 8 engineering areas developed
- 80 lessons created and checked locally
- 2D / 3D interactive lab
- Android version tested on a 2 GB emulator
- Creator Studio for teachers exists and is still evolving.
- MEKALUMI has not been publicly released yet, so there is nothing to download today.
- Work on real low-memory phones has not been confirmed yet.
In your language
Learning starts in the language you think in
MEKALUMI is being prepared for many languages, with special attention to African languages. Every translation shows its real status, and native speakers can help improve it.
- 49 languages with translated pages
- 181 languages in the registry
- English
- Acoli
- Afrikaans
- Akan
- አማርኛ
- العربية
- الدارجة
- مصرى
- Ichibemba
- Bamanankan
- বাংলা
- Deutsch
- Duálá
- Eʋegbe
- Español
- فارسی
- Fulfulde
- Français
- Hausa
- हिन्दी
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Igbo
- Italiano
- 日本語
- Taqbaylit
- Kikongo
- Gĩkũyũ
- 한국어
- Krio
- Luganda
- Lingála
- Dholuo
- Malagasy
- Mooré
- मराठी
- Bahasa Melayu
- isiNdebele
- Nederlands
- ߒߞߏ
- isiNdebele
- Sesotho sa Leboa
- Chichewa
- Afaan Oromoo
- Naijíriá Píjin
- Polski
- Português
- Ikirundi
- Русский
- Ikinyarwanda
- Sängö
- ⵜⴰⵛⵍⵃⵉⵜ
- chiShona
- Soomaaliga
- siSwati
- Sesotho
- Kiswahili
- தமிழ்
- తెలుగు
- ไทย
- ትግርኛ
- Setswana
- Türkçe
- Xitsonga
- Chitumbuka
- Twi
- Tamaziɣt n laṭlaṣ
- Українська
- اردو
- Tshivenḓa
- Tiếng Việt
- Wolof
- isiXhosa
- Yorùbá
- ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ
- 简体中文
- 繁體中文
- isiZulu
MEKALUMI for Africa
Equal access to engineering knowledge
Local languages, affordable phones, offline lessons and local teachers who create their own materials.
Read moreHelp build it
Developers, teachers, translators, designers and scientists can all contribute. Participation channels are being prepared.