SpinArt
© 2010 Brian Smith
Turn your iPhone screen into a beautiful paint-splattered mess with this simple, fun program. The app was first released in 2008 and has been updated several times; but it is basically the same. While there is no iPad version, it still works and looks fine on either sized screen. The program starts with a blank, white square turntable surrounded with splatters of paint. You can either swipe or tap to start it in motion, in either direction. A double tap makes it stop or increase in speed. If you hold your finger down, you can make a perfect circle, or you can choose the large paintbrush to make a big mess, quickly. A star icon makes it easy to save your work to your photo library, clear the background, send to Facebook, or start over. It helps to show children how they can stop and start the turntable with a double tap; a feature that is not obvious. Besides being a fun exercise in fine motor control, it provides playful exposure to some math, logic (spatial relations) and geometry concepts, with no cleanup necessary. Note that an iPad specific version is coming next month, according to an email message from Brian Smith, the publisher.
$1.99, iPhone, iPad
Teaches: art, creativity, logic (spatial relations)
CTR Rating: 92%