You are here

Geometry Playground

Author(s): 
Daniel Heath (Pacific Lutheran University) and Joshua Jacobs (University of Washington)

Geometry Playground (v1.3) is a free Java application for doing "ruler and compass" constructions in  Euclidean, Spherical, Projective, Hyperbolic, Manhattan and Conical geometries.  Each geometry can be displayed using one or more models; for example, Spherical Geometry can be shown using Sphere, Plane or Mercator models.  The purpose of the program is to help users develop a familiarity with various conceptualizations of these geometries.

The command menu and program messages can be displayed not only in English, but in twelve other languages: Japanese, Spanish, Marathi, French, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Hungarian, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish.

Click here to open the Geometry Playground applet in a new window.

Click here to open a pdf help file which offers a brief explanation for each of the commands in the applet.

For further information, updates, and access to the source code, you can visit the Geometry Playground website.

The following pages contain some examples of potential classroom activities involving the Geometry Playground application. 

Daniel Heath (Pacific Lutheran University) and Joshua Jacobs (University of Washington), "Geometry Playground," Convergence (November 2010), DOI:10.4169/loci003567