Conway’s Game of Life

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About this simulation

KiwiBee’s classroom edition of Conway’s Game of Life makes each B3/S23 neighbor rule visible. Inspect a cell to see its neighbor count and predicted next state, compare stable blocks with repeating blinkers and moving gliders, undo a generation, or draw a starting pattern. Switch between a finite grid and wrapping edges to explore boundary assumptions. Inspired by Pedro Verruma’s MIT-licensed implementation; the cellular automaton was devised by John Conway. The new classroom engine models mathematical states, not living organisms.

What students can explore

Inspect a cell and predict whether it will live in the next generation.
Compare Block, Blinker, Glider and Glider Gun experiments with Step.
Undo a generation, draw a change, and compare finite versus wrapping edges.

Learning objectives

1Apply local neighbor rules to predict a generation.
2Distinguish stable, repeating and moving patterns.

Questions teachers ask

Who created this activity and what is its source license?

Pedro Verruma; cellular automaton devised by John Conway. Original source license: MIT. Source: https://github.com/pmav/game-of-life. KiwiBee improves the classroom controls and experiments, retaining source credits and licenses.

What does this model simplify?

This is a discrete mathematical model on a browser grid. The word life does not imply biological realism.

How can I use the activity in class?

Use the activity controls inside the frame, or open fullscreen for a larger workspace. Ask students to predict a result, test it, and explain what changed. The embedded application starts in English; available upstream language controls are part of the original activity.

Embed this simulation

Drop it into your LMS, blog, or class site — free.

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Continue exploring

Spin a spinner, flip a coin or roll a die and watch two sets of bars: the chances the shapes predict, and the results you actually got. Ten spins prove nothing; a few hundred and the two are hard to tell apart.

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Type any function and see its shape straight away. Plot up to three at once in three colours to compare them, drag the trace point to read a value off a curve, and see where each one crosses zero.

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Move m and watch the line tilt; move b and watch it slide. Or drag the two points on the line and read the equation it writes back. A rise-over-run staircase climbs the line so slope becomes something you can count.

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Preview of Two-Body, Three-Body & N-Body Gravity

Compare a two-body orbit with three-body figure-eight motion, then add up to twelve bodies. Change initial masses, velocities and positions; watch orbit trails and numerical energy error.

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Preview of Riemann Sums and the Integral Simulation

Approximate the area under a curve with strips and choose how each takes its height: left edge, right edge, middle, or a sloping top. Push the strip count up and watch the error fall, with the running total plotted as its own curve.

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From model to evidence

Use a worksheet to capture predictions, observations, and explanations after students explore.