Free Animation Software from MIT

A free download from the MIT Media Lab; Scratch is an easy to use program that allows kids to make their own animations and post them on the web at the community site where you can download the program from.
The MIT Media Release says:

A new programming language developed at the MIT Media Lab turns kids from media consumers into media producers, enabling them to create their own interactive stories, games, music, and animation for the Web.

With this new software, called Scratch, kids can program interactive creations by simply snapping together graphical blocks, much like LEGO® bricks, without any of the obscure punctuation and syntax of traditional programming languages. Children can then share their interactive stories and games on the Web, the same way they share videos on YouTube, engaging with other kids in an online community that provides inspiration and feedback.

"Until now, only expert programmers could make interactive creations for the Web. Scratch opens the gates for everyone," said Mitchel Resnick, Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab and head of the Scratch development team.