As a fifth-grade mathematics teacher, the author tries to create authentic problem-solving activities that connect to the world in which his students live. He discovered a natural connection to his students' real world at a computer camp. A friend introduced him to Alice, a computer application developed at Carnegie Mellon, under the leadership of Randy Pausch. This computer application was designed to create interest in computer programming for middle school girls. After his third-grade son spent a week using the Alice application at camp, he returned home with a new love for computer programming and problem-solving. After seeing his son's experience, he was convinced that he needed to introduce this application to his fifth-grade students. Although Alice is used by high schools and colleges, it is incredibly user-friendly, in part because it relies on a drag-and-drop interface to create a virtual world. Users can explore variables, algorithms, rates of change, and probability in a three-dimensional world that can be manipulated similar to a video game. In the classroom, students will explore problem solving and math concepts in a real world that they create and control. (Contains 4 figures.)