AbstractEfforts are being made to develop practical and effective innovations for undergraduate engineering teaching laboratories. The “ANEX” process, in which computer simulations are compared in nearly real time with physical measurements made on bench‐scale model experiments, is now being used successfully in an introductory structural analysis course. ANEX is described, as well as current plans to develop software simulation modules and matched, bench‐scale model experiments for new “MECH‐ANEX” laboratory applications in lower‐division statics and mechanics of materials courses. The ANEX process could also be adapted to undergraduate laboratory applications in a wider range of engineering and science disciplines. © 1996 John