1. A system for simulating welding activity, comprising: a welding tool adapted for manipulation by a user to perform a simulated welding operation; a spatial tracker configured to track movement and orientation of the welding tool when manipulated by the user relative to a welding coupon during the simulated welding operation; a helmet having a first display device to display a simulated welding environment to the user; and a processor based subsystem operatively coupled to the spatial tracker to receive information related to the movement and orientation of the welding tool and to the helmet to transmit information related to displaying the simulated welding environment, the processor based subsystem being operable to execute coded instructions to: generate a simulated welding surface for the welding coupon, display the simulated welding surface on the first display device, generate a simulated weld puddle having real-time molten metal fluidity and real-time heat dissipation characteristics on the simulated welding surface during the simulated welding operation, display the simulated weld puddle on the first display device, generate a simulated weld bead based on the simulated weld puddle, and display the simulated weld bead on the first display device.