Science Lab

Try the science yourself

Simulations built on real physics, chemistry and biology, with live numbers to watch, missions to try, and a lesson with the equations under each one. Free, nothing to install, and they work on a phone. For full courses with practice and review, climb the Physics, Chemistry or Earth & Space Ladder.

Featured · Physics

Magnetic Bottles for Fusion

To get energy from fusion, you have to hold a gas hotter than 100 million degrees without letting it touch anything. The bottle is a twisted doughnut of magnetic field. Turn, slice and mirror-test two exact ones from a 2026 paper, and see why the field lines must twist.

Explore the bottle →

Deep dives

Whole units, chapter by chapter: a simulation at the top of every chapter, then the lesson, worked examples, a quiz and the history.

Newton’s Laws of MotionSix chapters on how everything moves, with simulations, missions, quizzes and Newton’s own words.

The Laws of ThermodynamicsFive chapters of simulations on heat, energy, entropy, engines and absolute zero: the four laws of thermodynamics, played with.

Physics

Motion, forces, energy, electricity and light.

The Elements explorerAll 118 elements in an interactive periodic table: spin each atom in 3-D as shells or real orbital clouds, see its spectral fingerprint, compare, quiz, print cards and hear the elements as sound. Magnetic Bottles for Fusion explorerTurn, slice and mirror-test two exact 3-D magnetic bottles for fusion from a new 2026 paper, and see why the field lines must twist. Book CartSwing a chain of 2 to 25 books up from a rolling cart and balance it, or stand every book dead straight: the inverted pendulum, with live forces and energy. Orbit LabFire Newton's cannon until the ball falls all the way around the world, put satellites in orbit, fly to the Moon and slingshot past Venus, with real gravity and Kepler's laws. Rocket BuilderBuild a rocket from engines, tanks and up to three stages, then fly it to space, to orbit or away from Earth, and see why orbit means going sideways fast. Trebuchet WorkshopTune a counterweight trebuchet to hit a tower 100 to 300 meters away, follow the falling weight's energy, and see why air drag pulls the best angle below 45°. Pendulums and ResonanceFifteen pendulums that fall out of step and line up again, two that pass a swing back and forth, and a swing that small, well-timed pushes send high. Circuit BuilderWire batteries, bulbs, switches, resistors and an LED on a breadboard and watch the current flow. Series and parallel, Ohm's law with real meters, and why an LED needs a resistor. Optics BenchBend, bounce and focus light with lasers, mirrors, lenses and prisms, trap it in a glass rod, and find the rainbow's 42° angle in a raindrop. Gas in a BoxSqueeze a box of helium and argon atoms with a piston, heat the walls and pull out the divider: temperature is motion, pressure is collisions, and a bike pump gets warm. Build an AtomBuild atoms from protons, neutrons and electrons, make ions and isotopes, then watch radioactive nuclei decay and carbon-date a mystery sample. Cube SolverPaint in the colors of your 2×2, 3×3 or 4×4 twisty puzzle cube and watch a 3-D cube play the moves that solve it. Fewest moves or the beginner method, with practice cases, notation, parity and a timer.

Chemistry

Atoms, gases, acids and bases, and reactions.

The Elements explorerAll 118 elements in an interactive periodic table: spin each atom in 3-D as shells or real orbital clouds, see its spectral fingerprint, compare, quiz, print cards and hear the elements as sound. Gas in a BoxSqueeze a box of helium and argon atoms with a piston, heat the walls and pull out the divider: temperature is motion, pressure is collisions, and a bike pump gets warm. Mixing LabTest kitchen liquids with four indicators, neutralize an acid, titrate drop by drop and speed up a reaction, on a bench where nothing can spill. Build an AtomBuild atoms from protons, neutrons and electrons, make ions and isotopes, then watch radioactive nuclei decay and carbon-date a mystery sample.

Astronomy

Gravity, orbits, and the sky over your head.

Orbit LabFire Newton's cannon until the ball falls all the way around the world, put satellites in orbit, fly to the Moon and slingshot past Venus, with real gravity and Kepler's laws. Sky and Solar SystemSet any date from 1800 to 2050 and see where the planets were, watch Mars loop backwards, run the Moon through its phases and find the eclipse seasons.

Biology

Living things and how populations change.

Predators and PreyGrass, rabbits and foxes rise and fall in turns. Overhunt, add a refuge, ride out a hard winter, and compare the field with the Lotka–Volterra equations.

Lessons and books

For a lesson to read together, try Why Things Fall Over, which goes with Book Cart. For whole courses, the homeschool science page has classic books on astronomy, geology, chemistry and physics with a guide for every session.