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Portals
Science Simulation games for middle and High schoolers
Game for Science
Virtual world for students can learn about health, aeronautics, environment and more. Can play as a tourist without registering
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
LabXChange Harvard
More than 300 free lab simulations that can be easily shared or embedded. Searchable by subject, level, source, and 13 different languages. A rich resource for virtual labs, including some very topical entries, such as Covid-19 infection spread, climate change predictor, and model of hydraulic fracking.
Prepmagic Customize science simulations to highlight phenomena by adding pause points, notes, and quizzes to simulations, teachers can help build and assess student understanding. Not all simulations are customizable yet, but there are plans to add more in the future.
The Wild Classroom is a website that features a collection of podcasts and videos for science classrooms. One aspect of The Wild Classroom that impressed me was the Biomes of the World Map. The Biomes of the World map allows students to explore the map and watch an informational video about each biome.
The Why Files
the Science behind the news. videos and animations
Game for Science
A virtual world for kids dedicated to getting them excited about science and technology. Students can explore various virtual islands where they will learn about health, aeronautics, genomics, environment, engineering, and more.
Play games, learn interesting facts, and explore science photos and videos.
Virtual Experiments is a very useful website from Reading University that provides simulations of many standard school science experiments which can be carried out on your interactive whiteboard.
Some of the experiments available include: Photosynthesis with Elodea, Transpiration, Reflection and Refraction, Chemical Clocks and looking at the Viscosity of Glycerol
Interactive Science Animations for Children animated lessons covering seven science subjects for students of early elementary/ primary school age. The lessons cover The Body and Medicine, Energy and Environment, Earth and Beyond, Teeth and Eating, Micro-organisms, The Brain, and Exercise.For each science subject covered there is an introduction followed by seven to ten interactive animations. For example, in The Earth and Beyond students can see how the position of the sun affects the length of shadows. Students can advance the sun through the sky. As they advance the sun they can use a ruler to measure the lengths of the shadows that they create.
NSF Multimedia Gallery
Provides nearly 100 videos and webcasts on a range of science topics: a fossil that may represent the first vertebrate to emerge from the sea, turning forest-industry waste into fuel...
Slow motion video of just about anything you can think of
Sumanas
Science and statistics animations. Especially plentiful for biology.
Jason Science Suitable for: Grade 5 - Year 11
JASON games and digital labs are designed with the practical realties of the classroom in mind. Teachers can search for games and labs by state standards in the JASON Mission Center Web site, where you will also find worksheets and handouts. Games include Operation: Resilient Planet, Coaster Creator, StormTracker and a host of other mini labs.
Gooru is a service that aims to provide teachers and students with an extensive collection of videos, interactive displays, documents, diagrams, and quizzes for learning about topics in math and science. Access to hundreds of resources according to subject areas such as chemistry, biology, ecology, algebra, calculus, and more. Within each subject area you can look for resources according to media type such as video, interactive display, slides, text, and lesson plans.
Game for Science
Virtual world for students can learn about health, aeronautics, environment and more. Can play as a tourist without registering
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
LabXChange Harvard
More than 300 free lab simulations that can be easily shared or embedded. Searchable by subject, level, source, and 13 different languages. A rich resource for virtual labs, including some very topical entries, such as Covid-19 infection spread, climate change predictor, and model of hydraulic fracking.
Prepmagic Customize science simulations to highlight phenomena by adding pause points, notes, and quizzes to simulations, teachers can help build and assess student understanding. Not all simulations are customizable yet, but there are plans to add more in the future.
The Wild Classroom is a website that features a collection of podcasts and videos for science classrooms. One aspect of The Wild Classroom that impressed me was the Biomes of the World Map. The Biomes of the World map allows students to explore the map and watch an informational video about each biome.
The Why Files
the Science behind the news. videos and animations
Game for Science
A virtual world for kids dedicated to getting them excited about science and technology. Students can explore various virtual islands where they will learn about health, aeronautics, genomics, environment, engineering, and more.
Play games, learn interesting facts, and explore science photos and videos.
Virtual Experiments is a very useful website from Reading University that provides simulations of many standard school science experiments which can be carried out on your interactive whiteboard.
Some of the experiments available include: Photosynthesis with Elodea, Transpiration, Reflection and Refraction, Chemical Clocks and looking at the Viscosity of Glycerol
Interactive Science Animations for Children animated lessons covering seven science subjects for students of early elementary/ primary school age. The lessons cover The Body and Medicine, Energy and Environment, Earth and Beyond, Teeth and Eating, Micro-organisms, The Brain, and Exercise.For each science subject covered there is an introduction followed by seven to ten interactive animations. For example, in The Earth and Beyond students can see how the position of the sun affects the length of shadows. Students can advance the sun through the sky. As they advance the sun they can use a ruler to measure the lengths of the shadows that they create.
NSF Multimedia Gallery
Provides nearly 100 videos and webcasts on a range of science topics: a fossil that may represent the first vertebrate to emerge from the sea, turning forest-industry waste into fuel...
Slow motion video of just about anything you can think of
Sumanas
Science and statistics animations. Especially plentiful for biology.
Jason Science Suitable for: Grade 5 - Year 11
JASON games and digital labs are designed with the practical realties of the classroom in mind. Teachers can search for games and labs by state standards in the JASON Mission Center Web site, where you will also find worksheets and handouts. Games include Operation: Resilient Planet, Coaster Creator, StormTracker and a host of other mini labs.
Gooru is a service that aims to provide teachers and students with an extensive collection of videos, interactive displays, documents, diagrams, and quizzes for learning about topics in math and science. Access to hundreds of resources according to subject areas such as chemistry, biology, ecology, algebra, calculus, and more. Within each subject area you can look for resources according to media type such as video, interactive display, slides, text, and lesson plans.
Ecosystems, Energy and Environment
Energyville - http://ecogamer.org/environmental-games/energyville-energy-game/. Energyville is a game that allows users to choose future energy options while building a virtual city. Students who are enrolled in Environmental Science class must develop a plan for new and renewable energy sources while building their new city. The game displays the many challenges faced when making decisions that could potentially have global impacts.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Energy and Climate Change Games a variety of grade level games with direction for teachers.
ElectroCity is an online computer game that lets players manage their own virtual towns and cities. It’s great fun to play and also teaches players all about energy, sustainability and environmental management in New Zealand.
Environment Games at various levels and includes activities to compliment the games
LabX is a program of the National Academy of Sciences that inspires people to use science to solve problems in their communities, focusing in particular on engaging with young adults. One model for such engagement is the Extreme Event role-playing game that gives participants a taste of what it takes to build community resilience in the face of a disaster. Players have three scenarios from which to choose: hurricane, earthquake, flood. Players work together to make decisions and solve problems during the engaging, fast-paced disaster simulation.
Invasive Species Start as an Asian carp, and then drive a simulation to prevent this invasive species from entering Lake Michigan.
Feed the Dingo is a fun game that teaches students about the importance of maintaining balanced ecosystems. In the game students have to build and maintain a desert ecosystem. The game begins with a blank slate to which students have to add plants and animals. The game plays out over twelve virtual days. Each day students have to add more elements in order to maintain balance in the ecosystem. At the end of each day students are given feedback as to which plants and animals are healthy, which are in danger, and which have died.
Aquation is a free game offered by the the Smithsonian Science Education Center. The game, designed for students in upper elementary school or middle school, teaches students about the distribution of clean water and what can be done to balance global water resources.
Energy City (National Geographic: Jason Project)
Collapsus terrific graphics for this energy crisis game
Climate Challenge
Oiligarchy
National Geographic Eco Games – Need to Register for Free Download
Precipice – Beyond a certain point there is no return
Starbuck’s Planet Green Game
Harpooned – Japanese Cetacean Research Simulator (must download)
Windfall – Windfarming
SEREF, the Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation, has built a couple of tools that could be of interest to science teachers. SEREF has an energy estimation tool that allows you to estimate the potential solar and wind energy of any location. To use the estimation tool you have to enter your location using a Google Map and input the size of the solar panels or wind turbine structure. The potential energy is then calculated based on climate, latitude, and typical weather patterns.
Interactive Science Animations for Children Energy Environment, animated interactive lesson early elementary/ primary school age.
Energy Environment,
NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab
Provides dozens of animations and images about topics such as coral reefs, ocean acidification, humans' impact on the ocean, the dead zone, hurricanes, African droughts, and more.
Your Carbon Diet This interactive allows you to learn about how we use different energy sources and how it affects not only our environment but also our budget. You will look around a typical New England house and click on the various items. You'll see what is draining energy and learn how to make your home more energy efficient..
Global Carbon Footprints map provides four ways of looking at carbon footprints created by the largest economies in the world. You can roll over the map to view carbon footprints on a per capita basis, cumulative basis, intensity, and current totals.
Ozone is a lower elementary science game to show how pollution can affect the Earth's population.
Citizen Science: Back to the Future meets the EPA in this game, where players travel back in time to investigate what led to the local lake’s pollution and what they can do to prevent it in the future. The game is meant to illustrate the social factors that contribute to environmental harm.
Jean-Michael Cousteau Ocean Adventures: Predator Protector players to guide three different threatened shark species to food and away from danger. At the same time, players can learn about the behaviors and habitats of these three species.
Personal Energy Meter is a tool for evaluating your personal carbon footprint. The meter asks for your location then asks a series of questions about your energy consumption. The result compares you to the average person in your region. I was below average in my footprint until I entered the number of flights I take every year. Wow! Flying leaves a huge carbon footprint.
The Great Energy Challenge is a National Geographic feature that offers some nice interactive posters for evaluating personal and global energy consumption.
Plan It Green Live is a game from National Geographic that challenges you to build an environmentally-friendly city.
Global Electricity Outlook is an interactive display of electricity consumption across the globe. You can view the global picture or click on the map to view regional consumption. The display shows the means of electricity production globally and regionally. To see how shifting production sources would impact the world or a region use the sliders below the map.
Electrocity play to learn about electricity production and consumption. In the game students take on the role of mayor of a fictitious town. As the mayor the student has to manage the consumption and production of electricity for the town.
Electric Circuits from Hyperstaffs. On the Electric Circuits site your students can learn about the power sources used by common household products and then safely experiment with the creation of electric circuits. Electric Circuits presents students with a circuit to construct by using virtual power sources and switches.
Close Knit Neighbors Help organize a jar of mud and its plant and organisms
The Personal Energy Meter is a tool for evaluating your personal carbon footprint. The meter asks for your location then asks a series of questions about your energy consumption. The result compares you to the average person in your region. I was below average in my footprint until I entered the number of flights I take every year. Wow! Flying leaves a huge carbon footprint.
Energy City Imagine a world where non-renewable resources, such as coal and oil, are in short supply! What can we do now to prepare for this future event? In this JASON Digital Lab, you will create a new energy portfolio for a city. Research new sources of energy and take another look at renewable and inexhaustible sources that were once considered “alternative” such as sunlight and wind.Ecology Lab (Grades 9-12)
In this lab you will get a chance to build your own ecosystem, and explore the effects of these interrelationships.
The Wild Classroom is a website that features a collection of podcasts and videos for science classrooms. One aspect of The Wild Classroom that impressed me was the Biomes of the World Map. The Biomes of the World map allows students to explore the map and watch an informational video about each biome.
Build a Prairie
The prairie is one of North America's great ecosystems and a vital habitat for many plants and animals. Over 98% of the prairie has been lost in the past 150 years—but some people are trying to bring it back, hectare by hectare. Restoring a prairie is a great challenge, requiring knowlege of biology, ecology, climatology, and even economics.
Build a Fish (gr 3-8) In this interactive activity, you must build a fish whose adaptations make it suited to its ocean environment.
Over Fishing
A player goes fishing over ten virtual days, using a simple graphic to point and click fish into his or her boat. The money earned from selling those fish supports the player's fictional family. But there are two other people fishing, and they always catch the same number of fish as the player. What unfolds is a vivid lesson in overfishing.
Enviromysteries
Asthma. Rising cancer rates. Viruses we have never heard of before. Just a few of the incredibly complex health problems that confront society today. What part does our environment play? That's the Question EnviroMysteries sets out to answer.
Plan It Green ( gr. 5-8) Turn Greenville into an eco-friendly town.
WolfQuest An immersive, 3D wildlife simulation game, WolfQuest challenges players to learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park.
Planet Arcade This arcade is a portal to games and interactive activities focused on ocean and air themes. It highlights the science and the activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other agencies and organizations promoting environmental stewardship.
Electrical Construction Kit
This is an online simulation that will allow you to construct various types of circuits to test what you have learned in your research.
Alternative Energy Systems What could we use to generate electricity? Explore the possibilities in this 3-level platforming game.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Energy and Climate Change Games a variety of grade level games with direction for teachers.
ElectroCity is an online computer game that lets players manage their own virtual towns and cities. It’s great fun to play and also teaches players all about energy, sustainability and environmental management in New Zealand.
Environment Games at various levels and includes activities to compliment the games
LabX is a program of the National Academy of Sciences that inspires people to use science to solve problems in their communities, focusing in particular on engaging with young adults. One model for such engagement is the Extreme Event role-playing game that gives participants a taste of what it takes to build community resilience in the face of a disaster. Players have three scenarios from which to choose: hurricane, earthquake, flood. Players work together to make decisions and solve problems during the engaging, fast-paced disaster simulation.
Invasive Species Start as an Asian carp, and then drive a simulation to prevent this invasive species from entering Lake Michigan.
Feed the Dingo is a fun game that teaches students about the importance of maintaining balanced ecosystems. In the game students have to build and maintain a desert ecosystem. The game begins with a blank slate to which students have to add plants and animals. The game plays out over twelve virtual days. Each day students have to add more elements in order to maintain balance in the ecosystem. At the end of each day students are given feedback as to which plants and animals are healthy, which are in danger, and which have died.
Aquation is a free game offered by the the Smithsonian Science Education Center. The game, designed for students in upper elementary school or middle school, teaches students about the distribution of clean water and what can be done to balance global water resources.
Energy City (National Geographic: Jason Project)
Collapsus terrific graphics for this energy crisis game
Climate Challenge
Oiligarchy
National Geographic Eco Games – Need to Register for Free Download
Precipice – Beyond a certain point there is no return
Starbuck’s Planet Green Game
Harpooned – Japanese Cetacean Research Simulator (must download)
Windfall – Windfarming
SEREF, the Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation, has built a couple of tools that could be of interest to science teachers. SEREF has an energy estimation tool that allows you to estimate the potential solar and wind energy of any location. To use the estimation tool you have to enter your location using a Google Map and input the size of the solar panels or wind turbine structure. The potential energy is then calculated based on climate, latitude, and typical weather patterns.
Interactive Science Animations for Children Energy Environment, animated interactive lesson early elementary/ primary school age.
Energy Environment,
NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab
Provides dozens of animations and images about topics such as coral reefs, ocean acidification, humans' impact on the ocean, the dead zone, hurricanes, African droughts, and more.
Your Carbon Diet This interactive allows you to learn about how we use different energy sources and how it affects not only our environment but also our budget. You will look around a typical New England house and click on the various items. You'll see what is draining energy and learn how to make your home more energy efficient..
Global Carbon Footprints map provides four ways of looking at carbon footprints created by the largest economies in the world. You can roll over the map to view carbon footprints on a per capita basis, cumulative basis, intensity, and current totals.
Ozone is a lower elementary science game to show how pollution can affect the Earth's population.
Citizen Science: Back to the Future meets the EPA in this game, where players travel back in time to investigate what led to the local lake’s pollution and what they can do to prevent it in the future. The game is meant to illustrate the social factors that contribute to environmental harm.
Jean-Michael Cousteau Ocean Adventures: Predator Protector players to guide three different threatened shark species to food and away from danger. At the same time, players can learn about the behaviors and habitats of these three species.
Personal Energy Meter is a tool for evaluating your personal carbon footprint. The meter asks for your location then asks a series of questions about your energy consumption. The result compares you to the average person in your region. I was below average in my footprint until I entered the number of flights I take every year. Wow! Flying leaves a huge carbon footprint.
The Great Energy Challenge is a National Geographic feature that offers some nice interactive posters for evaluating personal and global energy consumption.
Plan It Green Live is a game from National Geographic that challenges you to build an environmentally-friendly city.
Global Electricity Outlook is an interactive display of electricity consumption across the globe. You can view the global picture or click on the map to view regional consumption. The display shows the means of electricity production globally and regionally. To see how shifting production sources would impact the world or a region use the sliders below the map.
Electrocity play to learn about electricity production and consumption. In the game students take on the role of mayor of a fictitious town. As the mayor the student has to manage the consumption and production of electricity for the town.
Electric Circuits from Hyperstaffs. On the Electric Circuits site your students can learn about the power sources used by common household products and then safely experiment with the creation of electric circuits. Electric Circuits presents students with a circuit to construct by using virtual power sources and switches.
Close Knit Neighbors Help organize a jar of mud and its plant and organisms
The Personal Energy Meter is a tool for evaluating your personal carbon footprint. The meter asks for your location then asks a series of questions about your energy consumption. The result compares you to the average person in your region. I was below average in my footprint until I entered the number of flights I take every year. Wow! Flying leaves a huge carbon footprint.
Energy City Imagine a world where non-renewable resources, such as coal and oil, are in short supply! What can we do now to prepare for this future event? In this JASON Digital Lab, you will create a new energy portfolio for a city. Research new sources of energy and take another look at renewable and inexhaustible sources that were once considered “alternative” such as sunlight and wind.Ecology Lab (Grades 9-12)
In this lab you will get a chance to build your own ecosystem, and explore the effects of these interrelationships.
The Wild Classroom is a website that features a collection of podcasts and videos for science classrooms. One aspect of The Wild Classroom that impressed me was the Biomes of the World Map. The Biomes of the World map allows students to explore the map and watch an informational video about each biome.
Build a Prairie
The prairie is one of North America's great ecosystems and a vital habitat for many plants and animals. Over 98% of the prairie has been lost in the past 150 years—but some people are trying to bring it back, hectare by hectare. Restoring a prairie is a great challenge, requiring knowlege of biology, ecology, climatology, and even economics.
Build a Fish (gr 3-8) In this interactive activity, you must build a fish whose adaptations make it suited to its ocean environment.
Over Fishing
A player goes fishing over ten virtual days, using a simple graphic to point and click fish into his or her boat. The money earned from selling those fish supports the player's fictional family. But there are two other people fishing, and they always catch the same number of fish as the player. What unfolds is a vivid lesson in overfishing.
Enviromysteries
Asthma. Rising cancer rates. Viruses we have never heard of before. Just a few of the incredibly complex health problems that confront society today. What part does our environment play? That's the Question EnviroMysteries sets out to answer.
Plan It Green ( gr. 5-8) Turn Greenville into an eco-friendly town.
WolfQuest An immersive, 3D wildlife simulation game, WolfQuest challenges players to learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park.
Planet Arcade This arcade is a portal to games and interactive activities focused on ocean and air themes. It highlights the science and the activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other agencies and organizations promoting environmental stewardship.
Electrical Construction Kit
This is an online simulation that will allow you to construct various types of circuits to test what you have learned in your research.
Alternative Energy Systems What could we use to generate electricity? Explore the possibilities in this 3-level platforming game.
Space
Lunar Cycle Challenge gr. 4-6 Drag moons to the their place in the lunar cycle.
How Big is Space? - Four simulations that model space and help demonstrate the size and scale of space
Astroventure gr. 4-6 Go with Astro and learn about the tools that astronomers use to detect planets.
Station Spacewalk Game is designed for middle school students to learn about the purposes and functions of the International Space Station. In the game students go on Extravehicular Activities modeled after real EVAs performed by astronauts. Station Spacewalk can be played online or downloaded for free as a Windows game or as a Mac game.
Passport To Mars is from Scholastic, and puts you in the position of being an astronaut traveling to Mars.
Gravity Launch gr. 4-6 Launch a rocket into space to see how the force of gravity can pull an object toward the earth and moon.
Planetary Rescue Squad gr. 4-6 Your goal is provide parts to space colonists.
Mission 1.5 is a simulation game from the United Nations that lets you help deal with global warming.
Rocket Science: Ride To The Station is a new simulation created by NASA where players can put themselves in the role of running a mission to the International Space Station.
How Big is Space? - Four simulations that model space and help demonstrate the size and scale of space
Astroventure gr. 4-6 Go with Astro and learn about the tools that astronomers use to detect planets.
Station Spacewalk Game is designed for middle school students to learn about the purposes and functions of the International Space Station. In the game students go on Extravehicular Activities modeled after real EVAs performed by astronauts. Station Spacewalk can be played online or downloaded for free as a Windows game or as a Mac game.
Passport To Mars is from Scholastic, and puts you in the position of being an astronaut traveling to Mars.
Gravity Launch gr. 4-6 Launch a rocket into space to see how the force of gravity can pull an object toward the earth and moon.
Planetary Rescue Squad gr. 4-6 Your goal is provide parts to space colonists.
Mission 1.5 is a simulation game from the United Nations that lets you help deal with global warming.
Rocket Science: Ride To The Station is a new simulation created by NASA where players can put themselves in the role of running a mission to the International Space Station.
Physics
Logger Lite.
An online program used in conjunction with weights, sleds, friction boards, and force sensors to teach students how to measure the force of friction when dragging various masses over various surfaces. When teaching Newton's Laws, this program is used to help students investigate and understand scientific principles and technological applications of work, force, and motion through hands-on experimentation. Students work in small groups to conduct the experiment using friction boards with three different surfaces (smooth, coarse, sandpaper), three different weights (aluminum, lead, brass) and a sled attached to a sensor connected to the logger lite program. It is recommended that the same student pull the sled, at the same speed, for each trial. The sensor records the force for each trial. Students manually record their observations on a lab sheet. Students are also asked to compare the differences in accuracy of measurement using the computer sensor and the spring scale for measuring forces.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Crayon Physics a puzzle-solving game. The full version costs $20.00, but they have a demo which you can download for free.
Electric Circuits from Hyperstaffs. On the Electric Circuits site your students can learn about the power sources used by common household products and then safely experiment with the creation of electric circuits. Electric Circuits presents students with a circuit to construct by using virtual power sources and switches.
Simple Machines
Edheads is an interactive site about simple and compound machines. Edheads provides a glossary of simple machines and then challenges you to identify simple machines in everyday objects. There are two activities you can choose when you go to the site: House and Tool Shed. In the House you can identify simple machines and in the Tool Shed you can identify the simple machines that make up compound machines.
Rocket Science: Ride To The Station is a simulation created by NASA where players can put themselves in the role of running a mission to the International Space Station. The ‘Rocket Science: Ride 2 Station’ app is a free download, out now on iOS, and also available on the web.
Roller Coaster.
Try your hand at designing your own roller coaster. You will be building a
conceptual coaster using the physics concepts that are used to design real coasters. You won't need to compute any formulas. You will decide the following - the height of the first hill, the shape of the first hill, the exit path, the height of the second hill, and the loop. When you're done, your coaster will need to pass an inspection for both safety and fun.
Amusement Park Physics (Grades 9-12)
How do physics laws affect amusement park ride design? You'll have a chance to find out by designing your own roller coaster.
Roller Coaster Simulator Activity is to get the coaster through the track without any roll-backs. To that end the Roller Coaster Simulator allows users to design the height and spacing of the rise and fall of a roller coaster track. Users can also adjust the speed of coaster, the mass of the coaster, the friction of the coaster on the track, and the strength of the gravitational pull on the coaster.
Autodesk Digital STEAM Applied Mechanicsis a free iPad app that contains five simple games. The games are designed to let students experiment with five connected physics concepts. The concepts in the games are energy and work, force, power, loading, and mechanisms. In each game students control one variable to see how changing that variable affects other aspects of the equation.
Roller Coaster Building at the Jason Project.
This project allows students to learn about potential and kinetic energy while building on-line roller coasters. The roller coaster is either a success or crashes into the end barrier. The roller coaster is also rated for difficulty. Great fun. Students work together together and also compete to build successful roller coasters.
Rollercoaster.
See http://www.funderstanding.com/k12/coaster/. Quoting from
the Website:This simulator is designed for people who want to design their own thrilling coaster and educators who want to use a cool activity to simulate the application of physics by using an exciting interactive tool and access to a wonderful reference source.It is your mission to design the coaster so that you can achieve maximum thrills and chills without crashing or flying off the track (unless that’s how you like your coaster to work!).
phet
A website that hosts a wide variety of science and math simulations. The simulations permit scientific experimentation and discovery in a fun, engaging environment. Students enjoy playing with them while they are learning!
My Physics Lab
This site, created Eric Neumann, contains a number of interactive physics simulations. Also included are the math components of the simulations.
Physics Simulations - Simulations for all types of physics topics.
Online Labs for Physics
PBS Nova Physics Interactives
Nobelprize.org's educational section consists of productions. Of these, some are interactive learning games of various sorts and degrees of difficulties. Most of them also includes a "Read more" about the subject.
Accelerators | Energy from Matter | Imaging Life | Integrated Circuit | Invar & Steel Alloys | Laser Challenge | Liquid Crystals | Microscopes | Observing the World of Particles | Relativity | Semiconductors | Star Stories | Structure of Matter | The Quantised World | Transistors | Vacuum Tubes | X-rays
Java Physics Simulations serious physics applets
Assess Physics Learning Through Gameplay Physics Playground teaches and assess two-dimensional physics simulations dealing with Newton’s Laws of Motion—concepts such as gravity, mass, momentum and energy. Embedded in the game are assessments for creativity, conscientiousness and physics understanding. The game has a simple objective: get the green ball to hit the red balloon. The ball and balloon are placed in various locations on the screen, sometimes with obstacles in between, and students have to draw “agents of motion,” such as levers, springboards, pendulums or ramps, to get the ball to hit the red balloon. To increase the level of difficulty and receive more points, students can solve the problems using fewer agents to accomplish a task. Other times, difficulty is added if a level looks completely different from the previous levels. The problems have no one “right” answer.
NASA HIAD game gr. 6 - 8 (available online and as mobile apps) see how velocity, trajectory, and friction affect spacecraft upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. students learn to control HIADs to land them safely back on Earth. In the game students have to navigate the HIAD while accounting for velocity of the HIAD, wind speeds, timing of inflation, and shape of the HIAD. Make a mistake and the HIAD could burn up on re-entry or crash when it misses the landing zone. The game has four progressively more difficult levels. The first level teaches students the basics concepts and skills needed to complete the game.
Kerbal Space Program ( gr. 9 - 12) is somewhat like a NASA simulator except it's set in a fictional star system on the planet Kerbin. Players use various rocket parts, put them together, and then see if they can get their ship into orbit, to one of Kerbin’s two moons, or even to another planet. The star system closely resembles our own, The demo version is adequate for classroom use.
Power Play (gr 6-8)This interactive game helps students learn about harnessing energy from different power sources.
123D Circuits collaboratively designi electronic circuits online. On 123D Circuits you can design your circuits and test them on the simulator in your browser. You can create circuits from scratch or use and modify templates and other publicly shared projects. All projects are public unless you pay a subscription fee to make your projects private.Watch the video
Engineering Interact (gr. 4-6) offers five games designed to teach students physics concepts. The games address concepts related to light, sound, motion, electricity, and space travel. Each of the five games presents students with a scenario in which they have to "help" someone solve a problem. The games require students to learn and analyze the information presented to them.
A Slower Speed of Light demonstrate the visual effects of special relativity. A Slower Speed of Light seems simple enough on the surface, you walk through virtual worlds picking up orbs, but the game gets quite difficult because of the visual effects. The game attempts to mirror the speed of light to the player's actual walking pace which is what changes the visual complexity displayed in each level of the game. video
Parachute Drag
Explore the effects of mass, displacement, and drag on the low functioning of a parachute in this simulation.
Bridgebuilder.
A simple bridge simulation that allows students to design their own bridges that must hold a weight. I used this as a way to give my students a common experience that was also flexible enough to give them a comfortable start.
FWG Bridge create and test bridges
NASA Mission Control
Can you dock a Gemini capsule in space? How about flying a lunar module and bringing it down safely on the moon? Test your astronaut skills.
Planet Makeover Create your own planet and see it evolve
PBS Nova Space and Flight Interactives
NASA's Lunar Electric Rover Simulator is a free iOS app that lets you explore the moon. The app is really a game in which players perform tasks to support the activities of a lunar outpost. Players transport items from place to place and along the way encounter lunar challenges to overcome. You can download the app for free from iTunes.
Station Spacewalk Game is designed for middle school students to learn about the purposes and functions of the International Space Station. In the game students go on Extravehicular Activities modeled after real EVAs performed by astronauts. Station Spacewalk can be played online or downloaded for free as a Windows game or as a Mac game.
NASA Space Place is a sizable collection of fun projects, games, animations, and lessons about Earth, space, and technology. Before playing the games or attempting one of the projects, students should explore the animations and facts sections to gain some background information.
Eyes on the Solar System NASA site where you can see lots and lots of natural and
man-made objects throughout our solar system in real time. Follow and find
information about planets, moons, satellites space probes and more in is
realistic 3D stimulation.
Planetary Photojournal
A photo album of the universe. See images of the planets. Look through the Hubble telescope at nebulae far beyond our galaxy. Watch a video of the Mars rovers or catch up on news...
Seasons This interactive is a simulation of Earth’s seasons.
Trip Around the Earth Explore the curvature of Earth by taking this multimedia trip up through the atmosphere and then around the planet. Starting your trip at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the Space Shuttle is assembled and launched, you can quickly rise though the atmosphere to space
Build a Solar System Players can build their own solar system, trying to find a perfect balance, or creating a system unlike any we’ve ever seen
8 Wonders of the Solar System, Made Interactive: Scientific American Wonders of the Solar System, Made Interactive
What might future explorers of the solar system see? Find out by taking an interactive tour through the eyes of Hugo Award-winning artist Ron Miller.
Celestia:
Explore Universe in 3D Celestia is a free download that works on Mac, PC, and Linux systems. The advantage of Celestia over other satellite imagery programs is that in addition to seeing the Earth's surface, students can zoom in on moons, stars, and planets. The user controls what they see. Operating the program is easy enough to be used by students as young as six or seven.
Can you put the moon in orbit?
MrMont.com, click "games" for physics simulations
Earth and Beyond Interactive animation
Drop the Watts Challenge How much do you know about recycling? Do you lead an eco-friendly lifestyle? Take this challenge to find out!
PowerUp part of IBM's TryScience initiative, is perhaps the most sophisticated of these new computer games. The game charges players with saving the imaginary planet Helios from ecological destruction by carrying out missions to supply solar, wind, and water power before severe storms wreak havoc. Students learn engineering and science principles by building solar towers or searching junkyards for parts to repair wind turbines. powerupthegame.org free downloadable game where players try to save world from evironmental disassters. by IBM
An online Physics puzzle game
Invention Playhouse K - 12Explore the playful side of invention and the inventive side of play in the Invention Playhouse, part of the "Invention at Play" online exhibition.
Gravity Launch Gravity Launch is an interactive activity that allows you to virtually launch a rocket into space to see how the force of gravity can pull an object toward the earth and moon. You also can experiment with different thrust and angle settings to learn how these settings change the motion of the rocket.
Planet Quest Multimedia
Offers 20 animations related to the search for earth-like worlds. Take an interactive tour of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Explore extrasolar planets. Find out how new planets are..
Atom Builder In this activity from A Science Odyssey on the PBS site, you have a chance to build a carbon atom.
An online program used in conjunction with weights, sleds, friction boards, and force sensors to teach students how to measure the force of friction when dragging various masses over various surfaces. When teaching Newton's Laws, this program is used to help students investigate and understand scientific principles and technological applications of work, force, and motion through hands-on experimentation. Students work in small groups to conduct the experiment using friction boards with three different surfaces (smooth, coarse, sandpaper), three different weights (aluminum, lead, brass) and a sled attached to a sensor connected to the logger lite program. It is recommended that the same student pull the sled, at the same speed, for each trial. The sensor records the force for each trial. Students manually record their observations on a lab sheet. Students are also asked to compare the differences in accuracy of measurement using the computer sensor and the spring scale for measuring forces.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Crayon Physics a puzzle-solving game. The full version costs $20.00, but they have a demo which you can download for free.
Electric Circuits from Hyperstaffs. On the Electric Circuits site your students can learn about the power sources used by common household products and then safely experiment with the creation of electric circuits. Electric Circuits presents students with a circuit to construct by using virtual power sources and switches.
Simple Machines
Edheads is an interactive site about simple and compound machines. Edheads provides a glossary of simple machines and then challenges you to identify simple machines in everyday objects. There are two activities you can choose when you go to the site: House and Tool Shed. In the House you can identify simple machines and in the Tool Shed you can identify the simple machines that make up compound machines.
Rocket Science: Ride To The Station is a simulation created by NASA where players can put themselves in the role of running a mission to the International Space Station. The ‘Rocket Science: Ride 2 Station’ app is a free download, out now on iOS, and also available on the web.
Roller Coaster.
Try your hand at designing your own roller coaster. You will be building a
conceptual coaster using the physics concepts that are used to design real coasters. You won't need to compute any formulas. You will decide the following - the height of the first hill, the shape of the first hill, the exit path, the height of the second hill, and the loop. When you're done, your coaster will need to pass an inspection for both safety and fun.
Amusement Park Physics (Grades 9-12)
How do physics laws affect amusement park ride design? You'll have a chance to find out by designing your own roller coaster.
Roller Coaster Simulator Activity is to get the coaster through the track without any roll-backs. To that end the Roller Coaster Simulator allows users to design the height and spacing of the rise and fall of a roller coaster track. Users can also adjust the speed of coaster, the mass of the coaster, the friction of the coaster on the track, and the strength of the gravitational pull on the coaster.
Autodesk Digital STEAM Applied Mechanicsis a free iPad app that contains five simple games. The games are designed to let students experiment with five connected physics concepts. The concepts in the games are energy and work, force, power, loading, and mechanisms. In each game students control one variable to see how changing that variable affects other aspects of the equation.
Roller Coaster Building at the Jason Project.
This project allows students to learn about potential and kinetic energy while building on-line roller coasters. The roller coaster is either a success or crashes into the end barrier. The roller coaster is also rated for difficulty. Great fun. Students work together together and also compete to build successful roller coasters.
Rollercoaster.
See http://www.funderstanding.com/k12/coaster/. Quoting from
the Website:This simulator is designed for people who want to design their own thrilling coaster and educators who want to use a cool activity to simulate the application of physics by using an exciting interactive tool and access to a wonderful reference source.It is your mission to design the coaster so that you can achieve maximum thrills and chills without crashing or flying off the track (unless that’s how you like your coaster to work!).
phet
A website that hosts a wide variety of science and math simulations. The simulations permit scientific experimentation and discovery in a fun, engaging environment. Students enjoy playing with them while they are learning!
My Physics Lab
This site, created Eric Neumann, contains a number of interactive physics simulations. Also included are the math components of the simulations.
Physics Simulations - Simulations for all types of physics topics.
Online Labs for Physics
PBS Nova Physics Interactives
Nobelprize.org's educational section consists of productions. Of these, some are interactive learning games of various sorts and degrees of difficulties. Most of them also includes a "Read more" about the subject.
Accelerators | Energy from Matter | Imaging Life | Integrated Circuit | Invar & Steel Alloys | Laser Challenge | Liquid Crystals | Microscopes | Observing the World of Particles | Relativity | Semiconductors | Star Stories | Structure of Matter | The Quantised World | Transistors | Vacuum Tubes | X-rays
Java Physics Simulations serious physics applets
Assess Physics Learning Through Gameplay Physics Playground teaches and assess two-dimensional physics simulations dealing with Newton’s Laws of Motion—concepts such as gravity, mass, momentum and energy. Embedded in the game are assessments for creativity, conscientiousness and physics understanding. The game has a simple objective: get the green ball to hit the red balloon. The ball and balloon are placed in various locations on the screen, sometimes with obstacles in between, and students have to draw “agents of motion,” such as levers, springboards, pendulums or ramps, to get the ball to hit the red balloon. To increase the level of difficulty and receive more points, students can solve the problems using fewer agents to accomplish a task. Other times, difficulty is added if a level looks completely different from the previous levels. The problems have no one “right” answer.
NASA HIAD game gr. 6 - 8 (available online and as mobile apps) see how velocity, trajectory, and friction affect spacecraft upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. students learn to control HIADs to land them safely back on Earth. In the game students have to navigate the HIAD while accounting for velocity of the HIAD, wind speeds, timing of inflation, and shape of the HIAD. Make a mistake and the HIAD could burn up on re-entry or crash when it misses the landing zone. The game has four progressively more difficult levels. The first level teaches students the basics concepts and skills needed to complete the game.
Kerbal Space Program ( gr. 9 - 12) is somewhat like a NASA simulator except it's set in a fictional star system on the planet Kerbin. Players use various rocket parts, put them together, and then see if they can get their ship into orbit, to one of Kerbin’s two moons, or even to another planet. The star system closely resembles our own, The demo version is adequate for classroom use.
Power Play (gr 6-8)This interactive game helps students learn about harnessing energy from different power sources.
123D Circuits collaboratively designi electronic circuits online. On 123D Circuits you can design your circuits and test them on the simulator in your browser. You can create circuits from scratch or use and modify templates and other publicly shared projects. All projects are public unless you pay a subscription fee to make your projects private.Watch the video
Engineering Interact (gr. 4-6) offers five games designed to teach students physics concepts. The games address concepts related to light, sound, motion, electricity, and space travel. Each of the five games presents students with a scenario in which they have to "help" someone solve a problem. The games require students to learn and analyze the information presented to them.
A Slower Speed of Light demonstrate the visual effects of special relativity. A Slower Speed of Light seems simple enough on the surface, you walk through virtual worlds picking up orbs, but the game gets quite difficult because of the visual effects. The game attempts to mirror the speed of light to the player's actual walking pace which is what changes the visual complexity displayed in each level of the game. video
Parachute Drag
Explore the effects of mass, displacement, and drag on the low functioning of a parachute in this simulation.
Bridgebuilder.
A simple bridge simulation that allows students to design their own bridges that must hold a weight. I used this as a way to give my students a common experience that was also flexible enough to give them a comfortable start.
FWG Bridge create and test bridges
NASA Mission Control
Can you dock a Gemini capsule in space? How about flying a lunar module and bringing it down safely on the moon? Test your astronaut skills.
Planet Makeover Create your own planet and see it evolve
PBS Nova Space and Flight Interactives
NASA's Lunar Electric Rover Simulator is a free iOS app that lets you explore the moon. The app is really a game in which players perform tasks to support the activities of a lunar outpost. Players transport items from place to place and along the way encounter lunar challenges to overcome. You can download the app for free from iTunes.
Station Spacewalk Game is designed for middle school students to learn about the purposes and functions of the International Space Station. In the game students go on Extravehicular Activities modeled after real EVAs performed by astronauts. Station Spacewalk can be played online or downloaded for free as a Windows game or as a Mac game.
NASA Space Place is a sizable collection of fun projects, games, animations, and lessons about Earth, space, and technology. Before playing the games or attempting one of the projects, students should explore the animations and facts sections to gain some background information.
Eyes on the Solar System NASA site where you can see lots and lots of natural and
man-made objects throughout our solar system in real time. Follow and find
information about planets, moons, satellites space probes and more in is
realistic 3D stimulation.
Planetary Photojournal
A photo album of the universe. See images of the planets. Look through the Hubble telescope at nebulae far beyond our galaxy. Watch a video of the Mars rovers or catch up on news...
Seasons This interactive is a simulation of Earth’s seasons.
Trip Around the Earth Explore the curvature of Earth by taking this multimedia trip up through the atmosphere and then around the planet. Starting your trip at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the Space Shuttle is assembled and launched, you can quickly rise though the atmosphere to space
Build a Solar System Players can build their own solar system, trying to find a perfect balance, or creating a system unlike any we’ve ever seen
8 Wonders of the Solar System, Made Interactive: Scientific American Wonders of the Solar System, Made Interactive
What might future explorers of the solar system see? Find out by taking an interactive tour through the eyes of Hugo Award-winning artist Ron Miller.
Celestia:
Explore Universe in 3D Celestia is a free download that works on Mac, PC, and Linux systems. The advantage of Celestia over other satellite imagery programs is that in addition to seeing the Earth's surface, students can zoom in on moons, stars, and planets. The user controls what they see. Operating the program is easy enough to be used by students as young as six or seven.
Can you put the moon in orbit?
MrMont.com, click "games" for physics simulations
Earth and Beyond Interactive animation
Drop the Watts Challenge How much do you know about recycling? Do you lead an eco-friendly lifestyle? Take this challenge to find out!
PowerUp part of IBM's TryScience initiative, is perhaps the most sophisticated of these new computer games. The game charges players with saving the imaginary planet Helios from ecological destruction by carrying out missions to supply solar, wind, and water power before severe storms wreak havoc. Students learn engineering and science principles by building solar towers or searching junkyards for parts to repair wind turbines. powerupthegame.org free downloadable game where players try to save world from evironmental disassters. by IBM
- For simulations on levers, friction, gears, center of gravity, click on the Adventure tab and then Extreme Challenges
An online Physics puzzle game
Invention Playhouse K - 12Explore the playful side of invention and the inventive side of play in the Invention Playhouse, part of the "Invention at Play" online exhibition.
Gravity Launch Gravity Launch is an interactive activity that allows you to virtually launch a rocket into space to see how the force of gravity can pull an object toward the earth and moon. You also can experiment with different thrust and angle settings to learn how these settings change the motion of the rocket.
Planet Quest Multimedia
Offers 20 animations related to the search for earth-like worlds. Take an interactive tour of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Explore extrasolar planets. Find out how new planets are..
Atom Builder In this activity from A Science Odyssey on the PBS site, you have a chance to build a carbon atom.
Earth Sciences
Stop Disasters
A game designed for students to learn about natural disasters, disaster prevention, and city design. There are five game scenarios that students can play. Students can plan to prepare for hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and tsunamis. The scenarios are set in geographically accurate contexts of Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Caribbean.
LabX is a program of the National Academy of Sciences that inspires people to use science to solve problems in their communities, focusing in particular on engaging with young adults. One model for such engagement is the Extreme Event role-playing game that gives participants a taste of what it takes to build community resilience in the face of a disaster. Players have three scenarios from which to choose: hurricane, earthquake, flood. Players work together to make decisions and solve problems during the engaging, fast-paced disaster simulation.
Storm Smart K - 1 This simulation shows the hazards associated with different types of storms and provides options for how someone could prepare for each storm.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Tsunami Mapper
A visualization creation tool built upon the Google Maps platform. Using Tsunami Mapper you can quickly measure how large an area a tsunami would affect if it hit your community. To use Tsunami Mapper just enter your location then enter a wave height and direction.
PBS Nova Planet Earth Interactives
Natural Disaster Games includes student activities.
Weather (Grades 9-12)
Try your hand at tornado chasing or discover how wind chill works.
The Smithsonian Science Education Center's Weather Lab is one of many online learning activities produced and hosted by the Smithsonian. The Weather Lab is designed to help elementary and middle school students learn about weather patterns. In the Weather Lab students select an ocean current and an air mass then try to predict the weather pattern that will result from their choices.
Mission 1.5 is a simulation game from the United Nations that lets you help deal with global warming.
Climate Change Kids Page Animations shows how global warming happens. Learn about the carbon and water cycles. Take online quizzes to test your knowledge on global warming, carbon cycle, and water cycle.
Explore Climate Change series.
The tours explore the actions of organizations to prevent or adapt to climate change in different parts of the world. These tours include the World Wildlife Foundation's efforts in the peatland swamps of Borneo, Greenpeace's actions to prevent deforestation of the Amazon, and Conservation International's efforts to reduce deforestation in Madagascar. The tours can be viewed three ways, in Google Earth, in the Google Browser plug-in, or through YouTube.
Stop Disasters! ( gr 7 - 12 ) Game Few other browser-based sims better illustrate the potential of gaming for learning about serious issues in our world.
Breathing Earth
An interactive map demonstrating CO2 emissions, birth rates, and death rates globally and by individual countries. From the moment that you first visit Breathing Earthecological footprint calculator. Using this calculator students can calculate their personal footprints, take quizzes, and learn about the ecological footprints of various it starts counting the number of births occurring worldwide. Placing your cursor over any country on the map reveals information about birthrate, death rate, and rate of CO2 emissions. One of the additional resources linked to Breathing Earth is an ecological footprint calculator. Using this calculator students can calculate their personal footprints, take quizzes, and learn about the ecological footprints of various businesses.
Seasons This interactive is a simulation of Earth’s seasons.
Aquation is a free game offered by the the Smithsonian Science Education Center. The game, designed for students in upper elementary school or middle school, teaches students about the distribution of clean water and what can be done to balance global water resources.
Planet Arcade
This arcade is a portal to games and interactive activities focused on ocean and air themes. It highlights the science and the activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other agencies and organizations promoting environmental stewardship.
Exploring Earth: Visualizations features over 100 animations and images that illuminate key concepts in earth science. Examples are: coal formation, nuclear fission, growth of a continent, tectonic plate movement...
Stromboli: Volcanoes
Virtual tours, videos, interactive explorations and people and cultures of people around volcanoes
Virtual Woodland (gr. 2 - 5)- The program features a simulation of a woodland and shows: how food chains and webs operate; how living things are adapted to specific habitats; how a woodland changes over the seasons; how habitats can be affected by natural change and human activity.
Living Landscapes K - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive illustrates natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic explosions, mudslides, and forest fires.
Big Island Pool K - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive demonstrates how the forces of water, wind, and geology mold and give shape to the Earth. Click the top circle in Room III
Continent Assembler K - 2In this student interactive, from an Xpeditions lesson, students reassemble maps of the seven continents
Living Landscapes K - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive illustrates natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic explosions, mudslides, and forest fires.
Big Island Pool K - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive demonstrates how the forces of water, wind, and geology mold and give shape to the Earth. Click the top circle in Room III
A game designed for students to learn about natural disasters, disaster prevention, and city design. There are five game scenarios that students can play. Students can plan to prepare for hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and tsunamis. The scenarios are set in geographically accurate contexts of Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Caribbean.
LabX is a program of the National Academy of Sciences that inspires people to use science to solve problems in their communities, focusing in particular on engaging with young adults. One model for such engagement is the Extreme Event role-playing game that gives participants a taste of what it takes to build community resilience in the face of a disaster. Players have three scenarios from which to choose: hurricane, earthquake, flood. Players work together to make decisions and solve problems during the engaging, fast-paced disaster simulation.
Storm Smart K - 1 This simulation shows the hazards associated with different types of storms and provides options for how someone could prepare for each storm.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Tsunami Mapper
A visualization creation tool built upon the Google Maps platform. Using Tsunami Mapper you can quickly measure how large an area a tsunami would affect if it hit your community. To use Tsunami Mapper just enter your location then enter a wave height and direction.
PBS Nova Planet Earth Interactives
Natural Disaster Games includes student activities.
Weather (Grades 9-12)
Try your hand at tornado chasing or discover how wind chill works.
The Smithsonian Science Education Center's Weather Lab is one of many online learning activities produced and hosted by the Smithsonian. The Weather Lab is designed to help elementary and middle school students learn about weather patterns. In the Weather Lab students select an ocean current and an air mass then try to predict the weather pattern that will result from their choices.
Mission 1.5 is a simulation game from the United Nations that lets you help deal with global warming.
Climate Change Kids Page Animations shows how global warming happens. Learn about the carbon and water cycles. Take online quizzes to test your knowledge on global warming, carbon cycle, and water cycle.
Explore Climate Change series.
The tours explore the actions of organizations to prevent or adapt to climate change in different parts of the world. These tours include the World Wildlife Foundation's efforts in the peatland swamps of Borneo, Greenpeace's actions to prevent deforestation of the Amazon, and Conservation International's efforts to reduce deforestation in Madagascar. The tours can be viewed three ways, in Google Earth, in the Google Browser plug-in, or through YouTube.
Stop Disasters! ( gr 7 - 12 ) Game Few other browser-based sims better illustrate the potential of gaming for learning about serious issues in our world.
Breathing Earth
An interactive map demonstrating CO2 emissions, birth rates, and death rates globally and by individual countries. From the moment that you first visit Breathing Earthecological footprint calculator. Using this calculator students can calculate their personal footprints, take quizzes, and learn about the ecological footprints of various it starts counting the number of births occurring worldwide. Placing your cursor over any country on the map reveals information about birthrate, death rate, and rate of CO2 emissions. One of the additional resources linked to Breathing Earth is an ecological footprint calculator. Using this calculator students can calculate their personal footprints, take quizzes, and learn about the ecological footprints of various businesses.
Seasons This interactive is a simulation of Earth’s seasons.
Aquation is a free game offered by the the Smithsonian Science Education Center. The game, designed for students in upper elementary school or middle school, teaches students about the distribution of clean water and what can be done to balance global water resources.
Planet Arcade
This arcade is a portal to games and interactive activities focused on ocean and air themes. It highlights the science and the activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other agencies and organizations promoting environmental stewardship.
Exploring Earth: Visualizations features over 100 animations and images that illuminate key concepts in earth science. Examples are: coal formation, nuclear fission, growth of a continent, tectonic plate movement...
Stromboli: Volcanoes
Virtual tours, videos, interactive explorations and people and cultures of people around volcanoes
Virtual Woodland (gr. 2 - 5)- The program features a simulation of a woodland and shows: how food chains and webs operate; how living things are adapted to specific habitats; how a woodland changes over the seasons; how habitats can be affected by natural change and human activity.
Living Landscapes K - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive illustrates natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic explosions, mudslides, and forest fires.
Big Island Pool K - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive demonstrates how the forces of water, wind, and geology mold and give shape to the Earth. Click the top circle in Room III
Continent Assembler K - 2In this student interactive, from an Xpeditions lesson, students reassemble maps of the seven continents
Living Landscapes K - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive illustrates natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic explosions, mudslides, and forest fires.
Big Island Pool K - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive demonstrates how the forces of water, wind, and geology mold and give shape to the Earth. Click the top circle in Room III
Cells, Diseases, Forensics, Immunology. Anatomy
Molecular Workbench.
Molecular Workbench is a cross platform (Java) application that allows students to run simulations on all kinds of scientific content. I use the simulations for classroom demonstrations and then have students work with them individually as virtual labs.
Deadly Distribution Gr 9-12 "The student takes on the role of regional disease control director for a small nation. A deadly infection is spreading rapidly through the area. The student must gather data about infection rates to decide how to allocate resources and ration limited treatments and vaccines, sending them where they are most needed. Instruction on the central limit theorem and related topics connects with game concepts to help the student ground their understanding of difficult topics."
Bioman biology
Created and maintained by a biology teacher, Bioman Biology offers an outstanding selection of free biology interactives, games, quizzes, and virtual labs. All are standards-based and easy to use for students (no registration required). Teachers can track student progress by simply registering for their own account. Biology topics covered range from physiology to evolution to scientific methods.
Perfect Stain teaches concepts of evolution and natural selection by helping students to overcome common misconceptions and biases about these subjects. In Perfect Strain, students will help to save the world by breeding pollution-eating bacteria. The bacteria multiply and mutate in a realistic (but accelerated) simulation of their natural process. Though the student has no control over how the bacteria change, they can manipulate the environment to favor desired traits.
Cell Homestasis Virtual Lab
What happens to a living cell when it’s placed in solutions of varying sugar concentrations? Use the virtual beakers, graduated cylinder, scale, dialysis tubes, and lab-grade sugar to find out. A simple experiment illustrating a key physiological principle.
East Tennessee State University
Great collection of higher-level free online biology labs covering ecology, evolution, and cell biology. Each experiment is available in both java and HTML5 - choose the HTML5 as java is no longer supported by most browsers. Users will enjoy changing parameters and observing the effects on honeybee foraging, male guppies’ tail spots, or plant biodiversity. Perhaps most important in today’s world: modeling and understanding the “tragedy of the commons” phenomenon.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Biology in Motion (gr. 5 - 12)
interactive biology learning activities
Online Labs for Biology (gr 8-12)
The Body and Medicine | Teeth and Eating | Micro-organisms | The Brain | Exercise. Interactive Animations
Cellcraft Suitable for: Year 7 - 12
Build a cell, fight off viruses, survive harsh worlds, and save the Platypus species!
This game was made possible by a grant from the Digital Media & Learning Competition. The goal was to make a truly educational game that was also genuinely fun to play. We hope students, teachers, and gamers will all enjoy the game, and encourage you to visit www.cellcraftgame.com, which will soon have an open forum and eventually downloadable teacher materials.
Build-a-Cell gr. 4-12 A drag and drop game to teach students about the organelles and organelle substructures .
Cell Division Simulation (gr 6-12) Students drag chromosomes to demonstrate their understanding of mitosis and meiosis
Control the Cell Cycle Three hundred million cells are replaced in your body every minute. Before you can begin as supervisor, you must review what happens to cells when they die and how they are replaced. Different cells divide at different rates, but the division follows a specific pattern called the Cell Cycle. Once you are sure of how this cycle works, you are ready for your job. When you enter the cell cycle control center, be prepared to make decisions that will let your cells grow, divide, and contain the correct chromosomes.
Solve the Outbreak app Get clues, analyze data, solve the scenario, and save lives! In this fun app, you get to be the Disease Detective.
The Interactive Ear students can learn about how the human ear works. The site has three sections; the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. In each section students can click on little pinmarks on the drawings to learn about the parts of the ear and their functions. Students can also click the "journey" button to see how sound travels through the ear.
Cell Defense: The Plasma Membrane -app The only barrier between the cell and the dangers of the outside world is the plasma membrane. Defend your cell by building a functional plasma membrane and thwart the evil plans of Dr. Vial to destroy all life on earth! Learn how the membrane works and its parts, including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates. Also, learn about cell transport!
Snurfle Meiosis and Genetics Snurfles, app just like any other organism, must reproduce in order to continue as a species! But how does this happen? By the end of this game, you will understand how MEIOSIS and FERTILIZATION work to make offspring! You will also see how GENETIC characteristics are passed on through these processes and the connection between meiosis and genetics!
Snurfle Meiosis and Genetics 2: app Genetic Diversity When Snurfles reproduce, their offspring can have a lot of different traits (lots of diversity). But how? By the end of this game, you will understand how the processes of CROSSING OVER, INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT, and RANDOM FERTILIZATION result in increased diversity of offspring! Also, you will learn how to perform a DIHYBRID CROSS!
Calvin Cycle gr 4-12 Inside the Inside the chlorplast Learn about the enzymes and components involved in the Calvin Cycle and about the concept of 'recycling' as it pertains to a biochemical 'cycle.
Glycolysis Game Take a trip inside the cytoplasm and control the necessary enzymes to make pyruvate from sugar.
Microbes Challenges players to isolate a single microorganism that is causing a plague while supporting understanding of scientific inquiry and life sciences.
Spore Create creatures and apply thinking skills for survival
Virtual Cell Animations (gr. 5-12) The Molecular & Cell Biology department at North Dakota State University hosts a nice collection of virtual cell animations. The collection of virtual cell animations introduces students to seventeen molecular and cellular processes. For each process there is a series of annotated images, a text explanation, and a video explaining the process.
Incredible MegaCell Learn about ultracentrifuges and orgnelles.
Virtual Cell Animations
Includes 17 cellular and molecular processes. Includes annotated and video explanations.
You Make Me Sick gr 5 - 9 Explain some of the ways that people can avoid bacterial and viral infection.Describe the anatomy and functions of bacteria and viruses.
Describe how bacteria and viruses reproduce and carry out life functions.
Evaluate how lifestyle choices and environments (e.g., tobacco, drug, and alcohol use, amount of exercise, quality of air, and kinds of food) affect the immune system in the human body. Collaborate with other students to generate creative solutions to a problem, and apply methods for making trade-offs to choose the best solution.
Molecular Stepping Stones
Features online activities, including simulations, to help students understand 10 key concepts underlying many biological processes. Topics include atomic structure, random motion... (The Concord Consortium, supported by National Science Foundation)
Interactive Cell Tutorials, Games and Quizzes (elem)
A nice interactive site that steps you through the different parts of the Animal, Plant and Bacterial cells. After learning about the cells, students can play a game or take a quiz on what they've learned.
Medmotion
(Middle & High School)learning cellular and body systems interactive
Secrets of Plant Genomes Revealed!
A lively, upbeat video exploration of how plants got to be the way they are and how we can make better use of them in the future. Learn how plant genome research is revolutionizing...
Virtual Cell Animations
Includes 17 cellular and molecular processes. Includes annotated and video explanations.
Molecular Stepping Stones
Features online activities, including simulations, to help students understand 10 key concepts underlying many biological processes. Topics include atomic structure, random motion... (The Concord Consortium, supported by National Science Foundation)
Interactive Cell Tutorials, Games and Quizzes (elem)
A nice interactive site that steps you through the different parts of the Animal, Plant and Bacterial cells. After learning about the cells, students can play a game or take a quiz on what they've learned.
Medmotion
(Middle & High School)learning cellular and body systems interactive
Inside Cancer
Uses animations and video clips of experts to reveal what is known about cancer. Learn about kinds of cancer, how they start (cell mutations), and their distribution worldwide. Explore... (National Center for Research Resources, supported by National Institutes of Health)
SCI: Skin Cancer Investigation gives you the opportunity to learn about skin cancer diagnosis and prevention. It is divided into two sections. An introductory section walks you through the basic biology of healthy skin and then goes on to further explore the types of skin cancer, the causes of skin cancer, and the means of lowering skin cancer risk. The second section provides two practical and engaging applications of the information covered in the tutorial section. In this section, assume the role of an employee in a fictional skin cancer lab called Glowell Labs. In the Lab, you can screen skin samples, identify symptoms, and determine whether samples are cancerous. Or field phone calls from patients concerned about skin cancer risks in the Helpdesk.
You and Your Skin (3-8) This interactive provides an introduction to the basic structure of the skin, information about how it protects us, and how to care for the skin.
Genetic Science Learning Center
Features animations and activities for learning about DNA, cells, and other topics in genetics and bioscience. Build a DNA molecule. Transcribe and translate a gene. See why a... (University of Utah, supported by National Institutes of Health)
Genomics Primer
An overview of the science of genetics and the Human Genome Project. Learn about genomes, DNA, genes, chromosomes, and more. Find audio and video files about genetics and the...
Genetic Science Learning Center
Features animations and activities for learning about DNA, cells, and other topics in genetics and bioscience. Build a DNA molecule. Transcribe and translate a gene.
From Cell to DNA 9 - 12 This tool, created by Science NetLinks, features an animation that takes students through a tour of a typical human cell, moving from larger to smaller cell..
Genetics: Tour the Basics
Uses animations to answer six questions: What is DNA? What are genes? What are chromosomes? What is a protein? What is heredity? What is a trait...
DNA Microarray is a "virtual lab" of a DNA microarray experiment. Compare samples of healthy tissue and cancerous tissue as a scientist would. Learn the basics about DNA and gene expression...
EpiSims Simulate the spread of epidemics at the level of individuals in a large urban region.
Protein Synthesis: At the Ribosome 9 - 12 This tool, created by Science NetLinks, presents a brief animation that demonstrates the process by which messenger RNA (mRNA) is translated into protein.
NanoQuest Suitable for: Grade 5 - Year 10
Discover that size really matters in NanoQuest, an epic 3D adventure through the tiny world of nanotechnology. The new version includes the Virus Attack Bonus Game which takes Jack and Orla on an adventure inside an animal cell.
Great Sperm Race Learn about the journey of a sperm cell to the egg.
Gut Instinct Battle intruders in the digestive tract.
Darwin, A Naturalist's Voyage is a virtual tour of Charles Darwin's nearly five year journey on the Beagle. Throughout the tour viewers will see sketches from the journey, hear readings from Darwin's journals, and learn about the journey as a whole. The virtual tour is not limited to just Darwin's work as a naturalist. Darwin, A Naturalist's Voyage explores social issues of the time such as slavery.
CSI: The Experience Suitable for: Grade 5 - Year 9
The CSI Web Adventure will put you in the shoes of a rookie crime scene invesitgator. You will need the help of fellow CSI agents.
Forensic Science Resource - CSI: The Experience Web Adventures - forensics is a great way to get kids interested in science and this site has virtual cases for students to solve.
Forensic Firsts (gr. 9-12) is a Smithsonian Channel television show. The show examines (in sometimes gruesome detail) how science can be used to solve crime mysteries. The Forensic Firsts game asks players to try to catch a serial murderer on the loose. The murderer can be caught by generating leads, correctly following up on leads, and correctly analyzing evidence.
Forensics for Kids.
Rice University’s CSI Web Adventures is a series of six online interactives, including the CSI web experience. Each of the Web Adventures is appropriate for middle school or high school use. In each adventure, students take on the role of a scientist to solve a crime, conduct experiments and learn about scientific methods and processes. In Cool Science Careers, students explore five STEM-based career areas. In MedMyst, students learn about microbiology through a series of interactive lessons and games that focus on infectious diseases and ways to prevent the spread of those diseases. Reconstructors includes three games in which students need to gather evidence and data to solve drug-related cases. Virtual Clinical Trials puts students into the role of research scientists who are working toward developing treatments for spinal cord injuries, depression and brain injuries. In N-Squad, students investigate the effects of alcohol on the digestive, circulatory and nervous systems. The CSI Web Adventures are designed to teach students the process of forensic investigation and problem solving.
Foldit is an experimental video game about protein folding, developed as a collaboration between the University of Washington's departments of Computer Science and Engineeringand Biochemistry . This game provides a chance for students to contribute to real scientific research.
Resources: The Science Behind Foldit - http://fold.it/portal/info/science
Glycolysis Game Take a trip inside the cytoplasm and control the necessary enzymes to make pyruvate from sugar.
DNA - The Double Helix Make copies of DNA by matching base pairs and identify the source.
Genetic Code Crack and learn the genetic code.
Nobelprize.org: The Immune System
The official site of the Nobel Prize brings us an online game (yea!) based on the 1908 award-winning immunity work of Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov and Paul Ehrlich. The Immune System Defender Game lets you explore what happens when you are wounded, what kind of cells are involved with the immune system, and how immune cells remove bacteria. "In this game, you are a trainee soldier of the Immune System Defense Forces, defending a human against bacterial infection."
More from Nobelprize.org Blood Typing | Control of the Cell Cycle | Diabetes and Insulin
DNA - RNA - Protein | DNA - the Double Helix | Ear Pages | ECG/Electrocardiogram
Immune Responses | Immune System | Malaria | MRI | Nerve Signaling | Pavlov's Dog
Split Brain Experiments | The Cell and its Organelles | The Genetic Code |Tuberculosis
Vitamin B1
Malaria Game Mosquito and Parasite games based on the 1904 Nobel Prize research.
Blood Typing Game Learn about blood types and Rh factors.
MedMyst Investigate infectious disease outbreaks.
Antibiotic Attack (3-8) This interactive activity helps students look at the pros and cons of using antibiotics to treat illness.
Diabetes and Insulin Game Learn about Diabetes and Insulin by helping a diabetic dog.
Tuberculosis - Experiments & Discoveries Game Reproduce classic experiments.
Inside Cancer uses animations and videoclips of experts to reveal what is known about cancer. Learn about kinds of cancer, how they start (cell mutations), and their distribution worldwide. Explore... (National Center for Research Resources, supported by National Institutes of Health)
Medical Animations animations of diseases, body systems and injuries
Immune Attack (9-12) In this resource, you get to navigate through a 3-D representation of the human body, fighting germs and restoring a healthy immune system to a sick patient.
Immune System Defense What happens if you get a breach in the skin? Try to get rid of bacteria that have gathered around a wound
Immune ResponsesIMMUNOLOGY Go through ten interactive stops and find out how our immune system protects us and sometimes could harm us.
1. The Blood Typing Game
2. The Laser Challenge Game
3. The DNA - the Double Helix Game
4. The Pavlov's Dog Game
5. The Diabetic Dog Game
6. The Lord of the Flies Game
7. The Electrocardiogram Game
9. The Control of the Cell Cycle Game
10. The Split Brain Experiments Game
Body Systems
Online Labs for Biology (gr 8-12)
Reconstructors Students use neuroscience approach to explain the impact of substance abuse.
Healthline Body Maps
Provides interactive three dimensional models for learning about human anatomy. Body Maps has male and female models. The models have eight layer views, from skin to skeletal, that you can select. There are also videos that connect with each anatomy section, for example, in lungs there is a video on asthma.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Build a Body Construct a human body system-by-system. To build a body students drag and drop into place the organs and bones of a human body. Each organ and bone is accompanied by a description of the purpose of that bone or organ.
Build a Body gr. 4-12 Choose organs from the organ tray, and place them in their correct position within the body to create organ systems.
Guts and Bolts helps students understand the complex relationships among the circulatory, respiratory, and digestives systems in the human body. Students play from the perspective of Moby, who is trying to create a robot version of Tim. By connecting “parts” (body organs) and “pipes” (arteries and veins) in each of 11 increasingly complex steps, students develop an understanding of the interrelationships that exist among body systems. The goal of the game is to successfully create a robot with functional “guts and bolts.”
Kinetic City Suitable for: Grades 3-5. A program of standards-based online science games on the human body systems, animals, memory and more
Inner Body Point and click your way around this interactive body systems It is like a virtual tour of a human body.
N-Squad Students work with forensic scientists to solve an alcohol related crime. Along the way, they will learn about alcohol's interaction in different body systems: digestive, circulatory, and nervous.
Secret Life of the Brain
Presents a history of efforts to understand the brain, a three-dimensional tour of the brain, optical illusions, and an animation showing how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) works. Videoclips examine how the brain evolves and differs from infancy to childhood, adolescence, and through adulthood.
Split Brain Experiments Game Perform classic experiments.
3D Interactive Brain
Virtual Brain Tour (6-12)
PBS Nova Interactives - Body and Brain
Get Body Smart (8-12)
An Online Examination of Human Anatomy and Physiology. Visually Learn About the Human Body Using Our Interactive "Flash" Animations
All Systems are Go (gr. 3-8) In this online activity, a fictional character named Arnold is missing a number of body parts. You are presented with a body system and a variety of organs. You should drag and drop all the organs that belong in that particular body system to Arnold's body.
Organs (6-12) In this interactive on organs, produced by BBC Science & Nature, students will learn about the organs of the human body.
Inner Learning Online (9-12)
Welcome to inner exploration of Human Anatomy. Each topic has animations, 100’s of graphics, and thousands of descriptive links.
Virtual Body (K-12)
This site contains a collection of interactive presentations on the functions of the brain, the digestive system, the heart, and the skeleton of the human body.
Virtual tour through the human heart
Beginning with the oxygen-poor blood in the right atrium and ending with the oxygen-rich blood going out to different parts of the body. Along the way, you can learn the anatomy of the heart, as well as some quick facts about the heart’s function. While you are learning from the website, the website is tracking how much blood your heart is processing in the same time period.[Flash required]
Muscles ( 6-12) In this interactive, produced by BBC Science & Nature, students will have fun learning about the muscles of the human body.
Nervous System (6-12) In this interactive, produced by BBC Science & Nature, students will learn about how different body parts are connected to the nervous system.
Skeleton (6-12) This interactive, produced by BBC Science & Nature, contains a great deal of information about the skeletal system.
Medical Animations
animations of diseases, body systems and injuries
Animals and Plants
The Dig 6 - 12 This Xpedition Hall interactive, promotes an understanding of how humans have evolved by showing how a skeleton reveals secrets from the past.
Life Preservers gr 6-8 The game teaches National Science standards on evolution, adaptation, and the history of life on earth.
Jean-Michael Cousteau Ocean Adventures: Predator Protector players to guide three different threatened shark species to food and away from danger. At the same time, players can learn about the behaviors and habitats of these three species.
Photosynthesis designed to help dispel the common misconceptions
Reach for the Sun manage a plant to help it produce as many seeds as possible before winter comes.
Evolution Lab Do-it-yourself evolution! Use this humorous but powerful simulation tool to test the effects of selection, mutation and chance on the evolution of a trait.
Pollution and Peppered Moths
This model explores the effects of pollution and bird predation on the protective coloration of peppered moths(through directed selection). A series of questions guides students' exploration
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
PBS Nova Animals and Plants Interactives
VistaZoo
A customizable portal from where you can create stunning, professional Virtual Tours combining panoramas, pictures, video, audio, floorplans and objects in 3D. Your tours will be uploaded and placed on a map instantly. Once the tour has been created, you can easily embed it into any website in seconds. It works just like YouTube. Create and share instantly.
Animal Community Comparison K - 12 In this student interactive, from Xpeditions, students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two animal communities of their choosing....
A Touch of Class ( gr. 2-5) This is an interactive activity in which students classify various plants and animals, including organisms such as a frog, jellyfish, Venus flytrap, bat, human, and seaweed.
Build a Fish (gr 3-8) In this interactive activity, you must build a fish whose adaptations make it suited to its ocean environment.
Color and Camouflage This interactive activity allows you to check out different types of camouflage that an animal can use to protect itself depending on the habitat in which it lives.
WolfQuest An immersive, 3D wildlife simulation game, WolfQuest challenges players to learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park.
LIFE: The Game
Compete as an animal from Life in this fast, competitive strategy game. Can you gain control and take over other animals' habitat.
Animal Community Comparison K - 12 In this student interactive, from Xpeditions, students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two animal communities of their choosing....
The Journey North
Migratory Animals - interactive science studies about animals that migrate.
MeCheM Suitable for: Year 7-10
A game for middle schoolers learning chemistry and the properties of elements. Players select elements and strategies to equip their mechs with armor, batteries, capacitors and weapons, and then battle the Mechs to see which is the stronger.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Online Labs for Chemistry
Acids and Bases:Kitchen chemistry Acids and bases react with other chemicals in predictable ways. This interactive activity from the ZOOM Web site allows you to conduct virtual experiments on various solutions to determine if they're acidic or basic. In one experiment, you can test the acidity of different household substances by trying to launch a virtual cork rocket.
Mixed Reception game gr. 10 - up is set in a research group developing an antivenom for spider bites. In the opening scene, Nelson Pogline, a talented graduate student, dies unexpectedly at a university reception. In their role as detectives, students use chemistry concepts to determine if his death was murder and, if so, to solve the case. They interview suspects using QuickTime movies, investigate the crime scene for clues with QuickTime Virtual Reality images and analyze the evidence from the crime lab. The activity requires basic knowledge of formula weight, chemical reactions and the scientific method. The Flash-based software is suitable for chemistry students at the high school and college levels. The game was developed by ChemCollective with students from the Departments of Chemistry and Drama at Carnegie Mellon University. Click Here to Access Free Game
Web-based High School Chemistry Simulations This site has provides teachers with links to chemistry simulations, organized by which McREL standard (and in some cases, national science education standard) to which they correspond. You can view the site either through Simulations Aligned to the Standards or you can view the complete list of simulations in our Catalog of Simulations
ChemCollective - Carnegie Mellon's online lab simulations for class
Conductive Polymers
The PCR Method
The Chemical Education Digital Library is a large collection of resources for teaching and learning chemistry. The ChemEd DL contains tutorials for students, 3D models, lesson plans, and more. The tutorials include 3D chemical models and explanations of what each part of the models does and how those parts work together. In the lesson plans sectionyou will find downloadable lesson plans organized by subject. ChemEd DL also features a periodic table that links each element to data and explanations about that element.
EleMental Stack up elements and combine them into compounds.
Rice University’s CSI Web Adventures is a series of six online interactives, including the CSI web experience. Each of the Web Adventures is appropriate for middle school or high school use. In each adventure, students take on the role of a scientist to solve a crime, conduct experiments and learn about scientific methods and processes. In Cool Science Careers, students explore five STEM-based career areas. In MedMyst, students learn about microbiology through a series of interactive lessons and games that focus on infectious diseases and ways to prevent the spread of those
diseases. Reconstructors includes three games in which students need to gather evidence and data to solve drug-related cases. Virtual Clinical Trials puts students into the role of research scientists who are working toward developing treatments for spinal cord injuries, depression and brain injuries. In N-Squad, students investigate the effects of alcohol on the digestive, circulatory and nervous systems. The CSI Web Adventures are designed to teach students the process of forensic investigation and problem solving.
A game for middle schoolers learning chemistry and the properties of elements. Players select elements and strategies to equip their mechs with armor, batteries, capacitors and weapons, and then battle the Mechs to see which is the stronger.
ExploreLearning Gizmos provides over 400 math and science online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. It has a free Gizmos account available for science and math educators with a curated collection of Gizmos that change every January/July. Aligned to NGSS and state standards, each Gizmo comes with teacher guides and customizable lesson materials to help teachers and students delve deeper into the material. Some of the major features of Gizmos include: interactive design which allows for extensive manipulation of variables and ‘what-if’ experimentation; visualizations and graphing tools help capture and compare results from experiments; in-depth activities create more moments to explore, discover and apply new concepts. Watch the video below to learn more about Gizmo. Video
Online Labs for Chemistry
Acids and Bases:Kitchen chemistry Acids and bases react with other chemicals in predictable ways. This interactive activity from the ZOOM Web site allows you to conduct virtual experiments on various solutions to determine if they're acidic or basic. In one experiment, you can test the acidity of different household substances by trying to launch a virtual cork rocket.
Mixed Reception game gr. 10 - up is set in a research group developing an antivenom for spider bites. In the opening scene, Nelson Pogline, a talented graduate student, dies unexpectedly at a university reception. In their role as detectives, students use chemistry concepts to determine if his death was murder and, if so, to solve the case. They interview suspects using QuickTime movies, investigate the crime scene for clues with QuickTime Virtual Reality images and analyze the evidence from the crime lab. The activity requires basic knowledge of formula weight, chemical reactions and the scientific method. The Flash-based software is suitable for chemistry students at the high school and college levels. The game was developed by ChemCollective with students from the Departments of Chemistry and Drama at Carnegie Mellon University. Click Here to Access Free Game
Web-based High School Chemistry Simulations This site has provides teachers with links to chemistry simulations, organized by which McREL standard (and in some cases, national science education standard) to which they correspond. You can view the site either through Simulations Aligned to the Standards or you can view the complete list of simulations in our Catalog of Simulations
ChemCollective - Carnegie Mellon's online lab simulations for class
Conductive Polymers
The PCR Method
The Chemical Education Digital Library is a large collection of resources for teaching and learning chemistry. The ChemEd DL contains tutorials for students, 3D models, lesson plans, and more. The tutorials include 3D chemical models and explanations of what each part of the models does and how those parts work together. In the lesson plans sectionyou will find downloadable lesson plans organized by subject. ChemEd DL also features a periodic table that links each element to data and explanations about that element.
EleMental Stack up elements and combine them into compounds.
Rice University’s CSI Web Adventures is a series of six online interactives, including the CSI web experience. Each of the Web Adventures is appropriate for middle school or high school use. In each adventure, students take on the role of a scientist to solve a crime, conduct experiments and learn about scientific methods and processes. In Cool Science Careers, students explore five STEM-based career areas. In MedMyst, students learn about microbiology through a series of interactive lessons and games that focus on infectious diseases and ways to prevent the spread of those
diseases. Reconstructors includes three games in which students need to gather evidence and data to solve drug-related cases. Virtual Clinical Trials puts students into the role of research scientists who are working toward developing treatments for spinal cord injuries, depression and brain injuries. In N-Squad, students investigate the effects of alcohol on the digestive, circulatory and nervous systems. The CSI Web Adventures are designed to teach students the process of forensic investigation and problem solving.
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