Interactive exploration
Machines & MotionHydraulic brakes
How does a little lever stop a spinning wheel?
Squeeze a hydraulic brake. See inside the caliper, change piston sizes, and discover how pressure becomes force.
Energy & change
Follow energy as motion is transferred, stored, or dissipated.
Background on this idea
Interactive explorationMachines & MotionGenerators, electromagnetic induction and alternators
Can turning a handle make a light turn on?
Turn a tabletop generator, unplug its lamp, and replay the same motion. Follow the voltage, the pushback and every joule to discover where electrical energy comes from.
Interactive explorationBody & HealthCellular respiration, mitochondria and ATP
How does a snack help power a run?
Charge a tiny membrane, disconnect its supply, and choose where the stored driving force goes. Discover how cells couple fuel chemistry to ATP—and why a bypass changes the result.
Interactive explorationElectricity & EnergyWind turbines, blade pitch, torque and electricity
Why can a wind turbine spin faster but deliver less electricity?
Turn a source-shaped blade, change the generator load and follow the energy. Discover why pitch, torque and speed must work together—and compare a model with a real wind-tunnel experiment.
Interactive explorationMachines & MotionBall bearings, skateboard wheels and rolling friction
What helps a skateboard wheel keep spinning?
Make a wheel see-through, follow a marked ball and test which motions can roll. Then discover why a longer spin does not always mean less friction.
Interactive explorationBody & HealthUV light, skin, sunscreen and DNA lesions
Can you change the UV without changing what you see?
Build a virtual light filter, uncover a missing patch, explore real skin microscopy and inspect a DNA structure. Discover why visible light and warmth cannot tell the whole story.
Interactive explorationEveryday TechnologyLava lamps, heat, thermal expansion and buoyancy
Why does the same blob come back down?
Watch real lava-lamp footage, then release a model blob. Discover why it can rise while cooling, hold it without stopping heat flow, and change the conditions until its journey stops.
Interactive explorationEarth, Weather & ClimateThunderstorms, cloud growth, moisture, lifting and updrafts
What helps a cloud grow into a thunderstorm?
Step through real satellite observations, release an air parcel into a measured atmosphere, and discover why moisture, lifting and the surrounding air all matter.
Interactive explorationPhysics, Light & SoundGuitar strings, musical notes, harmonics and resonance
How does a guitar string make a musical note?
Pluck a guitar, move a fret and hear the model. Pull a note apart into harmonics, investigate resonance, and open the instrument beside real research photographs.
Interactive explorationEveryday TechnologyCamera exposure, shutter speed, focus and rolling shutter
Why is my moving photo blurry?
Photograph a moving toy, shorten the exposure, and unroll the time behind each row. Compare motion blur, rolling shutter, missed focus and low-light noise using your own saved captures.
Interactive explorationNature, Ecosystems & FoodCooking eggs, protein denaturation and gelation
Why does a runny egg become firm when it cooks?
Tilt a plate, press a sample, and tug the connections that help a cooked egg hold together. Inspect a real ovalbumin structure, compare source-defined laboratory holds, and uncover what an experimental photograph actually shows.
Interactive explorationSpace & AstronomyAuroras, northern lights and glowing oxygen
Why does the night sky sometimes glow green?
Begin with a real view from the space station. Then prepare two glowing populations, make collisions matter, and discover how atmospheric light, particle energy and a camera’s record fit together.
Interactive explorationNature, Ecosystems & FoodFermentation, yeast and rising bread
Why does bread dough rise?
Slice into two teaching doughs, follow gas as it is made, kept or lost, and discover the microbes and chemistry behind rising bread. Inspect real microscopy and a yeast enzyme.
Interactive explorationComputers, Networks & AITransistors and electronic switches
How does an insulated gate control a current?
Inspect a connected CMOS cutaway, build a channel, find a circuit’s operating point and follow the charge and energy behind a changing bit.
Interactive explorationSpace & AstronomyRockets and propulsion
How can a rocket move when there is no air to push against?
Open a generic engine, follow what it carries and keep every bit of expelled mass in the story. Change who measures the motion, balance the thrust terms and discover what staging actually changes.
Interactive explorationElectricity & EnergyNuclear fission and electricity
How does splitting an atom help make electricity?
Look through a power plant, follow three separate water routes and trace energy across their walls. Balance the energy account, then investigate why a growing average can still hide empty trials.
Interactive explorationEarth, Weather & ClimateThe greenhouse effect
How can a planet warm without receiving more sunlight?
Freeze two model temperatures, change infrared transfer and release time. Follow every energy route, move the accounting boundary and compare the model with real atmospheric evidence.
Interactive explorationChemistry & MaterialsSolids, liquids, gases and phase changes
Where does energy go while ice melts?
Give water an energy budget. Watch its temperature and phase masses, catch a melting plateau, compare two starting states and inspect an open ice structure.
Interactive explorationChemistry & MaterialsAtoms and chemical elements
What makes carbon different from oxygen?
Change particle counts, pin the differences, and discover what names an element. Then prepare one-electron hydrogen states, collect possible position outcomes and match energy gaps to light.
Interactive explorationElectricity & EnergyBatteries and charging
What happens when you charge your phone?
Look through a phone, separate a battery’s layers, and trace two different journeys. One happens inside the cell. The other powers the world outside.
Interactive explorationEveryday TechnologyMicrowave ovens and heating
Why is one bite hot while the next is cold?
See through a closed microwave, follow a bite around the turntable, and compare where energy arrives with where heat spreads afterward.
Interactive explorationElectricity & EnergySolar panels and photovoltaic cells
Why does a solar panel’s power depend on what you connect?
Connect a realistic module to a virtual load, look inside a silicon cell, and build a day’s energy from changing light and time.
Interactive exploration
Electricity & EnergyElectric circuits
What does it take to turn on a light?
Close a switch. Follow a complete path. Give current a second route and discover what changes.
Interactive exploration
Machines & MotionElectric motors
How does electricity make a motor spin?
Power a motor. Reverse its direction. Add a load and watch speed, current and turning force find a new balance.
Interactive explorationEarth, Weather & ClimateThe water cycle
Where can a drop of rain go next?
Follow water above and below the surface. Pave part of the land, change evaporation, and watch the water budget rearrange.
Interactive explorationMachines & MotionFour-stroke engines
How does a piston turn fuel into motion?
Open a detailed engine, turn its crank, and take the assembly apart. Follow four different jobs hidden inside two very similar-looking turns.
Interactive explorationMachines & MotionLevers, pulleys and lifting
How can a small pull lift a heavy load?
Rerig a dock crane. Pull the same length of rope, watch the crate rise, and see what you trade for an easier lift.
A small distance.
A big internal pull.Explore the elbow’s leverage
Interactive explorationA big internal pull.Explore the elbow’s leverage
Body & HealthMuscles, joints and movement
Why can holding a small weight need a big muscle force?
Move a load closer to an elbow on a transparent teaching arm. See the force change, then explore how muscles can work without visible movement.
Interactive explorationCells, Life & EvolutionPhotosynthesis and plant growth
Where does a plant get the material to grow?
Open a leaf, explore a chloroplast, and supply a tiny carbon-building recipe. Discover what comes from air, what comes from water, and what light contributes.
Interactive explorationBody & HealthDigestion and food
What happens to food after you swallow it?
Follow a meal through the gut, then zoom into its lining. Choose starch, protein or long-chain fat and discover why their next routes differ.
Interactive explorationEveryday TechnologyRefrigerators and heat pumps
How does a fridge move heat out of a cold space?
Look through a cold room and follow its refrigerant loop. Count the heat removed and the work added, then try putting both sides in the same room.
Interactive explorationEveryday TechnologyInsulation and heat transfer
How can insulation keep warmth in—and heat out?
Open a house wall. Swap its added layer, make it thicker, and reverse the temperatures to see why insulation helps in winter and summer.