Each Wonderlabs lab is a small on-screen model. Students change one thing, predict what will happen, run a trial, and compare the evidence in a notebook. There are no accounts, and nothing to install.
How to run a lab
Wonder (2 min). Read the lab’s big question together. Ask what students already think.
Predict and try (8 min). Students pick a setup, commit to a prediction, then run the trial. Results stay hidden until they do.
Compare (5 min). The lab notebook records every trial: what changed, the prediction, and the measured result. Students can add a note and print it.
Discuss (5 min). Use the prompts below. Every result screen also explains what the model shows and what it leaves out.
Devices Designed for laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, and phones, with mouse, touch, or keyboard. Try a lab on your class devices first.
Reset vs. clear “Reset lab” clears the stage for another trial. Only “Clear notebook” erases a student’s evidence.
Shared devices Notebooks stay on the device and are erased when the tab closes. Privacy details
Every lab practices the fair-test habit of changing one variable at a time, which supports the controlled-variable part of NGSS 3-5-ETS1-3 (opens in a new tab). The labs are models for discussion and are not a complete unit for any standard.
Lab guides
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LAB 01
Pop + Mentos
How high can the fizz fly?
Grades 3–5
15–20 minutes
Learning objective
Students change one variable (number of mints), measure geyser height in model units, and explain that the gas was already dissolved in the soda.
Students change
Number of mints: 1 mint, 3 mints, 5 mints, 8 mints.
Students measure
Geyser height (units).
What the model simplifies
This model shows one idea: more mints means more places for bubbles to form. Real geysers also depend on the soda’s temperature, the bottle’s opening, and how fast the mints sink, so real heights vary from try to try.
Vocabulary
dissolved
mixed into a liquid so completely that you cannot see it
carbon dioxide
the gas that makes soda fizzy
physical change
a change where no new substance is made
variable
the one thing you change in a fair test
Discussion prompts
Where was the gas before the mints went in? How do you know?
The height goes up by less each time you add mints. What might explain that?
What would you need to keep the same to make this a fair test with real soda?
Curriculum connection: NGSS 5-PS1-1 (opens in a new tab), “Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.” The dissolved gas is invisible until it forms bubbles, which gives students evidence for matter they cannot see.
If you try it for real: Do it outdoors with a grown-up, wear eye protection, and step back as soon as the mints drop.
Students compare launch speeds and use distance readings to argue that gravity always pulls the moon toward Earth’s center.
Students change
Launch speed: Speed 1, Speed 2, Speed 3, Speed 4.
Students measure
Distance from Earth (model units, read from the live display).
What the model simplifies
This model has one Earth, one moon, and gravity. Distances are in model units, not kilometers, and the sizes are not to scale: the real Moon is about 30 Earth-widths away.
Vocabulary
gravity
the pull between objects that have mass
orbit
the curved path of one object around another
launch speed
how fast the moon is moving sideways when it is let go
model
a simpler version of something real that helps us test ideas
Discussion prompts
At every point on the path, which way is gravity pulling the moon?
Why does a slow moon land but a faster moon keep missing Earth?
The sizes and distances here are not to scale. What else has this model left out?
Curriculum connection: NGSS 5-PS2-1 (opens in a new tab), “Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.” “Down” means toward Earth’s center. Students see every path bend toward the center, whatever the launch speed.
If you try it for real: This one is safe to try for real: go outside with a grown-up tonight, find the Moon, and look again at the same time tomorrow.
Students relate the number of batteries to current and brightness, and describe energy moving around a complete circuit.
Students change
Number of batteries: 1 battery, 2 batteries, 3 batteries.
Students measure
Current tracers (dots).
What the model simplifies
The moving dots are tracers that help us picture current. Real charges are far too small to see and drift very slowly. A real neon tube also needs a much higher voltage than a few batteries can give.
Vocabulary
circuit
a complete loop that electric charge can travel around
current
the flow of electric charge
battery
a source of energy that pushes charge around a circuit
tracer
a marker added to a model so we can see something invisible
Discussion prompts
What happens to the dots if the loop is switched off? Where does the energy come from?
The batteries do not create the dots. What do they do instead?
How is this model different from a real wire? Why might a simpler picture still be useful?
Curriculum connection: NGSS 4-PS3-2 (opens in a new tab), “Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.” Students observe energy carried from the batteries by an electric current and given off as light.
If you try it for real: Use only small batteries with a grown-up. Never experiment with wall outlets or plugged-in devices.
Students investigate how the amount of one reactant changes the amount of gas produced, and identify the gas as a new substance.
Students change
Amount of vinegar: ¼ cup, ½ cup, 1 cup.
Students measure
Foam height (units).
What the model simplifies
This is a chemistry model, not a model of how real volcanoes work. Real eruptions are driven by hot magma and by gas that was already dissolved in it, which is actually more like the Pop + Mentos lab!
Vocabulary
chemical reaction
a change that makes one or more new substances
reactant
a substance you start with in a reaction
carbon dioxide
the gas made when vinegar meets baking soda
evidence
observations that support an idea
Discussion prompts
What is your evidence that a new substance was made?
Pop + Mentos also makes fizz. Why do scientists call that a physical change and this a chemical change?
Why is a baking-soda volcano a poor model of a real volcano? What does it still teach well?
Curriculum connection: NGSS 5-PS1-4 (opens in a new tab), “Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.” Students mix two substances, observe gas that was not there before, and contrast it with the Pop + Mentos lab, where no new substance forms.
If you try it for real: Work on a tray with a grown-up and keep the foam away from your eyes.
Students describe and compare a material’s properties (texture, stretch, bounce) and connect them to how much activator was added.
Students change
Amount of activator: 1 spoonful, 2 spoonfuls, 3 spoonfuls.
Students measure
Firmness (out of 3).
What the model simplifies
This model shows one idea: more links make firmer slime. Real slime also changes with the kind of glue, how long you knead it, and even the temperature of the room.
Vocabulary
polymer
a material made of very long chains of particles
property
something you can observe or measure about a material
texture
how something feels
activator
the ingredient that links the glue’s chains together
Discussion prompts
Which properties changed when you added more activator? Which stayed the same?
Which batch would make the best bouncy ball? The best slime to pour? Why?
How could you measure “stretchy” so that two people get the same answer?
Curriculum connection: NGSS 2-PS1-1 (opens in a new tab), “Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.” Students test each batch and classify it by texture and flexibility, two of the properties the standard names.
If you try it for real: Make slime with a grown-up, keep it away from your mouth and eyes, and wash your hands afterwards. Some activators can irritate skin.