This page is a directory of games, simulations, and virtual labs for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education. I plan to transfer these listings into some sort of searchable, sortable database format; to allow you to post comments about items you've used; and to allow you to rate the items (1 to 5 stars or some such)... sometime soon.
Alien Earths - Planet Families: Build a Solar System
- Description: use this solar system construction kit to build your own family of planets.
- URL: www.alienearths.org/online/interactives/planet_families/
- Creator: Space Science Institute
- Cost: free
Asteroid and Comet orbits visualizer/simulator
- Description: Java applet generates interactive diagram of orbit of an asteroid or comet of the user's choice.
- URL: ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi - enter formal "name" of asteroid or comet [e.g. "1 Ceres" or "1P/Halley" or "4 Vesta" or "C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)"] in the search field, then press enter key; click on the "Orbit Diagram" link on the page that appears. If you don't know the formal name of the object, you can enter as much as you know (e.g. "Ceres" or "Halley" or "Vesta" or "Hale-Bopp"); the application will make an "educated guess" or give you options to choose from.
- User controls: tilt/rotate orbit; zoom in and out; show/hide name of object & names/orbits of planets; change date; change view center; animate; save current view to your computer as an image.
- Creator: NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Small-Body Database Browser (Solar System Dynamics Group; Near Earth Object Program)
- Cost: free
Astronomy Applets
- Description: includes applets Planet Finder, Planetary Transits, Radiative Transfer, and more.
- URL: scatter.colorado.edu/STEM-TPSoft
- Creators: Richard "Dick" McCray at the University of Colorado (Boulder).
- Cost: free
Bill Nye's Climate Lab
- Description: climate science games and simulations from Bill Nye the Science Guy and Chabot Space & Science Center.
- URL: www.billsclimatelab.org
- Creators: Bill Nye and the Chabot Space & Science Center
- Cost: free
BioLogica (The Concord Consortium)
- Description: Two "Web Labs" from the BioLogica biology education system: Dragon Genetics and Mendel's Peas. Requires Adobe's Shockwave plugin.
- URL: biologica.concord.org/webtest1/web_labs.htm
- Creators: The Concord Consortium
- Cost: free
The COMET Program (UCAR) and MetEd
- Description: Large collection of educational resources about weather and atmospheric science, including animations, interactives, and some game-like role-playing modules including "Hurricane Strike!" and "Tsunami Strike!"
- URL: www.meted.ucar.edu and www.comet.ucar.edu
- Creators: The COMET Program (UCAR)
- Cost: free
Crayon Physics
- Description: Draw objects which respond to the laws of physics; boxes fall, circles roll downhill, etc. Solve a series of puzzles to move a ball to a target. Runs on Windows, Mac and Linux PCs.
- URL: www.crayonphysics.com
- Creators: Kloonigames (Petri Purho of Helsinki, Finland)
- Cost: $19.95 - Free demo version available.
DimensionU Games
- Description: four multiplayer games: TowerStorm, Swarm, Meltdown and Velocity. Two single player games: Evolver Pre-Algebra and Dimenxian Algebra.
- URL: www.dimensionu.com/dimu/home/dimugames.aspx
- Creators: DimensionU
- Cost: not free, haven't checked pricing yet. Demo versions available.
Disaster Dynamics: Hurricane Landfall
- Description: role-playing strategy game teaches about interactions between natural hazards and human decisions in a Gulf Coast barrier island community.
- URL: www.dd.ucar.edu
- Creators: National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
- Cost: free
EdGCM
- Description: a research-grade Global Climate Model (GCM) with a user-friendly interface that is suitable for use by students and can be run on a desktop computer.
- URL: edgcm.columbia.edu
- Creators: Columbia University (New York)
- Cost: single user license $249, various prices for more copies (e.g. $49 each for 50+ copies); free demo and 30-day trial versions available.
EPA: Games, Videos and Quizzes
- Description: games and puzzles including Recycle City, Environauts Mission to Earth, and more.
- URL: www.epa.gov/students/games.html
- Creators: US Environmental Protection Agency
- Cost: free
Federation of Galaxy Explorers (FoGE) - Space Games
- Description: a modest collection of links to space-themed games; most developed by other groups. Includes the Moon Base One game from FoGE.
- URL: www.foge.org/games.shtml
- Creators: Federation of Galaxy Explorers
- Cost: free
Gizmos
- Description: hundreds of simulations for math and science, primarily for students in grades 3-12 (also some college-level). Science simulations cover a range of subjects, with largest collections in physics.
- URL: www.explorelearning.com
- Creators: ExploreLearning
- Cost: Commercial product; not free. Demo versions available. Pricing appears to depend on situation (# of students using, # of Gizmos used, etc.).
Global Carbon Budget app
- Description: simulation of future atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and temperatures. Student can adjust levels of carbon emissions (from fossil fuel use and land use changes) and carbon uptake (by oceans and land) and see results. Includes lots of background carbon cycle info and a Spanish language version.
- URL: carboncycle.aos.wisc.edu/carbon-budget-tool
- Creators: University of Wisconsin-Madison: Carbon Cycle Basics web site by Professor Galen McKinley and colleagues
- Cost: free
Gravity and Tides interactives
- Description: demonstrates the creation of tides by gravitational forces.
- URL: sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/labs/tides/menu_tide.swf
- Creators: University of Utah
- Cost: free
The Jason Project: Digital Labs and Games
- Description: games include Operation: Resilient Planet, Coaster Creator, StormTracker, and more.
- URL: www.jason.org/public/whatis/games.aspx
- Creators: The Jason Project
- Cost: free (requires registration)
Killer Asteroids
- Description: games about asteroids including Rubble!, Deflect an Asteroid, What If It Hit My Town, and Risky Business.
- URL: killerasteroids.org
- Creators: Space Science Institute
- Cost: free
Kinetic Books
- Description: electronic/digital "textbooks" covering algebra and physics, containing hundreds of simulations and animations. A set of virtual physics labs is also available separately from the textbooks.
- URL: www.kineticbooks.com
- Creators: Kinetic Books
- Cost: Commercial product; not free. Trial versions available. Various pricing schemes starting at $30 for single copies.
Kinetic City
- Description: an assortment of games and simulations.
- URL: www.kineticcity.org
- Creators: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- Cost: free
Math & Physics Applets (Paul Falstad)
- Description: Java applets covering math and physics topics: oscillations and waves, acoustics, signal processing, electricity and magnetism (statics), electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, linear algebra, vector calculus, thermodynamics, and miscellaneous.
- URL: www.falstad.com/mathphysics.html
- Creators: Paul Falstad
- Cost: free
MESSENGER Mission interactives
- Description: games and interactives related to the MESSENGER space mission to Mercury. Includes Geohunter, Build a Spacecraft, Gravity Assist Simulator, and more.
- URL: www.messenger-education.org/students/animations.php (student page)
- URL: www.messenger-education.org/teachers/teacher_index.php (teacher page)
- Creators: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and Carnegie Academy for Science Education
- Cost: free
Molecular Workbench
- Description: Molecular Workbench is an open-source software tool for building simulations for science and engineering education. The web site includes links to numerous sample simulations covering topics from physics, biology, and chemistry.
- URL: mw.concord.org/modeler/index.html
- Creators: The Concord Consortium
- Cost: free
My Own Biome
- Description: four-player PC game simulates ten different biomes.
- URL: myownbiome.com
- Creators: Brian Doyle and associates
- Cost: $25-50 (also site licensing package deals)
NASA's Climate Kids web site, games section
- URL: climate.nasa.gov/kids/games
- Game Titles: Go Green!, Mission to Planet Earth, Whirlwind Disaster, Wild Weather Adventure, Migration Concentration, Earthy Word Games, Cloud Picture Scrambles, Weather Slyder
Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project
- Description: online laboratories targeting the undergraduate introductory astronomy audience.
- URL: astro.unl.edu/naap
- Creators: software creators
- Cost: free
NOAA Games "Planet Arcade"
- Description: a large collection (24 items as of November 2010) of games and puzzles from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- URL: games.noaa.gov
- Creators: NOAA Ocean Service Education
- Cost: free
PhET (Physics Education Technology)
- Description: a large collection of Flash and Java-based simulations covering a range of scientific disciplines and mathematics. The main focus is physics for college students, but the project has expanded into chemistry, biology, and Earth science. Many of the sims are suitable for K-12 audiences.
- URL: phet.colorado.edu
- Creator: University of Colorado at Boulder
- Cost: free
The Science of Atoms and Molecules (SAM) Project
- Description: 24 activities across the fields of physics, chemistry, and biology covering the science of atoms and molecules. Simulations are embedded in the activities.
- URL: sam.concord.org/activities
- Creators: The Concord Consortium
- Cost: free
SciGames.org
- Description: games include Magneto Mini Golf, Drive a Rover, Fly to Mars, Wrath of Ra, and more.
- URL: www.scigames.org
- Creators: Space Science Institute
- Cost: free
SERC (Science Education Research Center at Carleton College)
SimScientists
- Description: six simulations, developed for educational research, spanning three middle school science disciplines. Life Science - "Ecosystems" and "Cells and Human Body Systems". Physical Science - "Atoms & Molecules" and "Forces & Motion". Earth Science - "Climate" and "Plate Tectonics".
- URL: simscientists.org
- Creators: WestEd - a non-profit educational research organization
- Cost: contact WestEd - I think they are only currently distributing to field testers.
Solar System Simulator
- Description: web-based tool to generate views of objects (planets, moons, orbital paths, Sun) within our solar system; user can select viewpoint relative to a planet or moon (e.g. "view from Mars" or "view from above Saturn") or from certain interplanetary spacecraft.
- URL: space.jpl.nasa.gov
- Creator: NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
- Cost: free
Spark Games, Simulations and Virtual Labs
- Description: games and simulations covering weather, climate, atmospheric science, and Sun and space weather topics.
- URL: spark.ucar.edu/games and spark.ucar.edu/interactives
- Creators: Spark - UCAR science education
- Cost: free
STAR-LITE Lab Safety Training Simulation
- Description: a game-like, immersive, 3-D virtual environment for teaching lab safety to high school and undergraduate college students in a humorous way.
- URL: www.starlite.nih.gov
- Creators: NIH (National Institutes of Health) & Janus Research Group
- Cost: free
StarPower game (nuclear fusion reactor simulator)
- Description: players run a simulated nuclear fusion reactor, attempting to supply Fusion City with adequate electrical power. Java applet.
- URL: fusioned.gat.com/starpower.html
- Creators: General Atomics - Fusion Education
- Cost: free
STEMware - Partnership for Biotechnology and Genomics Education
- Description: Game/module "Zombie Plague: Emergence!". Two virtual labs: "Virtual DNA Fingerprinting Laboratory" & "Virtual Plant Biotechnology and Genomics". Also legacy software "Germ Wars" for older versions of Windows and Mac operating systems.
- URL: ceprap.ucdavis.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=148
- Creators: STEMware project of the Partnership for Biotechnology and Genomics Education at U. of California at Davis.
- Cost: free
Thrill of the Catch
- Description: learn about water quality, create custom fish, and go virtual fishing.
- URL: discoverylake.discoveryeducation.com
- Creators: Discovery (as in The Discovery Channel) Education and Take Me Fishing
- Cost: free
Virtual Astronomy Laboratories
- Description: twenty virtual laboratories for an introductory astronomy course. A user guide (PDF) with screenshots of the labs is available from the University of Nebraska.
- URL: val.brookscole.com
- Creators: Brooks/Cole publishers
- Cost: commercial product; available bundled with various texts or as a standalone product.
WeatherWise (WXWISE)
- Description: large collection of Java applets covering weather-related topics. Categories include: storms, temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, clouds, radiation, climate, basic meteorology, and miscellaneous and non-meteorology.
- URL: profhorn.meteor.wisc.edu/wxwise
- Creators: Steve Ackerman and Tom Whittaker
- Cost: free
Weather and Climate Applets from CIMSS
- Description: several weather, climate, and atmosphere Java applets.
- URL: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxfest
- Creators: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- Cost: free
Web Adventures
- Description: CSI-style mystery games, primarily with medical or biology themes. Includes MedMyst, CSI: the Experience, Reconstructors, and Neuropolis N-Squad Forensic Scientists.
- URL: webadventures.rice.edu
- Creators: Rice University
- Cost: free
WikiWatershed
- Description: includes a watershed simulator.
- URL: wikiwatershed.org
- Creators: Stroud Water Research Center and Millersville University
- Cost: free
WolfQuest
- role-play a wolf in Yellowstone National Park in this "first-person shooter" style of game; by Minnesota Zoo and eduweb, with NSF funding; free download for Mac & Windows (April 2010)
- URL: www.wolfquest.org
Y Science Laboratories
- Description: extensive virtual labs for Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, and Biology.
- URL: yscience.byu.edu
- Creators: Brigham Young University
- Cost: commercial products, available via Pearson.