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3 Apps That Inspire Scientific Curiosity
We live in an age where technology is at our fingertips, and harnessing it for learning can be an incredibly powerful tool. Apps have become vital to almost every aspect of our lives, and the world of science is no exception; from facts and quizzes to interactive experiences. Excitingly, it has never been easier to become a scientist at home.
Here are 3 Apps that can inspire scientific curiosity!
1) Stellarium
There are many apps on the market that offer a similar star-gazing guide service. Yet Stellarium provides an engaging balance of augmented reality and educational material.
What can it do?
With Stellarium it is possible to stargaze through your phone in real time, or through many time frames. You can jump ahead to see where the constellations will be this evening or the early hours of the morning. The visuals are incredibly captivating, making the experience feel immersive, as well as educational, as you explore the night sky.
If you click on a constellation, the app will give you specific information, unlocking the secrets of the stars! Stellarium also provides a search feature that allows the user to go hunting for their favourite planet or constellation in the night sky around them.
The App is a really wonderful educational tool with regards to learning about space, and certainly inspires a sense of awe and curiosity in all ages.
Stephen Hawking famously said, ‘remember to look up at the stars, not down at your feet’. [1] With Stellarium, it has never been easier to learn all the while.
Stellarium is available on Apple and Google Play Store.
App recommends ages 4+.
2) Google Lens
Google Lens also provides users with an interactive set up and could be a great tool when learning about your surroundings. The app uses your device’s camera to present you with educational material about what's right in front of you.
What can it do?
The app truly shines in it’s ability to engage the user with their environment. For example if you are at the beach and see a cool geological rock formation and want to know more about it, you can simply point your camera at it and the app will provide you with a wealth of relevant knowledge- it’ll be stratigraphy central!
When learning about circuitry and mechanics, the app can provide assistance in identifying different components inside a product. A great activity for this is a product teardown, where all the components of a product are disassembled and identified.
We’ve created a free lesson plan for any teachers who want to recreate a product teardown activity in their lessons. Access it via the link below!
https://mailchi.mp/team.repair/teacher-resource-form
The app can also identify plants and animals, which is ideal if you are confronted with a new species when exploring nature. This feature undoubtedly sparks scientific curiosity and encourages the user to learn more about the biodiversity around them.
You never have to go for a walk and wonder what kind of tree you are looking at without an answer again- even aspiring natural scientists need a helping hand sometimes.
The App is available on Google Play Store. For Apple users, download Google App (inbuilt Google Lens feature).
App states it is suitable for all ages, but we recommend adult supervision.
3) Khan Academy
Khan Academy proclaims that with their app, ‘you can learn anything’. What a prospect for any budding Scientist! The app provides the user with a full range of interactive courses across many disciplines including energy, electrical engineering, nuclear chemistry, biotechnology, coding and much more.
What can it do?
The main strength of the app is that both the range of topics, as well as the sheer volume of educational content is exceptional. The material caters for all learning types as it includes videos, quizzes, interactive activities as well as text and articles.
The wonderful thing about the app is that the content is for all. Whilst it is tailored to students and teachers with regards to school years, the app is completely free and very much open to the use of everyone in between.
One element that is particularly fun is the ‘hands-on’ science section which gives the user plenty of experiments to bring out their inner scientist! An example of this is one creative experiment that asks you to imagine you are an artist, creating a piece of art with white light shining through it from the back. The experiment allows you to explore how different materials absorb, reflect and transmit light. After your findings, the task encourages you to design what would look best within the given brief. This experiment certainly gets you thinking outside the box! (From ‘How can light interactions be used to create art?’).
The Khan Academy app is a wonderful educational tool that truly quenches the thirst for scientific knowledge.
App Recommends ages 4+
Bonus app: Khan Academy Kids
There’s a kids version! The app helps children ages 2-8 to learn about science (and other topics!), through interactive games, stories and lessons. The app aims to make learning fun, and to inspire a lifelong love of education.
At Team Repair we are dedicated to inspiring scientific curiosity in students. We believe that harnessing new technology is a compelling way to enhance the learning experience.
