BrainPOP Science Sims

These simulations range across a variety of interaction styles and scientific topics, all based on the Next Generation Science Standards. Students get hands-on experience with crucial concepts they’ll need to succeed in various science domains. Each sim is also paired with one or more sets of prompts, guiding students towards particular learning goals.

Many of the sims share an underlying engine, such as a vector field or state machines, allowing different types of content to be efficiently slotted into the same framework. For example, the sims use vector fields to demonstrate ocean and air currents, gravity and magnetism, and plate tectonics driven by the convection currents of the Earth’s mantle under the crust. The state machine engine was used to simulate the flow of energy in food webs, the rock cycle, plant growth, the water cycle, and the carbon cycle.