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Every area has a 📖 Learn, 🔬 Lab and 🎮 Play (chemistry has a 🕵️ Detective).
Mission stamps aren’t saved: they reset when this page reloads. Shared iPad? Tap “New explorer” before you begin.
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF OUR WORLD
What’s in a pencil? A leaf? A wire? Tap an element to find out.
Your discoveries this visit
Every square is a different kind of atom.
The number counts protons in one atom. Elements go in number order. Swipe sideways to see more of the table.
An element contains just one kind of atom. Different elements can join together to make new substances.
Water has 2 hydrogen atoms for every 1 oxygen atom. Water is a compound, not an element. This is a recipe, not a reaction equation.
Meet the elements hiding in pencils, wires and the air around you.
CASE FILE / ELEMENT CLUES
Use the clues. Take your time. Learn with every guess.
THE EXPERIMENT BENCH
Pick an experiment. Predict, test, then explain what changed.
Reach an experiment’s goal to earn its stamp. Stamps reset when this page reloads.
Bench codes such as “Mm” are made up for this lab. They are not real element symbols. Brighter tiles suit your year level, but every experiment is open to everyone.
This model shows water, a compound of hydrogen and oxygen.
Predict what will happen, then add or remove heat.
A simplified model: each dot stands for a water molecule. Dots are not shown to scale.
Heat and cool five samples. Which change state, and which turn into something new?
A screen model with rounded temperatures. The thermometer marks are evenly spaced, not to scale. Chocolate and butter melt over a range a little above 30°C. Never touch hot things or unknown metals in real life.
Years 3–4 · Adding or removing heat changes state · AC9S5U04 · Burning links to AC9S6U04
Every material has properties. Match each job with a material that has what it needs.
Real products often combine materials. Some jobs have more than one good answer.
Years 3–4 · Properties of fibres, metals, glass and plastics · AC9S4U04
Compare salt before dissolving, in a solution and after the water evaporates.
A magnified model, not to scale. Table salt contains sodium and chloride ions, not pieces of sodium metal or chlorine gas.
Could a paper filter remove the dissolved salt?
A normal paper filter does not remove dissolved salt. Evaporation can leave the salt behind.
Years 5–6 · Mixtures and reversible changes · AC9S6U04
Compare the atoms and how they are joined. Each colour represents one element.
Separate examples, not a reaction simulation. Mixing hydrogen and oxygen does not simply make water. Molecules and bonds are simplified and not to scale.
How is the mixture different from the water compound?
In the mixture, hydrogen and oxygen molecules are separate. In water, hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms are bonded together in each molecule.
Years 5–6 · Mixtures · AC9S6U04 · Compounds are enrichment
Choose an element, then explore its protons and electrons.
A simplified shell model of a neutral atom. Rings show energy levels, not actual electron paths. Sizes and distances are not to scale. Neutrons are not drawn; most nuclei contain them too.
Enrichment · An element’s atomic number counts its protons
Choose a material to bridge the gap, then close the switch.
An idealised low-voltage circuit diagram. Material properties are simplified. Pencil graphite conducts much less well than metal, so real results vary. This activity is a screen model.
Does closing the switch always light the bulb? What else matters?
Years 5–6 · Conductors, insulators and circuits · Years 3–4 · Material properties · AC9S4U04
Each mixture needs the right tool. Use what you know about each part’s properties.
Simplified pictures, not to scale. Real separations are rarely perfect: a little sand or flour can sneak through.
Years 5–6 · Mixtures can be separated · AC9S6U04
Sort ten everyday changes. Can you get the original substance back?
Years 5–6 · Reversible and irreversible changes · AC9S6U04
Four iron nails, four conditions, one week. Predict, then watch the days go by.
A sped-up screen model of a classic classroom investigation. Real results vary with the nails, the water and the temperature.
Years 5–6 · Rusting is an irreversible change · AC9S6U04 · Fair testing
Wrap a cup of warm water in different materials. Which one slows down the cooling most?
A screen model using typical cooling values. Real results depend on the cup, the thickness of the wrap and the room.
Years 3–4 · Material properties influence their use · AC9S4U04 · Fair testing
Set up two cups. Change one thing, then race them. Is your test fair?
Times are rounded model values, sped up to a few seconds. Real times depend on the amounts and temperatures you use.
Years 5–6 · Solutions are mixtures · AC9S6U04 · Fair testing
Follow water around the world. At each step, choose what happens next.
A simplified picture. Real water can take many paths, and some of it stays underground or in ice for a very long time.
Years 3–4 · The water cycle · AC9S4U02 · Changes of state · AC9S5U04 · AC9S4U02 (Year 4)
Fill identical balloons with different gases. Predict, then let go.
A screen model. Gas masses are rounded values at about 20°C. Hydrogen catches fire easily, so this test only happens on screen.
Enrichment · Comparing the density of gases
Add protons and electrons. What decides the element? What makes an ion?
A simplified shell model. Neutrons are not shown. Rings show energy levels, not real electron paths, and nothing is to scale.
Enrichment · Protons decide the element; electrons decide the charge
Follow the recipe and count the atoms. Which molecules are elements, and which are compounds?
Real molecules form through chemical reactions. This builder only checks which atoms a molecule has and how many. Atom sizes and bond lengths are not to scale.
Enrichment · Atoms join to make molecules